Nek8 regulates the expression and localization of polycystin-1 and polycystin-2

Nek8 is a serine/threonine kinase that is mutated in the jck (juvenile cystic kidneys) mouse, a model of autosomal recessive juvenile polycystic kidney disease, but its function is poorly understood. We used the jck mouse to study the functional relationship between Nek8 and other proteins that have been implicated in polycystic kidney diseases. In the collecting tubules and collecting ducts of wild-type mice, we found that Nek8 was localized to the proximal portion of primary cilia and was weakly detected in the cytosol. In the jck mutant, however, Nek8 was found along the entire length of cilia. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that Nek8 interacted with polycystin-2, but not with polycystin-1, and that the jck mutation did not affect this interaction. Western blot analysis and real-time reverse transcriptase PCR revealed that the protein and mRNA expression of polycystin-1 (PC1) and polycystin-2 (PC2) were increased in jck mouse kidneys. The jck mutation also led to abnormal phosphorylatin of PC2, and this was associated with longer cilia and ciliary accumulation of PC1 and PC2. Our data suggests that Nek8 interacts with the signal transduction pathways of the polycystins and may control the targeting of these ciliary proteins. Dysfunction Nek8 may lead to cystogenesis by altering the structure and function of cilia in the distal nephron.