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Cell Oct 2019The axoneme of motile cilia is the largest macromolecular machine of eukaryotic cells. In humans, impaired axoneme function causes a range of ciliopathies. Axoneme...
The axoneme of motile cilia is the largest macromolecular machine of eukaryotic cells. In humans, impaired axoneme function causes a range of ciliopathies. Axoneme assembly, structure, and motility require a radially arranged set of doublet microtubules, each decorated in repeating patterns with non-tubulin components. We use single-particle cryo-electron microscopy to visualize and build an atomic model of the repeating structure of a native axonemal doublet microtubule, which reveals the identities, positions, repeat lengths, and interactions of 38 associated proteins, including 33 microtubule inner proteins (MIPs). The structure demonstrates how these proteins establish the unique architecture of doublet microtubules, maintain coherent periodicities along the axoneme, and stabilize the microtubules against the repeated mechanical stress induced by ciliary motility. Our work elucidates the architectural principles that underpin the assembly of this large, repetitive eukaryotic structure and provides a molecular basis for understanding the etiology of human ciliopathies.
Topics: Axoneme; Cell Movement; Cilia; Ciliopathies; Cryoelectron Microscopy; Humans; Microtubule Proteins; Microtubules; Stress, Mechanical
PubMed: 31668805
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.09.030 -
Cell Nov 2021Dynein-decorated doublet microtubules (DMTs) are critical components of the oscillatory molecular machine of cilia, the axoneme, and have luminal surfaces patterned...
Dynein-decorated doublet microtubules (DMTs) are critical components of the oscillatory molecular machine of cilia, the axoneme, and have luminal surfaces patterned periodically by microtubule inner proteins (MIPs). Here we present an atomic model of the 48-nm repeat of a mammalian DMT, derived from a cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) map of the complex isolated from bovine respiratory cilia. The structure uncovers principles of doublet microtubule organization and features specific to vertebrate cilia, including previously unknown MIPs, a luminal bundle of tektin filaments, and a pentameric dynein-docking complex. We identify a mechanism for bridging 48- to 24-nm periodicity across the microtubule wall and show that loss of the proteins involved causes defective ciliary motility and laterality abnormalities in zebrafish and mice. Our structure identifies candidate genes for diagnosis of ciliopathies and provides a framework to understand their functions in driving ciliary motility.
Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Cattle; Cilia; Cryoelectron Microscopy; Dyneins; Embryo, Mammalian; Female; Male; Mammals; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microtubule Proteins; Microtubules; Models, Molecular; Mutation; Proteins; Trachea; Zebrafish; Zebrafish Proteins; Mice
PubMed: 34715025
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.10.007 -
International Journal of Molecular... Sep 2021Primary cilia are non-motile, cell cycle-associated organelles that can be found on most vertebrate cell types. Comprised of microtubule bundles organised into an... (Review)
Review
Primary cilia are non-motile, cell cycle-associated organelles that can be found on most vertebrate cell types. Comprised of microtubule bundles organised into an axoneme and anchored by a mature centriole or basal body, primary cilia are dynamic signalling platforms that are intimately involved in cellular responses to their extracellular milieu. Defects in ciliogenesis or dysfunction in cilia signalling underlie a host of developmental disorders collectively referred to as ciliopathies, reinforcing important roles for cilia in human health. Whilst primary cilia have long been recognised to be present in striated muscle, their role in muscle is not well understood. However, recent studies indicate important contributions, particularly in skeletal muscle, that have to date remained underappreciated. Here, we explore recent revelations that the sensory and signalling functions of cilia on muscle progenitors regulate cell cycle progression, trigger differentiation and maintain a commitment to myogenesis. Cilia disassembly is initiated during myoblast fusion. However, the remnants of primary cilia persist in multi-nucleated myotubes, and we discuss their potential role in late-stage differentiation and myofiber formation. Reciprocal interactions between cilia and the extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment described for other tissues may also inform on parallel interactions in skeletal muscle. We also discuss emerging evidence that cilia on fibroblasts/fibro-adipogenic progenitors and myofibroblasts may influence cell fate in both a cell autonomous and non-autonomous manner with critical consequences for skeletal muscle ageing and repair in response to injury and disease. This review addresses the enigmatic but emerging role of primary cilia in satellite cells in myoblasts and myofibers during myogenesis, as well as the wider tissue microenvironment required for skeletal muscle formation and homeostasis.
