Journal of Endocrinology (2009) 203, 327-336
DOI: 10.1677/JOE-09-0116
© 2009 Society for Endocrinology
Can faulty antennae increase adiposity? The link between cilia proteins and obesity
Piya Sen Gupta,
Natalia V Prodromou and
J Paul Chapple
Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, William Harvey Research Institute, Centre for Endocrinology, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
(Correspondence should be addressed to J P Chapple; Email: j.p.chapple{at}qmul.ac.uk)
Primary cilia are sensory organelles that protrude from the surface of most mammalian cell types. In humans and mice, mutations in proteins required for normal cilia function have been identified as causing a class of disorders with overlapping phenotypes known as ciliopathies. Recent evidence has linked obesity in ciliopathies to both the regulation of energy homeostasis in the hypothalamus and to adipogenesis. This article considers the role of cilia in these processes and whether cilia dysfunction may be relevant to more common forms of obesity.
Copyright © 2009 by the Society for Endocrinology.