Although cardiac abnormalities have been observed in a growing class of human disorders
caused by defective primary cilia, the function of cilia in the heart remains an underexplored …

TGF-β family ligands function in inducing and patterning many tissues of the early vertebrate
embryonic body plan. Nodal signaling is essential for the specification of mesendodermal …

Multiciliate cells function prominently in the respiratory system, brain ependyma and female
reproductive tract to produce vigorous fluid flow along epithelial surfaces. These specialized …

It has been proposed that ciliated cells that produce a leftward fluid flow mediate left-right
patterning in many vertebrate embryos. The cilia on these cells combine features of primary …

Dominant human genetic diseases that impair reproductive fitness and have high locus
heterogeneity constitute a problem for gene discovery because the usual criterion of finding …

Vertebrates exhibit striking left–right (L–R) asymmetries in the structure and position of the
internal organs. Symmetry is broken by motile cilia-generated asymmetric fluid flow …

Morphological asymmetry is a common feature of animal body plans, from shell coiling in
snails to organ placement in humans. The signaling protein Nodal is key for determining this …

Cilia are cell surface organelles found on most epithelia in vertebrates. Specialized groups
of cilia have critical roles in embryonic development, including left–right axis formation …

Heterotaxy is a disorder of left–right body patterning, or laterality, that is associated with
major congenital heart disease. The aetiology and mechanisms underlying most cases of …

Planar cell polarity signaling governs a wide array of polarized cell behaviors in animals.
Recent reports now show that PCP signaling is essential for the directional beating of motile …