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Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Using Primary Neurosphere Cultures to Study Primary Cilia
Published on: April 14, 2017
The primary cilium as a cellular receiver: organizing ciliary GPCR signaling
Keren I Hilgendorf1, Carl T Johnson2, Peter K Jackson1
1Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Abstract:
The primary cilium is an antenna-like cellular protrusion mediating sensory and neuroendocrine signaling. Its localization within tissue architecture and a growing list of cilia-localized receptors, in particular G-protein-coupled receptors, determine a host of crucial physiologies, which are disrupted in human ciliopathies. Here, we discuss recent advances in the identification and characterization of ciliary signaling components and pathways. Recent studies have highlighted the unique signaling environment of the primary cilium and we are just beginning to understand how this design allows for highly amplified and regulated signaling.
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