title: Methods for Studying Ciliary Import Mechanisms.
abstract: Cilia and flagella are microtubule-based organelles that play important roles in human health by contributing to cellular motility as well as sensing and responding to environmental cues. Defects in cilia formation and function cause a broad class of human genetic diseases called ciliopathies. To carry out their specialized functions, cilia contain a unique complement of proteins that must be imported into the ciliary compartment. In this chapter, we describe methods to measure the permeability barrier of the ciliary gate by microinjection of fluorescent proteins and dextrans of different sizes into ciliated cells. We also describe a fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) assay to measure the entry of ciliary proteins into the ciliary compartment. These assays can be used to determine the molecular mechanisms that regulate the formation and function of cilia in mammalian cells.
authors: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors: Daisuke
authors: D
authors: Takao
authors: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. kjverhey@umich.edu.
authors: Kristen J
authors: KJ
authors: Verhey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002923:Cilia / Q000378:metabolism*; D036681:Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching; D015870:Gene Expression; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008845:Microinjections; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species
keywords: Cilia; Ciliary import; FRAP; Microinjection; Nuclear import