scholarly journals CFAP61 is required for sperm flagellum formation and male fertility in human and mouse

Development ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siyu Liu ◽  
Jintao Zhang ◽  
Zine Eddine Kherraf ◽  
Shuya Sun ◽  
Xin Zhang ◽  
...  

Defects in the structure or motility of cilia and flagella may lead to severe diseases such as primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a multisystemic disorder with heterogeneous manifestations affecting primarily respiratory and reproductive functions. We report that CFAP61 is a conserved component of the Calmodulin and radial Spoke associated Complex (CSC) of cilia. We find that a CFAP61 splice variant, c.143+5G>A, causes exon skipping/ intron retention in human, inducing a multiple morphological abnormalities of the flagella (MMAF) phenotype. We generated Cfap61 knockout mice that recapitulate the infertility phenotype of the human CFAP61 mutation, but without other symptoms usually observed in PCD. We find that CFAP61 interacts with the CSC, radial spoke (RS) stalk and head. During early stages of Cfap61−/- spermatid development, the assembly of RS components is impaired. With the progress of spermiogenesis, the axoneme in Cfap61−/- cells becomes unstable and scatters, and the distribution of intraflagellar transport proteins is disrupted. This study reveals an organ specific mechanism of axoneme stabilization that is related to male infertility.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siyu Liu ◽  
Jintao Zhang ◽  
Zine Eddine Kherraf ◽  
Shuya Sun ◽  
Xin Zhang ◽  
...  

Defects in the structure or motility of cilia and flagella may lead to severe diseases such as primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a multisystemic disorder with heterogeneous manifestations affecting primarily respiratory and reproductive functions. We report that CFAP61 is a conserved component of the Calmodulin and radial Spoke associated Complex (CSC) of cilia. We find that a CFAP61 splice variant, c.143+5G>A, causes exon skipping in human, inducing a multiple morphological abnormalities of the flagella (MMAF) phenotype. We generated Cfap61 knockout mice that recapitulate the infertility phenotype of the human CFAP61 mutation, but without other symptoms usually observed in PCD. We find that CFAP61 interacts with the CSC, radial spoke stalk and RS head. During early stages of Cfap61-/- spermatid development, the assembly of RS components is impaired. With the progress of spermiogenesis, the axoneme in Cfap61-/- cells becomes unstable and scatters, and the distribution of intraflagellar transport proteins is disrupted.


2021 ◽  
pp. mbc.E20-12-0806
Author(s):  
Yanhe Zhao ◽  
Justine Pinskey ◽  
Jianfeng Lin ◽  
Weining Yin ◽  
Patrick R. Sears ◽  
...  

Cilia and flagella are evolutionarily conserved eukaryotic organelles involved in cell motility and signaling. In humans, mutations in Radial Spoke Head Protein 4 homolog A ( RSPH4A) can lead to primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a life-shortening disease characterized by chronic respiratory tract infections, abnormal organ positioning, and infertility. Despite its importance for human health, the location of RSPH4A in human cilia has not been resolved, and the structural basis of RSPH4A-/- PCD remains elusive. Here, we present the native, three-dimensional structure of RSPH4A-/- human respiratory cilia using samples collected non-invasively from a PCD patient. Using cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging, we compared the structures of control and RSPH4A-/- cilia, revealing primary defects in two of the three radial spokes (RSs) within the axonemal repeat and secondary (heterogeneous) defects in the central pair complex. Similar to RSPH1-/- cilia, the radial spoke heads of RS1 and RS2, but not RS3, were missing in RSPH4A-/- cilia. However, RSPH4A-/- cilia also exhibited defects within the arch domains adjacent to the RS1 and RS2 heads, which were not observed with RSPH1 loss. Our results provide insight into the underlying structural basis for RSPH4A-/- PCD and highlight the benefits of applying cryo-ET directly to patient samples for molecular structure determination. [Media: see text]


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guiomar Martín ◽  
Yamile Márquez ◽  
Federica Mantica ◽  
Paula Duque ◽  
Manuel Irimia

