Motoring along the neuronal highway

ABSTRACT:

Neurons communicate with each other through synapses.  It is a challenging task to bring all components necessary for this process to the synapse from the distant cell body, up to a meter away in humans.  The axon that connects the cell body with the synapses also provides a highway for the necessary cargo movement, enabling neurons to do their job.  I will present highlights of our investigation of axonal transport.  This is a complex process and we believe that for a more complete understanding, it may be fruitful to combine classical biological approaches with other interdisciplinary tools and concepts.

We primarily study transport of synaptic vesicles, a prominent and essential axonal cargo.  Molecular motors pick up synaptic vesicles in the cell body, move them along the axon and deliver them at their destination, namely synapses.  This multi-step process involves several different interesting phenomena with corresponding regulatory mechanisms.  I will discuss the regulatory mechanisms we have identified involved in (1) cargo formation and motor exit from the cell body (2) cargo motion along the axon and (3) motor degradation at synapses.  We expect that our studies will lead to a more cohesive picture of the process of axonal transport as a whole.