Cilia and Ciliopathies

Abstract: Cilia are microtubule-based structures that protrude outside the cell surface of almost all types of mammalian cells. Recently， cilia have been under intensive studies because their defects are linked to various human diseases. In addition to roles in cell motility， cilia serve as an antenna to perform diverse cellular signaling. Cilia are involved in sensory transduction， developmental signaling and cell cycle progression. The study of cilia assembly， disassembly， length control as well as ciliary signaling has important implications for human disease. In this short review， we present recent advances on various aspects of ciliary biology and human disease resulted from ciliary defects.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2012.09.0001