The disassembly of non-motile cilia (the antenna-like structures that transduce extracellular signals) prior to mitosis has been shown to be mediated by the interaction of the scaffold protein HEF1 with Aurora A kinase, but how these proteins are activated had remained unclear. Here, Lee et al. reveal key roles for Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) and the WNT signalling mediator Dishevelled 2 upstream of HEF1 and Aurora A. The authors observed that, following activation by the non-canonical WNT ligand WNT5A, casein kinase 1δ (CK1δ) or CK1ɛ phosphorylated Dishevelled 2 at Ser143 and Thr224, inducing the formation of a Dishevelled 2–PLK1 complex. Further analysis showed that the Dishevelled 2–PLK1 complex induced by CK1ɛ is important for the stabilization of HEF1 (in a manner dependent on the kinase activity of PLK1) and thus for the interaction of HEF1 with Aurora A, ultimately leading to cilium disassembly.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Lee, K. H. et al. Identification of a novel WNT5A–CK1ɛ–DVL2–PLK1-mediated primary cilia disassembly pathway. EMBO J. 18 May 2012 (doi:10.1038/emboj.2012.144)
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David, R. Breaking down cilia. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 13, 409 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm3387
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm3387