Neuron
Volume 70, Issue 3, 12 May 2011, Pages 441-454
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Article
Mechanistic Logic Underlying the Axonal Transport of Cytosolic Proteins

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Summary

Proteins vital to presynaptic function are synthesized in the neuronal perikarya and delivered into synapses via two modes of axonal transport. While membrane-anchoring proteins are conveyed in fast axonal transport via motor-driven vesicles, cytosolic proteins travel in slow axonal transport via mechanisms that are poorly understood. We found that in cultured axons, populations of cytosolic proteins tagged to photoactivatable GFP (PAGFP) move with a slow motor-dependent anterograde bias distinct from both vesicular trafficking and diffusion of untagged PAGFP. The overall bias is likely generated by an intricate particle kinetics involving transient assembly and short-range vectorial spurts. In vivo biochemical studies reveal that cytosolic proteins are organized into higher order structures within axon-enriched fractions that are largely segregated from vesicles. Data-driven biophysical modeling best predicts a scenario where soluble molecules dynamically assemble into mobile supramolecular structures. We propose a model where cytosolic proteins are transported by dynamically assembling into multiprotein complexes that are directly/indirectly conveyed by motors.

Highlights

► Proteins are delivered to synapses by both fast and slow axonal transport ► The slow axonal transport of cytosolic proteins is poorly defined ► Our studies show that cytosolic cargoes move as slow biased streams in axons ► Working model: cytosolic proteins organize into complexes driven by motors

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These authors contributed equally to this work