Topics: Animals; Axoneme; Cell Cycle; Cell Differentiation; Centrosome; Cilia; Cytoskeleton; Extracellular Matrix; Humans; Muscle Development; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal; Muscle, Skeletal; Myoblasts; Organelles; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 34502512
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22179605 -
Cells Sep 2022Cilia are eukaryotic organelles essential for movement, signaling or sensing. Primary cilia act as antennae to sense a cell's environment and are involved in a wide... (Review)
Review
Cilia are eukaryotic organelles essential for movement, signaling or sensing. Primary cilia act as antennae to sense a cell's environment and are involved in a wide range of signaling pathways essential for development. Motile cilia drive cell locomotion or liquid flow around the cell. Proper functioning of both types of cilia requires a highly orchestrated bi-directional transport system, intraflagellar transport (IFT), which is driven by motor proteins, kinesin-2 and IFT dynein. In this review, we explore how IFT is regulated in cilia, focusing from three different perspectives on the issue. First, we reflect on how the motor track, the microtubule-based axoneme, affects IFT. Second, we focus on the motor proteins, considering the role motor action, cooperation and motor-train interaction plays in the regulation of IFT. Third, we discuss the role of kinases in the regulation of the motor proteins. Our goal is to provide mechanistic insights in IFT regulation in cilia and to suggest directions of future research.
Topics: Axoneme; Biological Transport; Cilia; Dyneins; Kinesins
PubMed: 36078145
DOI: 10.3390/cells11172737 -
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in... Nov 2016Axonemal dyneins form the inner and outer rows of arms associated with the doublet microtubules of motile cilia. These enzymes convert the chemical energy released from... (Review)
Review
Axonemal dyneins form the inner and outer rows of arms associated with the doublet microtubules of motile cilia. These enzymes convert the chemical energy released from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis into mechanical work by causing the doublets to slide with respect to each other. Dyneins form two major groups based on the number of heavy-chain motors within each complex. In addition, these enzymes contain other components that are required for assembly of the complete particles and/or for the regulation of motor function in response to phosphorylations status, ligands such as Ca, changes in cellular redox state and which also apparently monitor and respond to the mechanical state or curvature in which any given motor finds itself. It is this latter property, which is thought to result in waves of motor function propagating along the axoneme length. Here, I briefly describe our current understanding of axonemal dynein structure, assembly, and organization.
Topics: Axonemal Dyneins; Axoneme; Biological Transport; Cytoplasm
PubMed: 27527589
DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a028100 -
Reproductive Medicine and Biology Apr 2016Sperm motility is driven by motile cytoskeletal elements in the tail, called axonemes. The structure of axonemes consists of 9 + 2 microtubules, molecular motors... (Review)
Review
Sperm motility is driven by motile cytoskeletal elements in the tail, called axonemes. The structure of axonemes consists of 9 + 2 microtubules, molecular motors (dyneins), and their regulatory structures. Axonemes are well conserved in motile cilia and flagella through eukaryotic evolution. Deficiency in the axonemal structure causes defects in sperm motility, and often leads to male infertility. It has been known since the 1970s that, in some cases, male infertility is linked with other symptoms or diseases such as Kartagener syndrome. Given that these links are mostly caused by deficiencies in the common components of cilia and flagella, they are called "immotile cilia syndrome" or "primary ciliary dyskinesia," or more recently, "ciliopathy," which includes deficiencies in primary and sensory cilia. Here, we review the structure of the sperm flagellum and epithelial cilia in the human body, and discuss how male fertility is linked to ciliopathy.
PubMed: 29259424
DOI: 10.1007/s12522-015-0225-5 -
Cells Jul 2021Although ubiquitously present, the relevance of cilia for vertebrate development and health has long been underrated. However, the aberration or dysfunction of ciliary... (Review)
Review
Although ubiquitously present, the relevance of cilia for vertebrate development and health has long been underrated. However, the aberration or dysfunction of ciliary structures or components results in a large heterogeneous group of disorders in mammals, termed ciliopathies. The majority of human ciliopathy cases are caused by malfunction of the ciliary dynein motor activity, powering retrograde intraflagellar transport (enabled by the cytoplasmic dynein-2 complex) or axonemal movement (axonemal dynein complexes). Despite a partially shared evolutionary developmental path and shared ciliary localization, the cytoplasmic dynein-2 and axonemal dynein functions are markedly different: while cytoplasmic dynein-2 complex dysfunction results in an ultra-rare syndromal skeleto-renal phenotype with a high lethality, axonemal dynein dysfunction is associated with a motile cilia dysfunction disorder, primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) or Kartagener syndrome, causing recurrent airway infection, degenerative lung disease, laterality defects, and infertility. In this review, we provide an overview of ciliary dynein complex compositions, their functions, clinical disease hallmarks of ciliary dynein disorders, presumed underlying pathomechanisms, and novel developments in the field.
