The solitary (primary) cilium--a mechanosensory toggle switch in bone and cartilage cells

Osteocytes and articular chondrocytes sense and respond to the strains imposed on bones and joints by various activities such as breathing and walking. This mechanoresponsiveness is needed to maintain bone and cartilage microstructure and strength. In bone the large number of osteocytes form a vast osteointernet in which the gap junctionally interconnected members are lodged in an extensive lacunocanalicular network. The much smaller number of articular chondrocytes are not interconnected in a chondrointernet. Instead, they are separately lodged in capsules called chondrons. While there are many possible strain-sensing devices, it now appears that the non-motile solitary (primary) cilia protruding like aerials from osteocytes (as well as osteoblasts) and chondrocytes are switches that when toggled by cyclical pulses of lacunocanalicular fluid or cartilage compression send signals such as Ca(2+) surges into the cell to trigger a cascade of events that include appropriate gene activations to maintain and strengthen bone and cartilage. Moreover, the chondrocyte cilium with its Ihh(Indian hedgehog)-activated Smo receptor is a key player along with PTHrP in endochondral bone formation.