The actin-bundling protein Fascin-1 modulates ciliary signalling

Lena Brücker, Stefanie Kornelia Becker, Vanessa Maissl, Gregory Harms, Madeline Parsons, Helen Louise May-Simera*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Primary cilia are microtubule-based cell organelles important for cellular communication. Since they are involved in the regulation of numerous signalling pathways, defects in cilia development or function are associated with genetic disorders, collectively called ciliopathies. Besides their ciliary functions, recent research has shown that several ciliary proteins are involved in the coordination of the actin cytoskeleton. Although ciliary and actin phenotypes are related, the exact nature of their interconnection remains incompletely understood. Here, we show that the protein BBS6, associated with the ciliopathy Bardet-Biedl syndrome, cooperates with the actin-bundling protein Fascin-1 in regulating filopodia and ciliary signalling. We found that loss of Bbs6 affects filopodia length potentially via attenuated interaction with Fascin-1. Conversely, loss of Fascin-1 leads to a ciliary phenotype, subsequently affecting ciliary Wnt signalling, possibly in collaboration with BBS6. Our data shed light on how ciliary proteins are involved in actin regulations and provide new insight into the involvement of the actin regulator Fascin-1 in ciliogenesis and cilia-associated signalling. Advancing our knowledge of the complex regulations between primary cilia and actin dynamics is important to understand the pathogenic consequences of ciliopathies.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbermjad022
JournalJournal of Molecular Cell Biology
Volume15
Issue number4
Early online date4 Apr 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2023

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