Association of ASIP/mPAR-3 with adherens junctions of mouse neuroepithelial cells.

Polarity proteins play fundamental roles in asymmetric cell division, which is essential for the production of different types of cells in multicellular organisms. Here, we explore the localization of atypical PKC isotype-specific interacting protein (ASIP), a mammalian homologue of the Caenorhabditis elegans polarity protein PAR-3, in embryonic neural tissues. Although ASIP is localized on tight junctions in cultured epithelial cells, it localizes on adherens junctions outlined by beta-catenin and afadin at the luminal surface, an apical end of the neuroepithelium in developing mouse central nervous systems.