Connnective Tissue Primary Cilia and the Matrix-Cilium-Golgi continuum: A Historical Perspective

This review, and accompanying illustrations, provides an historical perspective on the connective tissue research undertaken by the author and an extensive faculty of collaborators. We first identified a structural continuum between the mechanically functional extracellular matrix, the single primary cilium, and the Golgi apparatus responsible for matrix production by connective tissue cells. At the time, we argued the primary cilium could act as a cellular cybernetic probe capable of sensing biomechanical forces transmitted through the connective tissue matrix, transducing this information into biologically relevant signals, and responding with the polarized secretion of newly synthesized matrix macromolecules. The chronology of research completed over the next 36 years not only proved the functionality of this structural continuum, but also reflected the staggering progress made in our understanding of the critical role played by primary cilia in health and disease.