Axonal transport is the directed movement of proteins, vesicles, RNAs, signaling endosomes, and organelles along microtubules between the neuronal soma and distal processes.[1][2] Because neurons are highly polarized and often extremely long, even partial transport failure can destabilize synapses and axons.
Impaired axonal transport is a recurring mechanism in neurodegenerative disease, where it can amplify mitochondrial stress, synaptic failure, trophic-factor deprivation, and accumulation of misfolded proteins.[1:1][2:1] It is therefore tightly linked to synaptic transmission, mitochondrial quality control, and cytoskeletal integrity.
Axonal transport defects and neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2003). ↩︎ ↩︎
Synaptopathies: synaptic dysfunction in neurological disorders - A review from students to students. Journal of Neurochemistry (2016). ↩︎ ↩︎