Epithelial cells which cover external and internal surfaces of the body and of all organs perform essential functions such as barrier, absorption, filtration or respiration. These functions requires the establishment and the maintenance of a cell polarity specific to epithelial cells. Using C. elegans our team seeks to identify and characterise the key factors essential for the maintenance of epithelial polarity in two contexts:

  • how membrane traffic controls epithelial polarity and food absorption in the intestine.
  • how a biomechanical signaling pathway controls embryonic morphogenesis.