Keeping the balance between proliferation and differentiation: the primary cilium.

ABSTRACT: Primary cilia are post-mitotic cellular organelles that are present in the vast majority of cell types in the human body. An extensive body of data gathered in recent years is demonstrating a crucial role for this organelle in a number of cellular processes that include mechano and chemo-sensation as well as the transduction of signaling cascades critical for the development and maintenance of different tissues and organs. Consequently, cilia are currently viewed as cellular antennae playing a critical role at the interphase between cells and their environment, integrating a range of stimuli to modulate cell fate decisions including cell proliferation, migration and differentiation. Importantly, this regulatory role is not just a consequence of their participation in signal transduction bu

SUBMITTER: Irigoin F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3131736 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature