Reactome | Cilium Assembly

Cilium Assembly

Stable Identifier

R-HSA-5617833

DOI

10.3180/REACT_268265.1

Type

Pathway

Species

Homo sapiens

ReviewStatus

4/5

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Cilia are membrane-covered organelles that extend from the surface of eukaryotic cells. Cilia may be motile, such as respiratory cilia) or non-motile (such as the primary cilium) and are distinguished by the structure of their microtubule-based axonemes. The axoneme consists of nine peripheral doublet microtubules, and in the case of many motile cilia, may also contain a pair of central single microtubules. These are referred to as 9+0 or 9+2 axonemes, respectively. Relative to their non-motile counterparts, motile cilia also contain additional structures that contribute to motion, including inner and outer dynein arms, radial spokes and nexin links. Four main types of cilia have been identified in humans: 9+2 motile (such as respiratory cilia), 9+0 motile (nodal cilia), 9+2 non-motile (kinocilium of hair cells) and 9+0 non-motile (primary cilium and photoreceptor cells) (reviewed in Fliegauf et al, 2007).

Cilium biogenesis involves the anchoring of the basal body, a centriole-derived organelle, near the plasma membrane and the subsequent polymerization of the microtubule-based axoneme and extension of the plasma membrane (reviewed in Ishikawa and Marshall, 2011; Reiter et al, 2012). Although the ciliary membrane is continuous with the plasma membrane, the protein and lipid content of the cilium and the ciliary membrane are distinct from those of the bulk cytoplasm and plasma membrane (reviewed in Emmer et al, 2010; Rohatgi and Snell, 2010). This specialized compartment is established and maintained during cilium biogenesis by the formation of a ciliary transition zone, a proteinaceous structure that, with the transition fibres, anchors the basal body to the plasma membrane and acts as a ciliary pore to limit free diffusion from the cytosol to the cilium (reviewed in Nachury et al, 2010; Reiter et al, 2012). Ciliary components are targeted from the secretory system to the ciliary base and subsequently transported to the ciliary tip, where extension of the axoneme occurs, by a motor-driven process called intraflagellar transport (IFT). Anterograde transport of cargo from the ciliary base to the tip of the cilium requires kinesin-2 type motors, while the dynein-2 motor is required for retrograde transport back to the ciliary base. In addition, both anterograde and retrograde transport depend on the IFT complex, a multiprotein assembly consisting of two subcomplexes, IFT A and IFT B.

The importance of the cilium in signaling and cell biology is highlighted by the wide range of defects and disorders, collectively known as ciliopathies, that arise as the result of mutations in genes encoding components of the ciliary machinery (reviewed in Goetz and Anderson, 2010; Madhivanan and Aguilar, 2014).

Literature References

PubMed ID	Title	Journal	Year
22118932	Architecture and function of IFT complex proteins in ciliogenesis Taschner, M, Bhogaraju, S, Lorentzen, E	Differentiation	2012
20395968	The primary cilium: a signalling centre during vertebrate development Goetz, SC, Anderson, KV	Nat. Rev. Genet.	2010
19575670	Trafficking to the ciliary membrane: how to get across the periciliary diffusion barrier? Nachury, MV, Seeley, ES, Jin, H	Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol.	2010
17955020	When cilia go bad: cilia defects and ciliopathies Fliegauf, M, Benzing, T, Omran, H	Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol.	2007
24296415	The roles of evolutionarily conserved functional modules in cilia-related trafficking Sung, CH, Leroux, MR	Nat. Cell Biol.	2013
25040720	Ciliopathies: the trafficking connection Madhivanan, K, Aguilar, RC	Traffic	2014
23351793	Trafficking in and to the primary cilium Hsiao, YC, Tuz, K, Ferland, RJ	Cilia	2012
20145001	Molecular mechanisms of protein and lipid targeting to ciliary membranes Emmer, BT, Maric, D, Engman, DM	J. Cell. Sci.	2010
23945166	Intraflagellar transport complex structure and cargo interactions Bhogaraju, S, Engel, BD, Lorentzen, E	Cilia	2013
22389062	The emerging role of Arf/Arl small GTPases in cilia and ciliopathies Li, Y, Ling, K, Hu, J	J. Cell. Biochem.	2012
20399632	The ciliary membrane Rohatgi, R, Snell, WJ	Curr. Opin. Cell Biol.	2010
22653444	The base of the cilium: roles for transition fibres and the transition zone in ciliary formation, maintenance and compartmentalization Reiter, JF, Blacque, OE, Leroux, MR	EMBO Rep.	2012
21427764	Ciliogenesis: building the cell's antenna Ishikawa, H, Marshall, WF	Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol.	2011