Lancaster Madeline A, Gleeson Joseph G
Biomedical Sciences Program, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, United States.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2009 Jun;19(3):220-9. doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2009.04.008. Epub 2009 May 22.
Genetic diseases known as ciliopathies have recently entered the limelight, placing new importance on a previously mysterious organelle: the primary cilium. Mutations affecting the primary cilium in both humans and animal models can lead to a plethora of distinct phenotypes including retinal degeneration, kidney cysts, and brain malformations. New findings are quickly lending insight into the functions of this cellular extension that seems to be especially important in modulation of subcellular signaling cascades at various stages of development and adult homeostasis.
被称为纤毛病的遗传疾病最近备受关注,使一个以前神秘的细胞器——初级纤毛——有了新的重要性。影响人类和动物模型中初级纤毛的突变可导致大量不同的表型,包括视网膜变性、肾囊肿和脑畸形。新的发现正在迅速揭示这种细胞延伸结构的功能,它似乎在发育和成年稳态的各个阶段对亚细胞信号级联的调节中特别重要。