Abstract
Purpose :
In eukaryotic cells, flagella and cilia are microtubule based cellular organelles. Their structure and functions are remarkably conserved throughout the species. In human retina, a photoreceptor cell is a specialized sensory neuron that responses to the light, which have a modified cilium named as the outer segment (OS). Precise control of OS components trafficking into and out of the OS is essential for its assembly, maintenance and regeneration.This study is to study the molecular mechanisms that control ciliary entry for photoreceptor maintenance.
Methods :
Here we use different nuclear transport inhibitors, combined with molecular and genetic methods, to characterize the role of nuclear transport in flagellar entry regulation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, an ideal model organism for investigating flagellar assembly and function
Results :
We showed that inhibition of importin β-mediated nuclear import shortens flagellar length, whereas blockage of CRM1-mediated nuclear export has no obvious effect. We also investigate the intracellular localization of various Chlamydomonas reinhardtii nucleoporin orthologs and hypothesize that nucleoporin localization in the flagellar barrier is cell type dependent. Finally, we analyze the role of small GTPase (RAN1) mediated nuclear import in flagellar protein trafficking and length regulation. Our results will provide new insights into OS proteins trafficking and regulation.
Conclusions :
Inhibition of nuclear import can shorten flagellar length and regulate cilliary proteins trafficking.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.