What are the Components of Epithelial Cell Polarity?
Epithelial cell polarity involves three main membrane domains:
Apical domain: The apical surface faces the lumen or external environment and is often specialized with structures like microvilli or cilia. Lateral domain: The lateral surfaces are in contact with adjacent cells and contain junctional complexes such as tight junctions, adherens junctions, and desmosomes, which aid in cell-cell adhesion and communication. Basal domain: The basal surface interacts with the underlying basement membrane and is involved in cell-matrix adhesion through structures like hemidesmosomes.
