Left-Right Patterning: Breaking Symmetry to Asymmetric Morphogenesis. Author Daniel Grimes, Rebecca Burdine Publication Year 2017 Type Journal Article Abstract Vertebrates exhibit striking left-right (L-R) asymmetries in the structure and position of the internal organs. Symmetry is broken by motile cilia-generated asymmetric fluid flow, resulting in a signaling cascade - the Nodal-Pitx2 pathway - being robustly established within mesodermal tissue on the left side only. This pathway impinges upon various organ primordia to instruct their side-specific development. Recently, progress has been made in understanding both the breaking of embryonic L-R symmetry and how the Nodal-Pitx2 pathway controls lateralized cell differentiation, migration, and other aspects of cell behavior, as well as tissue-level mechanisms, that drive asymmetries in organ formation. Proper execution of asymmetric organogenesis is critical to health, making furthering our understanding of L-R development an important concern. Keywords Animals, Morphogenesis, Body Patterning Journal Trends Genet Volume 33 Issue 9 Pages 616-628 Date Published 2017 Sep ISSN Number 0168-9525 DOI 10.1016/j.tig.2017.06.004 Alternate Journal Trends Genet PMCID PMC5764106 PMID 28720483 PubMedPubMed CentralGoogle ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML