Deficiency of U4atac snRNA secondarily results in ciliary defects

In the human genome, about 700 genes contain usually one intron excised by the minor spliceosome. This spliceosome comprises its own set of snRNAs, among which U4atac. Its non-coding gene, RNU4ATAC, has been found mutated in Taybi-Linder (MOPD1/TALS), Roifman (RFMN) and Lowry-Wood syndromes (LWS). These rare developmental disorders, whose physiopathological mechanisms remain unsolved, associate ante- and post-natal growth retardation, microcephaly, skeletal dysplasia, intellectual disability, retinal dystrophy and immunodeficiency. Here, we report a homozygous RNU4ATAC mutation in the Stem II domain, n.16G>A, in two unrelated patients presenting with both typical traits of the Joubert syndrome (JBTS), a well-characterized ciliopathy, and of TALS/RFMN/LWS, thus widening the clinical spectrum of RNU4ATAC-associated disorders and indicating ciliary dysfunction as a mechanism downstream of minor splicing defects. This finding is supported by alterations of primary cilium function in TALS and JBTS/RFMN fibroblasts, as well as by u4atac zebrafish model, which exhibit ciliopathy-related phenotypes and ciliary defects. Altogether, our data indicate that alteration of cilium biogenesis is part of the physiopathological mechanisms of TALS/RFMN/LWS, secondarily to defects of minor intron splicing.

Cilium structure, assembly, and disassembly regulated by the cytoskeleton

The cilium, once considered a vestigial structure, is a conserved, microtubule-based organelle critical for transducing extracellular chemical and mechanical signals that control cell polarity, differentiation, and proliferation. The cilium undergoes cycles of assembly and disassembly that are controlled by complex inter-relationships with the cytoskeleton. Microtubules form the core of the cilium, the axoneme, and are regulated by post-translational modifications, associated proteins, and microtubule dynamics. Although actin and septin cytoskeletons are not major components of the axoneme, they also regulate cilium organization and assembly state. Here, we discuss recent advances on how these different cytoskeletal systems­ affect cilium function, structure, and organization.

The centriolar satellite proteins Cep72 and Cep290 interact and are required for recruitment of BBS proteins to the cilium

Defects in centrosome and cilium function are associated with phenotypically related syndromes called ciliopathies. Centriolar satellites are centrosome-associated structures, defined by the protein PCM1, that are implicated in centrosomal protein trafficking. We identify Cep72 as a PCM1-interacting protein required for recruitment of the ciliopathy-associated protein Cep290 to centriolar satellites. Loss of centriolar satellites by depletion of PCM1 causes relocalization of Cep72 and Cep290 from satellites to the centrosome, suggesting that their association with centriolar satellites normally restricts their centrosomal localization. We identify interactions between PCM1, Cep72, and Cep290 and find that disruption of centriolar satellites by overexpression of Cep72 results in specific aggregation of these proteins and the BBSome component BBS4. During ciliogenesis, BBS4 relocalizes from centriolar satellites to the primary cilium. This relocalization occurs normally in the absence of centriolar satellites (PCM1 depletion) but is impaired by depletion of Cep290 or Cep72, resulting in defective ciliary recruitment of the BBSome subunit BBS8. We propose that Cep290 and Cep72 in centriolar satellites regulate the ciliary localization of BBS4, which in turn affects assembly and recruitment of the BBSome. Finally, we show that loss of centriolar satellites in zebrafish leads to phenotypes consistent with cilium dysfunction and analogous to those observed in human ciliopathies.