Topics: Animals; Axonemal Dyneins; Cilia; Ciliopathies; Cytoplasmic Dyneins; Humans; Kartagener Syndrome; Polymorphism, Genetic; Short Rib-Polydactyly Syndrome
PubMed: 34440654
DOI: 10.3390/cells10081885 -
European Respiratory Review : An... Dec 2023Cilia are organelles emanating from the cell surface, consisting of an axoneme of microtubules that extends from a basal body derived from the centrioles. They are... (Review)
Review
Cilia are organelles emanating from the cell surface, consisting of an axoneme of microtubules that extends from a basal body derived from the centrioles. They are either isolated and nonmotile (primary cilia), or grouped and motile (motile cilia). Cilia are at the centre of fundamental sensory processes and are involved in a wide range of human disorders. Pulmonary cilia include motile cilia lining the epithelial cells of the conductive airways to orchestrate mucociliary clearance, and primary cilia found on nondifferentiated epithelial and mesenchymal cells acting as sensors and cell cycle keepers. Whereas cilia are essential along the airways, their regulatory molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood, resulting in a lack of therapeutic strategies targeting their structure or functions. This review summarises the current knowledge on cilia in the context of lung homeostasis and COPD to provide a comprehensive overview of the (patho)biology of cilia in respiratory medicine with a particular emphasis on COPD.
Topics: Humans; Lung; Mucociliary Clearance; Axoneme; Cilia; Epithelial Cells; Homeostasis; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
PubMed: 38056888
DOI: 10.1183/16000617.0106-2023 -
Nature Communications Jan 2024Tubulin-based microtubule is a core component of flagella axoneme and essential for sperm motility and male fertility. Structural components of the axoneme have been...
Tubulin-based microtubule is a core component of flagella axoneme and essential for sperm motility and male fertility. Structural components of the axoneme have been well explored. However, how tubulin folding is regulated in sperm flagella formation is still largely unknown. Here, we report a germ cell-specific co-factor of CCT complex, STYXL1. Deletion of Styxl1 results in male infertility and microtubule defects of sperm flagella. Proteomic analysis of Styxl1 sperm reveals abnormal downregulation of flagella-related proteins including tubulins. The N-terminal rhodanese-like domain of STYXL1 is important for its interactions with CCT complex subunits, CCT1, CCT6 and CCT7. Styxl1 deletion leads to defects in CCT complex assembly and tubulin polymerization. Collectively, our findings reveal the vital roles of germ cell-specific STYXL1 in CCT-facilitated tubulin folding and sperm flagella development.
Topics: Male; Humans; Tubulin; Proteomics; Sperm Motility; Semen; Spermatozoa; Flagella; Axoneme
PubMed: 38168070
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44337-1 -
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology Jan 2021In motile cilia, a mechanoregulatory network is responsible for converting the action of thousands of dynein motors bound to doublet microtubules into a single...
In motile cilia, a mechanoregulatory network is responsible for converting the action of thousands of dynein motors bound to doublet microtubules into a single propulsive waveform. Here, we use two complementary cryo-EM strategies to determine structures of the major mechanoregulators that bind ciliary doublet microtubules in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We determine structures of isolated radial spoke RS1 and the microtubule-bound RS1, RS2 and the nexin-dynein regulatory complex (N-DRC). From these structures, we identify and build atomic models for 30 proteins, including 23 radial-spoke subunits. We reveal how mechanoregulatory complexes dock to doublet microtubules with regular 96-nm periodicity and communicate with one another. Additionally, we observe a direct and dynamically coupled association between RS2 and the dynein motor inner dynein arm subform c (IDAc), providing a molecular basis for the control of motor activity by mechanical signals. These structures advance our understanding of the role of mechanoregulation in defining the ciliary waveform.
Topics: Axoneme; Biomechanical Phenomena; Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; Cilia; Cryoelectron Microscopy; Cytoskeletal Proteins; Dyneins; Flagella; Locomotion; Microtubules; Models, Molecular; Plant Proteins; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Signal Transduction; Sorting Nexins
PubMed: 33318703
DOI: 10.1038/s41594-020-00530-0