Neuron
Volume 84, Issue 2, 22 October 2014, Pages 292-309
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Review
Axonal Transport: Cargo-Specific Mechanisms of Motility and Regulation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2014.10.019Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Axonal transport of organelles and proteins is driven by kinesin and dynein motors

  • Cargo-bound motors are tightly regulated by Rabs, kinases, and scaffolding proteins

  • Defects in transport lead to neurodevelopmental or neurodegenerative disease

Axonal transport is essential for neuronal function, and many neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases result from mutations in the axonal transport machinery. Anterograde transport supplies distal axons with newly synthesized proteins and lipids, including synaptic components required to maintain presynaptic activity. Retrograde transport is required to maintain homeostasis by removing aging proteins and organelles from the distal axon for degradation and recycling of components. Retrograde axonal transport also plays a major role in neurotrophic and injury response signaling. This review provides an overview of axonal transport pathways and discusses their role in neuronal function.

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