Lithium-induced ciliary lengthening sparks Arp2/3 complex–dependent endocytosis

Abstract

Lithium is known to lengthen cilia across cell types. Using the organism model organism Chlamydomonas, we confirm that this elongation occurs independent of protein synthesis and show that it is also independent of the Golgi. Additionally, we find that it requires the Arp2/3 complex and endocytosis. Thus, we propose a new mechanism by which lithium sparks endocytosis to reclaim plasma membrane for ciliary elongation.