Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026
06:58
Live Imaging of the Ependymal Cilia in the Lateral Ventricles of the Mouse Brain
Published on: June 1, 2015
The cilium secretes bioactive ectosomes.
Christopher R Wood1, Kaiyao Huang, Dennis R Diener
1Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Current Biology : CB
|April 30, 2013
Summary
Researchers discovered that Chlamydomonas algae use specialized vesicles, called ciliary ectosomes, released from flagella to degrade the mother cell wall. This process liberates daughter cells, highlighting cilia as a source of extracellular vesicles.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Extracellular Vesicles
- Algal Biology
Background:
- Cell-to-cell communication and extracellular matrix remodeling involve membrane vesicles like exosomes and ectosomes.
- Proteolytic enzyme release is crucial for developmental processes, including extracellular matrix degradation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanism of mother cell wall degradation in Chlamydomonas.
- To identify the role of extracellular vesicles in releasing daughter cells.
Main Methods:
- Immunoelectron microscopy
- Immunofluorescence microscopy
- Functional analysis
Main Results:
- Chlamydomonas releases ciliary ectosomes from flagellar membranes.
- These vesicles carry proteolytic enzymes essential for degrading the mother cell wall.
- Ciliary ectosomes facilitate the liberation of daughter cells post-mitosis.
Conclusions:
- Cilia are a source of bioactive extracellular vesicles.
- Ciliary ectosomes play a key role in Chlamydomonas cell wall degradation and cell release.
- This finding suggests cilia may be an underappreciated source of extracellular vesicles in other organisms.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Microtubules in Signaling
The primary cilium, made up of microtubules, acts as antennae on the cell surfaces for relaying external stimuli into the cells. These fine hair-like structures are present, generally one per cell. These are non-motile cilia in a 9+0 microtubules arrangement, where the central pair of microtubules are absent. The primary cilia arise from the basal body embedded in the cell membrane. Intraflagellar transport (IFT) carries requisite proteins from the cytoplasm to the cilium because the primary...
00:51Exocytosis
Exocytosis is used to release material from cells. Like other bulk transport mechanisms, exocytosis requires energy.
00:50Exocytosis
Exocytosis is a process that releases molecules outside the cell. Like other bulk transport mechanisms, exocytosis requires energy.
Exocytosis is the opposite of endocytosis, which brings molecules inside the cell. Sometimes, the released materials are signaling molecules. For example, neurons typically use exocytosis to release neurotransmitters. Cells also use exocytosis to insert proteins such as ion channels into their cell membranes, secrete proteins for use in the extracellular matrix, or...
Exocytosis is the opposite of endocytosis, which brings molecules inside the cell. Sometimes, the released materials are signaling molecules. For example, neurons typically use exocytosis to release neurotransmitters. Cells also use exocytosis to insert proteins such as ion channels into their cell membranes, secrete proteins for use in the extracellular matrix, or...
01:38Intralumenal Vesicles and Multivesicular Bodies
Intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) are small vesicles 50-80 nm in diameter formed during the maturation of early endosomes. A specialized endosome containing numerous ILVs is called a multivesicular body (MVB). ILVs contain internalized molecules such as antigens, nucleic acids, proteins, and metabolites. Some of these molecules are released from the MVBs inside exosomes and are transported to other cells. Other MVBs contain molecules that are retained in the ILVs and are later degraded within the...
01:33Overview of Secretory Vesicles
Secretory vesicles, also known as dense core vesicles (DCVs), are membrane-bound vesicles that transport secretory proteins, such as hormones or neurotransmitters. Regulated secretory vesicles transport proteins from the trans-Golgi network to the exterior of the cell. Proteins present in regulated secretory vesicles are required to be rapidly exocytosed in large amounts upon a specific stimulus.
Various proteins regulate the aggregation of molecules inside the secretory vesicles. Chromogranins...
Various proteins regulate the aggregation of molecules inside the secretory vesicles. Chromogranins...
01:16Cell Motility through Blebbing
Blebs are a type of membrane protrusion formed by the internal hydrostatic pressure of the cytoplasm. Blebs are observed in several cell types, including fibroblasts, immune cells, and single-celled organisms like the amoeba. The primary function of blebs is cell locomotion and apoptosis, but they are also found during necrosis and cell division. The life cycle of a bleb comprises an initiation phase followed by the expansion and retraction phases.
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...