First published online May 21, 2007
Journal of Cell Science 120, 1105e (2007)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Actin stage set for ciliogenesis
Many mammalian epithelial cells have motile microtubule-based cilia protruding from their surface. Cilia have many functions; those on tracheal epithelial cells, for example, clear inhaled bacteria from the airways. Consequently, their malfunction in the human ciliopathy primary ciliary dyskinesis causes chronic respiratory infections. Although many cilia-specific proteins have been identified, mammalian ciliogenesis is poorly understood. Steven Brody and co-authors begin to rectify this situation on p. 1944 by revealing that the transcription factor Foxj1 and the small GTPase RhoA regulate the remodelling of the actin cytoskeleton needed for mammalian ciliogenesis. The authors show that RhoA is needed for the formation of a characteristic apical actin web in mouse primary airway epithelial cells. This web, they report, is required for the docking of the basal bodies of the cilia and subsequent generation of their microtubular core. They also show that Foxj1 expression coincides with actin web formation and that Foxj1 activates RhoA. The authors conclude, therefore, that Foxj1 and RhoA provide essential signals during early mammalian ciliogenesis.
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JCS 2007 120: 1944-1952.
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