The physical continuity of axons over long cellular distances poses challenges for their maintenance. One organelle that faces this challenge is endoplasmic reticulum (ER); unlike other intracellular organelles, this forms a...
Long-distance RNA transport enables local protein synthesis at metabolicallyactive
sites distant from the nucleus. This process ensures an appropriate spatial
organization of proteins, vital to polarized cells such as neurons....
Adult central nervous system (CNS) axons do not regenerate after injury because of extrinsic inhibitory factors, and a low intrinsic capacity for axon growth. Developing CNS neurons have a better regenerative ability, but lose...
Neurons rely heavily on axonal transport to deliver materials from the sites of synthesis to the axon terminals over distances that can be many centimetres long. KIF1A is the neuron-specific kinesin with the fastest reported...
Expression of the frontotemporal dementia-related tau mutation, P301L, at physiological levels in adult mouse brain (KI-P301L mice) results in overt hypophosphorylation of tau and age-dependent alterations in axonal...
Neurons lose intrinsic axon regenerative ability with maturation, but the mechanism remains unclear. Using an in-vitro laser axotomy model, we show a progressive decline in the ability of cut CNS axons to form a new growth cone...
Axon regeneration in the CNS is inhibited by many extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Because these act in parallel, no single intervention has been sufficient to enable full regeneration of damaged axons in the adult mammalian...
Abnormalities of the endolysosomal and autophagy systems are found in Alzheimer's disease, but it is not clear whether defects in these systems are a cause or consequence of degenerative processes in the disease. In human...
The NAD-synthesizing enzyme NMNAT2 is critical for axon survival in primary culture and its depletion may contribute to axon degeneration in a variety of neurodegenerative disorders. Here we discuss several recent reports from...
The accumulation and aggregation of α-synuclein (α-SYN) is a common characteristic of synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson’s Disease (PD), Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) or Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). Multiplications of the...
Axonal transport is critical for supplying newly synthesized proteins, organelles, mRNAs, and other cargoes from neuronal cell bodies into axons. Its impairment in many neurodegenerative conditions appears likely to contribute...
Gene replacement approaches are leading to a revolution in the treatment of previously debilitating monogenic neurological conditions. However, the application of gene therapy to complex polygenic conditions has been limited....