Biology subjects

Vieillard, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Vieillard, J..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Cfap410a and Cby work together with tissue-specific requirements to build Drosophila ciliary transition zones

Cilia and flagella perform essential physiological functions in eukaryotes, and defects in these organelles cause several human diseases, including cancer and ciliopathies. The architecture of cilia is highly organized. The ciliary compartment is separated from the cytoplasm by the transition zone (TZ). The severity of ciliopathies linked to TZ assembly defects highlights the TZ's critical role. Although several core conserved complexes are involved in TZ assembly, variations in TZ composition are associated with structurally and functionally diverse cilia. Here, we identify Cfap410a as a novel component of the ciliary TZ in the two Drosophila ciliated tissues, male germ cells and sensory neurons. Cfap410a is one of the two Drosophila paralogs (Cfap410a and Cfap410b) of human CFAP410, whose mutations are associated with axial spondylo-metaphyseal dysplasia, retinitis pigmentosa and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We show here that Cfap410a is a proximity partner of Cby and that they act cooperatively in the hierarchy of the TZ assembly program by bridging the CEP290 and MKS transition zone modules. Simultaneous loss of Cfap410a and Cby halts ciliary growth by disrupting TZ formation in multiple types of Drosophila ciliated cells, each of which exhibiting varying dependence on these two proteins. Interestingly, the function of Cfap410a and Cfap410b are not functionally redundant, indicating that the two proteins have evolved towards specific functions. In summary, our results propose a novel role for CFAP410a at the TZ and provide an explanation for how deregulation of conserved TZ components could lead to tissue-specific ciliopathies.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2020

A point mutation in Ttc26 causes lumbar spinal cord fusion and synchronous hind-limb locomotion in hop mice

Identifying the spinal circuits controlling locomotion is critical for unravelling the mechanisms controlling the production of gaits. Development of the circuits governing left-right coordination relies on axon guidance molecules such as ephrins and netrins. To date, no other class of proteins have been shown to play a role during this process. Here we have analyzed hop mice, which walk with a characteristic hopping gait using their hind legs in synchrony. Fictive locomotion experiments suggest that a local defect in the ventral spinal cord contributes to the aberrant locomotor phenotype. Hop mutant spinal cords had severe morphological defects, including the absence of the ventral midline and a poorly defined border between white and grey matter. The hop mice represent the first model where the left and right central pattern generators (CPGs) are fused to form one central CPG, with a synchronous gait as a functional consequence. These defects were exclusively found in the lumbar domain and were associated with abnormal developmental processes, including a misplaced notochord and reduced induction of ventral progenitor domains. While the underlying mutation in hop mice has been suggested to lie within Ttc26, other genes in close vicinity have been associated with gait defects. By replicating the point mutation within Ttc26, employing CRISPR technology, we observed mice with an identical phenotype, thereby verifying the hop mutation. Thus, we show that the assembly of the lumbar CPG network is dependent on a fully functional TTC26 protein.

neuroscience↗