The mouse radial spoke protein 3 is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein that promotes neurogenesis

Combover interacts with the axonemal component Rsp3 and is required for Drosophila sperm individualization

Gamete formation is key to survival of higher organisms. In male animals, spermatogenesis gives rise to interconnected spermatids that differentiate and individualize into mature sperm, each tightly enclosed by a plasma membrane. In Drosophila melanogaster, individualization of sister spermatids requires the formation of specialized actin cones that synchronously move along the sperm tails, removing inter-spermatid bridges and most of the cytoplasm. Here, we show that Combover (Cmb), originally identified as an effector of planar cell polarity (PCP) under control of Rho kinase, is essential for sperm individualization. cmb mutants are male sterile, with actin cones that fail to move in a synchronized manner along the flagella, despite being correctly formed and polarized initially. These defects are germline autonomous, independent of PCP genes, and can be rescued by wild-type Cmb, but not by a version of Cmb in which known Rho kinase phosphorylation sites are mutated. Furthermore, Cmb binds to the axonemal component Radial spoke protein 3, knockdown of which causes similar individualization defects, suggesting that Cmb coordinates the individualization machinery with the microtubular axonemes.

The conserved ancestral signaling pathway from cilium to nucleus

Many signaling molecules are localized to both the primary cilium and nucleus. Localization of specific transmembrane receptors and their signaling scaffold molecules in the cilium is necessary for correct physiological function. After a specific signaling event, signaling molecules leave the cilium, usually in the form of an endocytic vesicle scaffold, and move to the nucleus, where they dissociate from the scaffold and enter the nucleus to affect gene expression. This ancient pathway probably arose very early in eukaryotic evolution as the nucleus and cilium co-evolved. Because there are similarities in molecular composition of the nuclear and ciliary pores the entry and exit of proteins in both organelles rely on similar mechanisms. In this Hypothesis, we propose that the pathway is a dynamic universal cilia-based signaling pathway with some variations from protists to man. Everywhere the cilium functions as an important organelle for molecular storage of certain key receptors and selection and concentration of their associated signaling molecules that move from cilium to nucleus. This could also have important implications for human diseases such as Huntington disease.

Nuclear roles for cilia-associated proteins

Cilia appear to be derived, evolutionarily, from structures present in the ancestral (pre-ciliary) eukaryote, such as microtubule-based vesicle trafficking and chromosome segregation systems. Experimental observations suggest that the ciliary gate, the molecular complex that mediates the selective molecular movement between cytoplasmic and ciliary compartments, shares features with nuclear pores. Our hypothesis is that this shared transport machinery is at least partially responsible for the observation that a number of ciliary and ciliogenesis-associated proteins are found within nuclei where they play roles in the regulation of gene expression, DNA repair, and nuclear import and export. Recognizing the potential for such nuclear roles is critical when considering the phenotypic effects that arise from the mutational modification of ciliary proteins.

CILIA: before and after

This is a history of cilia research before and after the discovery of intraflagellar transport (IFT) and the link between primary cilia ciliogenesis and polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Before IFT, ca. the beginning of the new millennium, although sensory and primary cilia were well described, research was largely focused on motile cilia, their structure, movement, and biogenesis. After IFT and the link to PKD, although work on motile cilia has continued to progress, research on primary cilia has exploded, leading to new insights into the role of cilia in cell signaling and development. Genomics, proteomics, and new imaging techniques have unified the field and pointed out the critical role of cilia as a restricted cell organellar compartment, functionally integrated with other cell organelles including the autophagosome and the nucleus.

The function of sperm-associated antigen 6 in neuronal proliferation and differentiation

Sperm-associated antigen 6 (SPAG6) is initially found in human testis and is essential for sperm motility and male fertility. Later studies indicate that it also express in the chick Central Nervous System and human embryonic stem cells. However, the function of Spag6 in cortical development is still largely unclear. Using in utero electroporation, we showed that overexpression of Spag6 induced the transfected cells excluded from the proliferation zone of the mouse cortex. Ki67 Co-labeling and BrdU incorporation experiment suggested that overexpression of Spag6 inhibited proliferation of neural progenitor cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Spag6-overexpressing cells preferred to differentiated into neurons, which could be labeled by Brn2, rather than GFAP positive astrocytes. Taken together, our data indicate that Spag6 plays an essential role in the process of neuronal proliferation and differentiation.