Damaged motile cilia undergo phagolysosomal clearance during regeneration

Damaged motile cilia in Tetrahymena thermophila are cleared via a phagolysosomal pathway, with c-rings sequestered in phagosome-associated compartments and then processed in acidic compartments.

• Why it matters: Cilia remodeling after stress is common but the cellular fate of damaged ciliary components during regeneration is unclear, limiting understanding of how cells balance degradation and regrowth.
• What they did: The authors applied acute, non-lethal stress to Tetrahymena thermophila and used imaging, quantitative proteomics, and genetic perturbations to track c-rings and test the role of autophagy-associated machinery.
• The result: Ciliary regeneration occurs without detectable c-ring accumulation, even when new protein synthesis is inhibited, implying internalized axonemal material reutilisation is not essential for ciliogenesis.

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