title: Neoexpression of a functional primary cilium in colorectal cancer cells.
abstract: The Hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway is involved in the maintenance of numerous cell types both during development and in the adult. Often deregulated in cancers, its involvement in colorectal cancer has come into view during the last few years, although its role remains poorly defined. In most tissues, the HH pathway is highly connected to the primary cilium (PC), an organelle that recruits functional components and regulates the HH pathway. However, normal epithelial cells of the colon display an inactive HH pathway and lack a PC. In this study, we report the presence of the PC in adenocarcinoma cells of primary colorectal tumors at all stages. Using human colorectal cancer cell lines we found a clear correlation between the presence of the PC and the expression of the final HH effector, GLI1, and provide evidence of a functional link between the two by demonstrating the recruitment of the SMO receptor to the membrane of the primary cilium. We conclude that the primary cilium directly participates in the HH pathway in colorectal cancer cells.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Intestinal Physiopathology, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada.
authors.forename: Blanche
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sénicourt
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Intestinal Physiopathology, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada.
authors.forename: Salah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boudjadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada.
authors.forename: Julie C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Carrier
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Intestinal Physiopathology, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Beaulieu
keywords: Biological sciences; Cell biology