Directional cell migration and chemotaxis in wound healing response to PDGF-AA are coordinated by the primary cilium in fibroblasts.

Cell motility and migration play pivotal roles in numerous physiological and pathophysiological processes including development and tissue repair. Cell migration is regulated through external stimuli such as platelet-derived growth factor-AA (PDGF-AA), a key regulator in directional cell migration during embryonic development and a chemoattractant during postnatal migratory responses including wound healing. We previously showed that PDGFRalpha signaling is coordinated by the primary cilium in quiescent cells. However, little is known about the function of the primary cilium in cell migration. Here we used micropipette analysis to show that a normal chemosensory response to PDGF-AA in fibroblasts requires the primary cilium. In vitro and in vivo wound healing assays revealed that in ORPK mouse (IFT88(Tg737Rpw)) fibroblasts, where ciliary assembly is defective, chemotaxis towards PDGF-AA is absent, leading to unregulated high speed and uncontrolled directional cell displacement during wound closure, with subsequent defects in wound healing. These data suggest that in coordination with cytoskeletal reorganization, the fibroblast primary cilium functions via ciliary PDGFRalpha signaling to monitor directional movement during wound healing.

GEF1 is a ciliary Sec7 GEF of Tetrahymena thermophila.

Ciliary guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) potentially activate G proteins in intraflagellar transport (IFT) cargo release. Several classes of GEFs have been localized to cilia or basal bodies and shown to be functionally important in the prevention of ciliopathies, but ciliary Arl-type Sec 7 related GEFs have not been well characterized. Nair et al. [ 1999] identified a Paramecium ciliary Sec7 GEF, PSec7. In Tetrahymena, Gef1p (GEF1), tentatively identified by PSec7 antibody, possesses ciliary and nuclear targeting sequences and like PSec7 localizes to cilia and macronuclei. Upregulation of GEF1 RNA followed deciliation and subsequent ciliary regrowth. Corresponding to similar Psec7 domains, GEF1domains contain IQ-like motifs and putative PH domains, in addition to GBF/BIG canonical motifs. Genomic analysis identified two additional Tetrahymena GBF/BIG Sec7 family GEFs (GEF2, GEF3), which do not possess ciliary targeting sequences. GEF1 and GEF2 were HA modified to determine cellular localization. Cells transformed to produce appropriately truncated GEF1-HA showed localization to somatic and oral cilia, but not to macronuclei. Subtle defects in ciliary stability and function were detected. GEF2-HA localized near basal bodies but not to cilia. These results indicate that GEF1 is the resident Tetrahymena ciliary protein orthologous to PSec7. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 2009. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Long term storage of virus templated fluorescent materials for sensing applications.

Wild type, mutant, and chemically modified Cowpea mosaic viruses (CPMV) were studied for long term preservation in the presence and absence of cryoprotectants. Viral complexes were reconstituted and tested via fluorescence spectroscopy and a UV/vis-based RNase assay for structural integrity. When viruses lyophilized in the absence of cryoprotectant were rehydrated and RNase treated, UV absorption increased, indicating that the capsids were damaged. The addition of trehalose during lyophilization protected capsid integrity for at least 7 weeks. Measurements of the fluorescence peak maximum of CPMV lyophilized with trehalose and reconstituted also indicate that the virus remained intact. Microarray binding assays indicated that CPMV particles chemically modified for use as a fluorescent tracer were intact and retained binding specificity after lyophilization in the presence of trehalose. Thus, we demonstrate that functionalized CPMV nanostructures can be stored for the long term, enabling their use in practical sensing applications.

Evolution and persistence of the cilium.

The origin of cilia, a fundamental eukaryotic organelle, not present in prokaryotes, poses many problems, including the origins of motility and sensory function, the origins of nine-fold symmetry, of basal bodies, and of transport and selective mechanisms involved in ciliogenesis. We propose the basis of ciliary origin to be a self-assembly RNA enveloped virus that contains unique tubulin and tektin precursors. The virus becomes the centriole and basal body, which would account for the self-assembly and self-replicative properties of these organelles, in contrast to previous proposals of spirochaete origin or endogenous differentiation, which do not readily account for the centriole or its properties. The viral envelope evolves into a sensory bud. The host cell supplies the transport machinery and molecular motors to construct the axoneme. Polymerization of cytoplasmic microtubules in the 9+0 axoneme completes the 9+2 pattern.

Cloning, localization, and axonemal function of Tetrahymena centrin.

Centrin, an EF hand Ca(2+) binding protein, has been cloned in Tetrahymena thermophila. It is a 167 amino acid protein of 19.4 kDa with a unique N-terminal region, coded by a single gene containing an 85-base pair intron. It has > 80% homology to other centrins and high homology to Tetrahymena EF hand proteins calmodulin, TCBP23, and TCBP25. Specific cellular localizations of the closely related Tetrahymena EF hand proteins are different from centrin. Centrin is localized to basal bodies, cortical fibers in oral apparatus and ciliary rootlets, the apical filament ring and to inner arm (14S) dynein (IAD) along the ciliary axoneme. The function of centrin in Ca(2+) control of IAD activity was explored using in vitro microtubule (MT) motility assays. Ca(2+) or the Ca(2+)-mimicking peptide CALP1, which binds EF hand proteins in the absence of Ca(2+), increased MT sliding velocity. Antibodies to centrin abrogated this increase. This is the first demonstration of a specific centrin function associated with axonemal dynein. It suggests that centrin is a key regulatory protein for Tetrahymena axonemal Ca(2+) responses, including ciliary reversal or chemotaxis.