PCARE and WASF3 regulate ciliary F-actin assembly that is required for the initiation of photoreceptor outer segment disk formation.

ABSTRACT: The outer segments (OS) of rod and cone photoreceptor cells are specialized sensory cilia that contain hundreds of opsin-loaded stacked membrane disks that enable phototransduction. The biogenesis of these disks is initiated at the OS base, but the driving force has been debated. Here, we studied the function of the protein encoded by the photoreceptor-specific gene C2orf71, which is mutated in inherited retinal dystrophy (RP54). We demonstrate that C2orf71/PCARE (photoreceptor cilium actin regulator) can interact with the Arp2/3 complex activator WASF3, and efficiently recruits it to the primary cilium. Ectopic coexpression of PCARE and WASF3 in ciliated cells results in the remarkable expansion of the ciliary tip. This process was disrupted by small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based d

SUBMITTER: Corral-Serrano JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7211956 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature