The primary cilium, a hair-like sensory organelle found on most mammalian cells, has gained recent attention within the field of neuroscience. Although neural primary cilia have been known to play a role in embryonic central nervous system patterning, we are just beginning to appreciate their importance in the mature organism. After several decades of investigation and controversy, the neural p...

Primary cilia have critical roles in coordinating multiple cellular signaling pathways. Dysregulation of primary cilia is implicated in various ciliopathies. To identify specific regulators of autophagy, we screened chemical libraries and identified mefloquine, an anti-malaria medicine, as a potent regulator of primary cilia in human retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells. Not only ciliated c...

Par3 is a PDZ protein important for the formation of junctional complexes in epithelial cells. We have identified an additional role for Par3 in membrane biogenesis. Although Par3 was not required for maintaining polarized apical or basolateral membrane domains, at the apical surface, Par3 was absolutely essential for the growth and elongation of the primary cilium. The activity reflected its a...

Primary cilium is an antenna-like and non-motile structure protruding from the apical surface of most mammalian cells including endothelial lining inner side all blood vessels in our body. Although it has been over a century since primary cilia were discovered, investigation about their mechano-sensing other roles maintaining normal functions cardiovascular system just started recent years. Thi...

The primary cilium was first so named by Sergei Sorokin in 1968.[1] Since the discovery of primary cilium in 1898 by Zimmerman, three major hypotheses for their function have been put forth. The first is that primary cilia are vestigial organelles inherited from an ancestor whose cells had motile cilia and now are of no purpose in multicellular organisms. The second is that they are involved in...

Defects in the assembly or function of primary cilia, which are sensory organelles, are tightly coupled to developmental defects and diseases in mammals. Here, we investigated the function of the primary cilium in regulating hedgehog signaling and early cardiogenesis. We report that the pluripotent P19.CL6 mouse stem cell line, which can differentiate into beating cardiomyocytes, forms primary ...