Cilia are endowed with membrane receptors, channels, and signaling components whose localization and function must be tightly controlled. In primary cilia of mammalian kidney epithelia and sensory cilia of Caenorhabditis elegans neurons, polycystin-1 (PC1) and transient receptor polycystin-2 channel (TRPP2 or PC2), function together as a mechanosensory receptor-channel complex. Despite the importance of the polycystins in sensory transduction, the mechanisms that regulate polycystin activity and localization, or ciliary membrane receptors in general, remain poorly understood. We demonstrate that signal transduction adaptor molecule STAM-1A interacts with C. elegans LOV-1 (PC1), and that STAM functions with hepatocyte growth factor-regulated tyrosine kinase substrate (Hrs) on early endosomes to direct the LOV-1-PKD-2 complex for lysosomal degradation. In a stam-1 mutant, both LOV-1 and PKD-2 improperly accumulate at the ciliary base. Conversely, overexpression of STAM or Hrs promotes the removal of PKD-2 from cilia, culminating in sensory behavioral defects. These data reveal that the STAM-Hrs complex, which down-regulates ligand-activated growth factor receptors from the cell surface of yeast and mammalian cells, also regulates the localization and signaling of a ciliary PC1 receptor-TRPP2 complex.
INTRODUCTIONCilia are specialized organelles that function in motility (motile or nodal cilia) or sensation (sensory or primary cilia). Several human genetic diseases are linked to defects in cilia formation or function Badano et al., 2006). Ciliary assembly via intraflagellar transport (IFT) and sensory transduction capabilities are evolutionarily conserved . These sensory devices, recently referred to as "antennae" or "nanomachines," transduce a plethora of sensory stimuli and must be fine-tuned both temporally and spatially to execute their cellular functions (Marshall and Nonaka, 2006;Scholey and Anderson, 2006;Singla and Reiter, 2006). Significant advances have been made in understanding cilia biogenesis and the genetic basis of human ciliary disease. In contrast, little is known regarding how cilia perceive, integrate, and transduce multiple extracellular stimuli into precise developmental and physiological responses.Sensory cilia are best known for their roles in photoreception and olfaction, which require G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) on the ciliary membrane (Buck and Axel, 1991;Marszalek et al., 2000). Cilia also act in mechanosensory and osmotic capacities and require ciliary localization of transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels (Tobin et al., 2002;Kim et al., 2003;Nauli et al., 2003). Recently, vertebrate cilia have been shown to mediate not only environmental inputs, but also the Hedgehog (Hh) developmental cue that triggers translocation of the Smoothened (Smo) GPCR into the cilium (May et al., 2005;Huangfu and Anderson, 2006). Vertebrate cilia also express the somatostatin receptor sst3, serotonin 5-HT 6 receptor, platelet-derived growth factor receptor ␣ (PDGFR ␣) and epidermal growth fa...