Dealing with apical–basal polarity and intercellular junctions: a multidimensional challenge for epithelial cell division

Epithelial cell division is essential to shape developing tissues and for the homeostasis of adult organs. However, the mechanical and biochemical reorganization of dividing cells represents a major challenge to the integrity and architecture of the epithelial barrier. Here, we portray recent findings from a variety of model organisms that revealed how apical–basal polarity and intercellular adhesion are modulated during cell division to maintain a permeability barrier and to transmit epithelial organization to daughter cells. This demands not only that dividing and neighboring cells remodel their adhesion and contractility, but also cell cycle-dependent regulation of apical–basal polarity in the dividing cell. Additionally, mitotic structures, such as the midbody, provide spatial cues to enforce epithelial cell organization.