Specification of the mammalian left–right (L–R) axis is controlled by fluid flows in the embryonic node, a ciliated pit like structure located at the distal tip of the mouse embryo. Nodal cilia rotate so as to cause a leftward fluid flow-this has been experimentally demonstrated to control embryonic sidedness. How the embryo interprets this flow remains the subject of debate. The two cilia hypo...

Specification of the mammalian left–right (L–R) axis is controlled by fluid flows in the embryonic node, a ciliated pit like structure located at the distal tip of the mouse embryo. Nodal cilia rotate so as to cause a leftward fluid flow-this has been experimentally demonstrated to control embryonic sidedness. How the embryo interprets this flow remains the subject of debate. The two cilia hypo...

Most central neurons in the mammalian brain possess an appendage called a primary cilium that projects from the soma into the extracellular space. The importance of these organelles is highlighted by the fact that primary cilia dysfunction is associated with numerous neuropathologies, including hyperphagia-induced obesity, hypogonadism, and learning and memory deficits. Neuronal cilia are enric...

The choroid plexus is located in the ventricular wall of the brain, the main function of which is believed to be production of cerebrospinal fluid. Choroid plexus epithelial cells (CPECs) covering the surface of choroid plexus tissue harbor multiple unique cilia, but most of the functions of these cilia remain to be investigated. To uncover the function of CPEC cilia with particular reference t...

Cilia are microtubule based organelles that project from cells. Cilia are found on almost every cell type of the human body and numerous diseases, collectively termed ciliopathies, are associated with defects in cilia, including respiratory infections, male infertility, situs inversus, polycystic kidney disease, retinal degeneration, and Bardet-Biedl Syndrome. Here we show that Illumina-based w...

Flexible and magnetic artificial cilia were grown on various substrates by a facile bottom-up approach based on template-free magnetic assembly. The magnetic cilia formed spontaneously from a suspension of micrometer-sized ferromagnetic particles and elastomeric polymer in a liquid solvent when dried in an external magnetic field. The cilia mimics were mechanically stable even in the absence of...

Primary cilia are ubiquitous cellular antennae whose dysfunction collectively causes various disorders, including vision and hearing impairment, as well as renal, skeletal, and central nervous system anomalies. One ciliopathy, Alström syndrome, is closely related to Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), sharing amongst other phenotypic features morbid obesity. As the cellular and molecular links between...

Although primary cilia are increasingly recognized to play sensory roles in several cellular systems, their role in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) has not been defined. We examined in situ position/orientation of primary cilia and ciliary proteins in VSMCs and tested the hypothesis that primary cilia of VSMCs exert sensory functions. By immunofluorescence and electron microscopic imaging,...

Although primary cilia are well established as important sensory and signaling structures, their function in most tissues remains unknown. Obesity is a feature associated with some syndromes of cilia dysfunction, such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) and Alström syndrome, as well as in several cilia mutant mouse models. Recent data indicate that obesity in BBS mutant mice is due to defects in lep...

The cilia of Tetrahymena were amputated by the use of a procedure in which the cells remained viable and regenerated cilia. Deciliated cells were nonmotile, and cilia regeneration was assessed by scoring the percentage of motile cells at intervals following deciliation. After a 30-min lag, the deciliated cells rapidly recovered motility until more than 90% of the cells were motile at 70 min aft...