Abstract Background Alternative splicing (AS) is a widespread regulatory mechanism in multicellular organisms. Numerous transcriptomic and single-gene studies in plants have investigated AS in response to specific conditions, especially environmental stress, unveiling substantial amounts of intron retention that modulate gene expression. However, a comprehensive study contrasting stress-response and tissue-specific AS patterns and directly comparing them with those of animal models is still missing. Results We generate a massive resource for Arabidopsis thaliana, PastDB, comprising AS and gene expression quantifications across tissues, development and environmental conditions, including abiotic and biotic stresses. Harmonized analysis of these datasets reveals that A. thaliana shows high levels of AS, similar to fruitflies, and that, compared to animals, disproportionately uses AS for stress responses. We identify core sets of genes regulated specifically by either AS or transcription upon stresses or among tissues, a regulatory specialization that is tightly mirrored by the genomic features of these genes. Unexpectedly, non-intron retention events, including exon skipping, are overrepresented across regulated AS sets in A. thaliana, being also largely involved in modulating gene expression through NMD and uORF inclusion. Conclusions Non-intron retention events have likely been functionally underrated in plants. AS constitutes a distinct regulatory layer controlling gene expression upon internal and external stimuli whose target genes and master regulators are hardwired at the genomic level to specifically undergo post-transcriptional regulation. Given the higher relevance of AS in the response to different stresses when compared to animals, this molecular hardwiring is likely required for a proper environmental response in A. thaliana.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 976-987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Yang ◽  
Deborah A. Cochran ◽  
Mary D. Gargano ◽  
Iryna King ◽  
Nayef K. Samhat ◽  
...  

Eukaryotic cilia and flagella are vital sensory and motile organelles. The calcium channel PKD2 mediates sensory perception on cilia and flagella, and defects in this can contribute to ciliopathic diseases. Signaling from Pkd2-dependent Ca2+ rise in the cilium to downstream effectors may require intermediary proteins that are largely unknown. To identify these proteins, we carried out genetic screens for mutations affecting Drosophila melanogaster sperm storage, a process mediated by Drosophila Pkd2. Here we show that a new mutation lost boys (lobo) encodes a conserved flagellar protein CG34110, which corresponds to vertebrate Ccdc135 (E = 6e-78) highly expressed in ciliated respiratory epithelia and sperm, and to FAP50 (E = 1e-28) in the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii flagellar proteome. CG34110 localizes along the fly sperm flagellum. FAP50 is tightly associated with the outer doublet microtubules of the axoneme and appears not to be a component of the central pair, radial spokes, dynein arms, or structures defined by the mbo waveform mutants. Phenotypic analyses indicate that both Pkd2 and lobo specifically affect sperm movement into the female storage receptacle. We hypothesize that the CG34110/Ccdc135/FAP50 family of conserved flagellar proteins functions within the axoneme to mediate Pkd2-dependent processes in the sperm flagellum and other motile cilia.


eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Chien ◽  
Sheng Min Shih ◽  
Raqual Bower ◽  
Douglas Tritschler ◽  
Mary E Porter ◽  
...  

Intraflagellar transport (IFT) is essential for the elongation and maintenance of eukaryotic cilia and flagella. Due to the traffic jam of multiple trains at the ciliary tip, how IFT trains are remodeled in these turnaround zones cannot be determined by conventional imaging. Using PhotoGate, we visualized the full range of movement of single IFT trains and motors in Chlamydomonas flagella. Anterograde trains split apart and IFT complexes mix with each other at the tip to assemble retrograde trains. Dynein-1b is carried to the tip by kinesin-II as inactive cargo on anterograde trains. Unlike dynein-1b, kinesin-II detaches from IFT trains at the tip and diffuses in flagella. As the flagellum grows longer, diffusion delays return of kinesin-II to the basal body, depleting kinesin-II available for anterograde transport. Our results suggest that dissociation of kinesin-II from IFT trains serves as a negative feedback mechanism that facilitates flagellar length control in Chlamydomonas.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (17) ◽  
pp. 2620-2633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Blisnick ◽  
Johanna Buisson ◽  
Sabrina Absalon ◽  
Alexandra Marie ◽  
Nadège Cayet ◽  
...  

