Uncovering cilia function in glial development.

Primary cilia play critical roles in regulating signaling pathways that underlie several developmental processes. In the nervous system, cilia are known to regulate signals that guide neuron development. Cilia dysregulation is implicated in neurological diseases, and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Cilia research has predominantly focused on neurons and has overlooked the diverse population of glial cells in the brain. Glial cells play essential roles during neurodevelopment, and their dysfunction contributes to neurological disease; however, the relationship between cilia function and glial development is understudied. Here we review the state of the field and highlight the glial cell types where cilia are found and the ciliary functions that are linked to glial development. This work uncovers the importance of cilia in glial development and raises outstanding questions for the field. We are poised to make progress in understanding the function of glial cilia in human development and their contribution to neurological diseases.

Cilia bent out of shape over dysfunctional astrocyte mitochondria.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in astrocytes drives neurodegenerative brain pathology. In this issue, Ignatenko et al. (2022. J. Cell. Biol.https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202203019) discover a novel connection between cilia and mitochondria in astrocytes, whereby mitochondrial dysfunction leads to abnormal cilia structure and a motile cilia program.