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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Simple Detection of Primary Cilia by Immunofluorescence
Published on: May 15, 2020
A physiological view of the primary cilium
Helle A Praetorius1, Kenneth R Spring
1The Water and Salt Research Center, Clinical Institute, University of Aarhus, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark. helle.praetorius@ki.au
Abstract:
The primary cilium, an organelle largely ignored by physiologists, functions both as a mechano-sensor and a chemo-sensor in renal tubular epithelia. This forgotten structure is critically involved in the determination of left-right sidedness during development and is a key factor in the development of polycystic kidney disease, as well as a number of other abnormalities. This review provides an update of our current understanding about the function of primary cilia. Much new information obtained in the past five years has been stimulated, in part, by discoveries of the primary cilium's key role in the genesis of polycystic kidney disease as well as its involvement in determination of left-right axis asymmetry. Here we focus on the various functions of the primary cilium rather than on its role in pathology.
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