page_title: Paracrine signaling
section_title: The noncanonical planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway
hierarchical_section_title: Paracrine signaling / Wnt family / The noncanonical Wnt signaling pathways / The noncanonical planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway
caption_attribution_description: English: Diagram of the noncanonical Wnt Planar Cell Polarity pathway.
context_page_description: Paracrine signaling is a form of cell signaling or cell-to-cell communication in which a cell produces a signal to induce changes in nearby cells, altering the behaviour of those cells. Signaling molecules known as paracrine factors diffuse over a relatively short distance, as opposed to cell signaling by endocrine factors, hormones which travel considerably longer distances via the circulatory system; juxtacrine interactions; and autocrine signaling. Cells that produce paracrine factors secrete them into the immediate extracellular environment. Factors then travel to nearby cells in which the gradient of factor received determines the outcome. However, the exact distance that paracrine factors can travel is not certain.
  Although paracrine signaling elicits a diverse array of responses in the induced cells, most paracrine factors utilize a relatively streamlined set of receptors and pathways. In fact, different organs in the body - even between different species - are known to utilize a similar sets of paracrine factors in differential development.
context_section_description: The noncanonical PCP pathway regulates cell morphology, division, and movement. Once again Wnt proteins binds to and activates Frizzled so that Frizzled activates a Dishevelled protein that is tethered to the plasma membrane through a Prickle protein and transmembrane Stbm protein. The active Dishevelled activates RhoA GTPase through Dishevelled associated activator of morphogenesis 1 (Daam1) and the Rac protein. Active RhoA is able to induce cytoskeleton changes by activating Roh-associated kinase (ROCK) and affect gene transcription directly. Active Rac can directly induce cytoskeleton changes and affect gene transcription through activation of JNK.
caption: Noncanonical Wnt Planar Cell Polarity pathway.
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