Polycystic kidney disease and related syndromes involve dysregulation of cell proliferation in conjunction with ciliary defects. The relationship between cilia and cell cycle is enigmatic, but it may involve regulation by the NIMA-family of kinases (Neks). We previously showed that the Nek Fa2p is important for ciliary function and cell cycle in Chlamydomonas. We now show that Fa2p localizes to an important regulatory site at the proximal end of cilia in both Chlamydomonas and a mouse kidney cell line. Fa2p also is associated with the proximal end of centrioles. Its localization is dynamic during the cell cycle, following a similar pattern in both cell types. The cell cycle function of Fa2p is kinase independent, whereas its ciliary function is kinase dependent. Mice with mutations in Nek1 or Nek8 have cystic kidneys; therefore, our discovery that a member of this phylogenetic group of Nek proteins is localized to the same sites in Chlamydomonas and kidney epithelial cells suggests that Neks play conserved roles in the coordination of cilia and cell cycle progression. INTRODUCTIONThe Nek family of kinases is defined by sequence similarity to NIMA, the Aspergillus kinase that is essential for entry into mitosis (reviewed by Morris and Enos, 1992;O'Connell et al., 2003). Fungi and higher plants encode only one or a few members of this family (Kambouris et al., 1993;Pu et al., 1995;Krien et al., 1998;Wang et al., 2003), but in organisms with centrioles and cilia, such as humans and Chlamydomonas, the family is expanded to 10 or more members (O'Connell et al., 2003;Bradley et al., 2004; Bradley and Quarmby, unpublished data), some of which affect ciliary length (Wloga, Rogowski, and Gaertig, ASCB meeting, 2003, Abstract 2439). We recently reported that the Chlamydomonas Nek Fa2p participates in ciliary function and cell cycle progression (Mahjoub et al., 2002).An emerging pattern suggests that a variety of human syndromes are related to defects in the assembly, maintenance, or function of cilia (Ong and Wheatley, 2003;Pazour and Witman, 2003;Li et al., 2004;Sun et al., 2004). Ciliopathies, including polycystic kidney disease, Bardet-Beidl syndrome, and nephronophthisis include kidney cyst formation as an important component of a pleiotropic syndrome (Mykytyn and Sheffield, 2004;Wilson, 2004). This important consequence of these diseases arises, in part, from dysregulation of cell proliferation in conjunction with ciliary dysfunction. Of particular relevance to the current study are reports that mutations in vertebrate Nek1 and Nek8 cause cystic kidneys in mice and zebrafish (Upadhya et al., 2000;Liu et al., 2002).The relationship between cilia and cell cycle progression is poorly understood. In many cells, entry into the cell cycle is preceded by ciliary disassembly, and exit from mitosis is accompanied by ciliary assembly, a relationship that may reflect the use of the basal bodies/centrioles as mitotic spindle poles (Tucker and Pardee, 1979;Ehler et al., 1995;Wheatley et al., 1996). Consistent with this idea, si...

Katanin is a microtubule-severing protein that participates in the regulation of cell cycle progression and in ciliary disassembly, but its precise role is not known for either activity. Our data suggest that in Chlamydomonas, katanin severs doublet microtubules at the proximal end of the flagellar transition zone, allowing disengagement of the basal body from the flagellum before mitosis. Using an RNA interference approach we have discovered that severe knockdown of the p60 subunit of katanin, KAT1, is achieved only in cells that also carry secondary mutations that disrupt ciliogenesis. Importantly, we observed that cells in the process of cell cycle-induced flagellar resorption sever the flagella from the basal bodies before resorption is complete, and we find that this process is defective in KAT1 knockdown cells.

Cilia are necessary for normal tissue development and homeostasis and are generally present during interphase, but not in mitosis. The precise mechanism of pre-mitotic ciliary loss has been controversial, with data supporting either sequential disassembly through the transition zone or, alternatively, a severing event at the base of the cilia. Here we show by live cell imaging and immunofluoresence microscopy that resorbing flagella of Chlamydomonas leave remnants associated with the mother cell wall. We postulated that the remnants are the product of severing of doublet microtubules between the basal bodies and the flagellar transition zone, thereby freeing the centrioles to participate in spindle organization. We show via TEM that flagellar remnants are indeed flagellar transition zones encased in vesicles derived from the flagellar membrane. This transition zone vesicle can be lodged within the cell wall or it can be expelled into the environment. This process is observable in Chlamydomonas, first because the released flagellar remnants can remain associated with the cell by virtue of attachments to the cell wall, and second because the Chlamydomonas transition zone is particularly rich with electron-dense structure. However, release of basal bodies for spindle-associated function is likely to be conserved among the eukaryotes.