Protein complex protects cilia

WORCESTER, Mass., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A protein complex mutated in human disease removes molecules that can damage cilia, scientists in Massachusetts said.

The protein complex BBSome was found to remove excess signaling molecules that can damage cilia, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School said in a release Monday.

Defective cilia cause a range of diseases including Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a rare disorder linked to mutations in 12 different proteins.

Seven of the proteins form BBBSome. How BBSome functions in cilia to prevent damage remains unclear, researcher Karl Lechtreck said.

Lechtreck and his colleagues studied worms to examine mammalian cell types that form cilia in the absence of BBS proteins, the team said in a recent issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.