Biomol Ther.  2015 Jul;23(4):327-332. 10.4062/biomolther.2015.025.

Autophagy Regulates Formation of Primary Cilia in Mefloquine-Treated Cells

• Shin JH
• Bae DJ
• Kim ES
• Kim HB
• Park SJ
• Jo YK
• Jo DS
• Jo DG
• Kim SY
• Cho DH

• KMID: 2382361
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4062/biomolther.2015.025

Abstract

Primary cilia have critical roles in coordinating multiple cellular signaling pathways. Dysregulation of primary cilia is implicated in various ciliopathies. To identify specific regulators of autophagy, we screened chemical libraries and identified mefloquine, an anti-malaria medicine, as a potent regulator of primary cilia in human retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells. Not only ciliated cells but also primary cilium length was increased in mefloquine-treated RPE cells. Treatment with mefloquine strongly induced the elongation of primary cilia by blocking disassembly of primary cilium. In addition, we found that autophagy was increased in mefloquine-treated cells by enhancing autophagic flux. Both chemical and genetic inhibition of autophagy suppressed ciliogenesis in mefloquine-treated RPE cells. Taken together, these results suggest that autophagy induced by mefloquine positively regulates the elongation of primary cilia in RPE cells.

Keyword

Mefloquine; Autophagy; Primary cilia; Retinal pigmented epithelial cells

MeSH Terms

Autophagy*
Cilia*
Humans
Mefloquine
Retinaldehyde
Small Molecule Libraries
Mefloquine
Retinaldehyde
Small Molecule Libraries