In most vertebrates, mitotic spindles and primary cilia arise from a common origin, the centrosome. In non-cycling cells, the centrosome is the template for primary cilia assembly and, thus, is crucial for their associated sensory and signaling functions. During mitosis, the duplicated centrosomes mature into spindle poles, which orchestrate mitotic spindle assembly, chromosome segregation, and orientation of the cell division axis. Intriguingly, both cilia and spindle poles are centrosome-based, functionally distinct structures that require the action of microtubulemediated, motor-driven transport for their assembly. Cilia proteins have been found at non-cilia sites, where they have distinct functions, illustrating a diverse and growing list of cellular processes and structures that utilize cilia proteins for crucial functions. In this review, we discuss cilia-independent functions of cilia proteins and re-evaluate their potential contributions to "cilia" disorders. See the Glossary for abbreviations used in this article.
Cilia proteins and cilia disorders-is there more?Primary cilia (henceforth called "cilia") are present in almost all cell types, lymphoid cells being one exception. Thus, cilia proteins have the potential to adversely affect numerous organs and tissues when disrupted. Over the past 10-15 years, cilia loss and/or dysfunction have been linked to numerous human disorders, collectively termed ciliopathies. Phenotypes associated with cilia dysfunction are often syndromic and include cystic kidneys, polydactyly, situs inversus, obesity, and encephalocele [1], to name a few. For example, disruption of cilia-based Hedgehog (Hh) signaling has been implicated in polydactyly [2,3] and disruption of cilia-based signaling through Ca 2+ or planar cell polarity (PCP) has been linked to cystogenesis [4,5]. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that cilia proteins are, in fact, multifunctional. In addition to their localization to cilia, many localize to and are bona fide components of centrosomes, as well as other cellular organelles and structures. At these non-cilia sites, cilia proteins perform functions distinct from their ciliary roles. Thus, we contend that disruption of cilia proteins-historically named for their localization to cilia, as well as their association with cilia defects and cilia-related disorderscan additionally disrupt spindle poles and an expanding list of cellular structures that impact numerous cellular functions. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to determine which of these cellular functions and which of the these non-cilia organelles truly contribute to ciliopathies when cilia proteins are disrupted [6,7]. In this review, we first explore the diversity of cilia-independent processes that involve cilia proteins and then discuss alternative hypotheses for the etiology of "ciliopathies".The centrosome, a common thread between cilia and mitosisMost vertebrate centrosomes are comprised of two centriole barrels surrounded by pericentriolar material (PCM). A...