Hypoxic environments at high altitude have significant effects on kidney injury. Following injury, renal primary cilia display length alterations. Primary cilia are mechanosensory organelles that regulate tubular architecture. The effect of hypoxia on cilia length is still controversial in cultured cells, and no corresponding in vivo study exists. Using fetal and adult sheep, we here study the ...

The obligate anuran myiasis blow fly Lucilia bufonivora Moniez is reported from North America for the first time. The L. bufonivora species group is defined on the basis of the aedeagus and the history and biology of the North American species (L. bufonivora, L. elongata Shannon and L. silvarum (Meigen)) are discussed. A key is provided to separate the three North American species of this group...

To consider the evolutionary origin of the ectoparasitic habit in the blowfly genus Lucilia (Diptera:Calliphoridae), phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequence data were performed for 10 species, including all the common Lucilia agents of myiasis, collected from Africa, Australasia, North America and Europe. Complementary genetic distance and parsimony analyses are used to consider int...

STUDY QUESTION What is the motor protein composition and function of human fallopian tube (FT) cilia? SUMMARY ANSWER Although the motor protein composition and function of human FT cilia resemble that of respiratory cilia, females with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) are not necessarily infertile. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY FTs are lined with multiple motile cilia, which show a 9 + 2 ultrastruc...

The differentiation of cilia is mediated by kinesin-driven transport. As the function of kinesins in vertebrate ciliogenesis is poorly characterized, we decided to determine the role of kinesin-2 family motors--heterotrimeric kinesin-II and the homodimeric Kif17 kinesin--in zebrafish cilia. We report that kif17 is largely dispensable for ciliogenesis; kif17 homozygous mutant animals are viable ...

Primary cilia are sensory organelles that coordinate numerous cellular signalling pathways during development and adulthood. Defects in ciliary assembly or function lead to a series of developmental disorders and diseases commonly referred to as ciliopathies. Still, little is known about the formation and function of primary cilia in the mammalian testis. Here, we characterized primary cilia in...

In 1961, Barnes (1) reported the presence of cilia in secretory cells of the mouse adenohypophysis . She noted that these cilia differ in several respects from "normal" cilia and flagella with an apparent motile function, but are similar to most cilia to which no motile function can be attributed . Generally speaking, "normal" cilia are located on free cell surfaces and possess a "9 + 2" fibril...

BACKGROUND Ciliopathies are a group of diseases associated with abnormal structure or function of primary cilia. Ciliopathies include polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a pathology associated with vascular hypertension. We previously showed that cilia length regulates cilia function, and cilia function is required for nitric oxide (NO) biosynthesis in endothelial cells. Because patients with PKD ...

Cilia are key subcellular organelles for the coordination of signaling pathways. The importance of cilia is underscored by the number of diseases associated with cilia dysfunction. Here we highlight recent studies on the role of cilia in signaling and disease. Sonic hedgehog (Shh)—one of three vertebrate hedgehog (Hh) proteins—is an important morphogen during development that specifies ventral ...

Mammalian cilia are ubiquitous appendages found on the apical surface of cells. Primary and motile cilia are distinct in both morphology and function. Most cells have a solitary primary cilium (9+0), which lacks the central microtubule doublet characteristic of motile cilia (9+2). The immotile primary cilia house unique signaling components and sequester several important transcription factors....