BACKGROUND Mucus transport mediated by motile cilia in the airway is an important defense mechanism for prevention of respiratory infections. As cilia motility can be depressed by hypothermia or exposure to anesthetics, in this study, we investigated the individual and combined effects of dexmedetomidine (dex), fentanyl (fen), and/or isoflurane (iso) at physiologic and low temperatures on cilia...

To cite: Shoemark A, Hogg C. Thorax 2013;68:190–191. ABSTRACT Cilia are organelles present on almost every cell within the body. In the respiratory tract, motile cilia line the epithelial surface and beat in a coordinated fashion to clear mucus from the airways. Mucociliary dysfunction is implicated in a number of lung diseases including cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, b...

This study confirms and extends previous work on the lateral cilia of the fresh-water mussel, Elliptio complanatus, in support of a "sliding filament" mechanism of ciliary motility wherein peripheral filaments (microtubules) do not change length during beat (see Satir, 1967). Short sequences of serial sections of tips are examined in control (nonbeating) and activated (metachronal wave) prepara...

Cilia are microtubule-based projections that serve a wide variety of essential functions in animal cells. Defects in cilia structure or function have recently been found to underlie diverse human diseases. While many eukaryotic cells possess only one or two cilia, some cells, including those of many unicellular organisms, exhibit many cilia. In vertebrates, multiciliated cells are a specialized...

Alcohol use disorders are associated with increased lung infections and exacerbations of chronic lung diseases. Whereas the effects of cigarette smoke are well recognized, the interplay of smoke and alcohol in modulating lung diseases is not clear. Because innate lung defense is mechanically maintained by airway cilia action and protein kinase C (PKC)-activating agents slow ciliary beat frequen...

We have previously described a forward genetic screen in mice for abnormalities of brain development. Characterization of two hydrocephalus mutants by whole-exome sequencing after whole-genome SNP mapping revealed novel recessive mutations in Dnaaf1 and Lrrc48 Mouse mutants of these two genes have not been previously reported. The Dnaaf1 mutant carries a mutation at the splice donor site of exo...

The length of time that cilia from the gills of Mylilus continue to beat in acidified sea water depends to some extent on the pH of the solution but to a greater extent on its carbon dioxide tension.

CONCLUSION We have developed a simple, reliable method for the simultaneous determination of the ciliary wave disorder (CWD) and ciliary beat frequency (CBF) of actively beating cilia. OBJECTIVE The CBF and the directions of beating cilia are two important components of mucociliary transport. Although lots of studies have been performed on the measurement of the CBF, there have been few studi...