Cilia and flagella are assembled by intraflagellar transport (IFT) of protein complexes that bring tubulin and other precursors to the incorporation site at their distal tip. Anterograde transport is driven by kinesin, whereas retrograde transport is ensured by a specific dynein. In the protist Trypanosoma brucei, two distinct genes encode fairly different dynein heavy chains (DHCs; ∼40% identity) termed DHC2.1 and DHC2.2, which form a heterodimer and are both essential for retrograde IFT. The stability of each heavy chain relies on the presence of a dynein light intermediate chain (DLI1; also known as XBX-1/D1bLIC). The presence of both heavy chains and of DLI1 at the base of the flagellum depends on the intermediate dynein chain DIC5 (FAP133/WDR34). In the IFT140RNAi mutant, an IFT-A protein essential for retrograde transport, the IFT dynein components are found at high concentration at the flagellar base but fail to penetrate the flagellar compartment. We propose a model by which the IFT dynein particle is assembled in the cytoplasm, reaches the base of the flagellum, and associates with the IFT machinery in a manner dependent on the IFT-A complex.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 967-982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony J. Roberts

Two classes of dynein power long-distance cargo transport in different cellular contexts. Cytoplasmic dynein-1 is responsible for the majority of transport toward microtubule minus ends in the cell interior. Dynein-2, also known as intraflagellar transport dynein, moves cargoes along the axoneme of eukaryotic cilia and flagella. Both dyneins operate as large ATP-driven motor complexes, whose dysfunction is associated with a group of human disorders. But how similar are their mechanisms of action and regulation? To examine this question, this review focuses on recent advances in dynein-1 and -2 research, and probes to what extent the emerging principles of dynein-1 transport could apply to or differ from those of the less well-understood dynein-2 mechanoenzyme.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3797-3810
Author(s):  
Manishi Pandey ◽  
Gary D. Stormo ◽  
Susan K. Dutcher

Genome-wide analysis of transcriptome data in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii shows periodic patterns in gene expression levels when cultures are grown under alternating light and dark cycles so that G1 of the cell cycle occurs in the light phase and S/M/G0 occurs during the dark phase. However, alternative splicing, a process that enables a greater protein diversity from a limited set of genes, remains largely unexplored by previous transcriptome based studies in C. reinhardtii. In this study, we used existing longitudinal RNA-seq data obtained during the light-dark cycle to investigate the changes in the alternative splicing pattern and found that 3277 genes (19.75% of 17,746 genes) undergo alternative splicing. These splicing events include Alternative 5′ (Alt 5′), Alternative 3′ (Alt 3′) and Exon skipping (ES) events that are referred as alternative site selection (ASS) events and Intron retention (IR) events. By clustering analysis, we identified a subset of events (26 ASS events and 10 IR events) that show periodic changes in the splicing pattern during the cell cycle. About two-thirds of these 36 genes either introduce a pre-termination codon (PTC) or introduce insertions or deletions into functional domains of the proteins, which implicate splicing in altering gene function. These findings suggest that alternative splicing is also regulated during the Chlamydomonas cell cycle, although not as extensively as changes in gene expression. The longitudinal changes in the alternative splicing pattern during the cell cycle captured by this study provides an important resource to investigate alternative splicing in genes of interest during the cell cycle in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and other eukaryotes.


2010 ◽  
Vol 189 (3) ◽  
pp. 601-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christen G. DiPetrillo ◽  
Elizabeth F. Smith

For all motile eukaryotic cilia and flagella, beating is regulated by changes in intraciliary calcium concentration. Although the mechanism for calcium regulation is not understood, numerous studies have shown that calmodulin (CaM) is a key axonemal calcium sensor. Using anti-CaM antibodies and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii axonemal extracts, we precipitated a complex that includes four polypeptides and that specifically interacts with CaM in high [Ca2+]. One of the complex members, FAP221, is an orthologue of mammalian Pcdp1 (primary ciliary dyskinesia protein 1). Both FAP221 and mammalian Pcdp1 specifically bind CaM in high [Ca2+]. Reduced expression of Pcdp1 complex members in C. reinhardtii results in failure of the C1d central pair projection to assemble and significant impairment of motility including uncoordinated bends, severely reduced beat frequency, and altered waveforms. These combined results reveal that the central pair Pcdp1 (FAP221) complex is essential for control of ciliary motility.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document