Cilia beating of ependymal cells regulates adult neural stem cell quiescence via mechanical forces mediated by PKD1/2-TRPM3

The role of mechanical forces created by cilia beating on stem cells remains elusive. We developed an approach to transiently inhibit the cilia beating of ependymal cells (EC) lining the forebrain ventricle by injecting magnetic beads-coupled antibodies specifically targeting EC cilia and then applying a magnetic field.

We show that EC cilia beating enforces neural stem cells (NSCs) quiescence through mechano-sensitive PKD1/2- and TRPM3-mediated Ca2+ transients, and that only a few hours of EC cilia beating inhibition triggered NSCs activation in vivo. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated deletion of TRPM3 or PKD1/2 in NSCs phenocopied the effect of EC cilia beating inhibition, while TRPM3 pharmacological activation rescued NSC quiescence in the absence of cilia beating.