| First Author | Manning DK | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | J Am Soc Nephrol | Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 100-12 |
| PubMed ID | 23274954 | Mgi Jnum | J:199559 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5503062 | Doi | 10.1681/ASN.2012050490 |
| Citation | Manning DK, et al. (2013) Loss of the ciliary kinase Nek8 causes left-right asymmetry defects. J Am Soc Nephrol 24(1):100-12 |
| abstractText | A missense mutation in mouse Nek8, which encodes a ciliary kinase, produces the juvenile cystic kidneys (jck) model of polycystic kidney disease, but the functions of Nek8 are incompletely understood. Here, we generated a Nek8-null allele and found that homozygous mutant mice die at birth and exhibit randomization of left-right asymmetry, cardiac anomalies, and glomerular kidney cysts. The requirement for Nek8 in left-right patterning is conserved, as knockdown of the zebrafish ortholog caused randomized heart looping. Ciliogenesis was intact in Nek8-deficient embryos and cells, but we observed misexpression of left-sided marker genes early in development, suggesting that nodal ciliary signaling was perturbed. We also generated jck/Nek8 compound heterozygotes; these mutants developed less severe cystic disease than jck homozygotes and provided genetic evidence that the jck allele may encode a gain-of-function protein. Notably, NEK8 and polycystin-2 (PC2) proteins interact, and we found that Nek8(-/-) and Pkd2(-/-) embryonic phenotypes are strikingly similar. Nek8-deficient embryos and cells did express PC2 normally, which localized properly to the cilia. However, similar to cells lacking PC2, NEK8-depleted inner medullary collecting duct cells exhibited a defective response to fluid shear, suggesting that NEK8 may play a role in mediating PC2-dependent signaling. |
