Highlight 1: Cilia Motility in Islet Function

For decades, primary cilia were viewed as static sensory antennae, with motility considered the exclusive property of specialized motile cilia. Our work has been challenging this assumption by demonstrating that primary cilia in pancreatic islets are actively motile. Using genetic reporter islets and live-cell imaging, we captured dynamic beating patterns in these sensory organelles, revealing that they can generate 3D waveforms that are require glucose and ATP-dependent molecular motors. Follow-up studies confirmed this behavior in vivo, raising the possibility that motility may be an inherent feature of primary cilia, adapted to the sensory needs of different tissues. Future studies in this area will clarify the bioenergetic basis for cilia movement and the mechanisms by which islet cells communicate and sense their metabolic environment, with implications for how we think about ciliary function in both health and disease.