Cell polarity relies on the asymmetric organization of cellular components and functions. It is implicated in the differentiation, proliferation and morphogenesis of unicellular and multicellular organisms, and its dysregulation can cause developmental disorders and cancer. This month (November), Nature Reviews Molecular and Cell Biology presents a Focus on Cell Polarity, free to access online for the month of November, which aims to capture the current state of cell polarity research in a range of different systems by dissecting the underlying principles. The Focus includes five Review articles by leaders in the field, and the topics range from organelle positioning, cytoskeletal dynamics and mechanisms of protein sorting, targeting and distribution in polarized cells, to crosstalk between small GTPases and polarity proteins, and the mechanisms that coordinate the assembly of cells into polarized tissues.

Cell polarity Focus, including table of contents.

Nature Reviews Molecular and Cell Biology Editorial summarizing the Cell polarity Focus.

Library of articles from Nature Publishing Group journals on the topic of cell polarity.