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Regulation of neurofilament dynamics by phosphorylation
Author(s) -
Shea Thomas B.,
Chan Walter K.H.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2008.06165.x
Subject(s) - phosphorylation , neurofilament , axoplasmic transport , microbiology and biotechnology , neuroscience , phosphatase , kinase , biology , immunohistochemistry , immunology
Neurofilament (NF) phosphorylation has long been considered to regulate axonal transport rate and in doing so to provide stability to mature axons. Studies utilizing mice in which the C‐terminal region of NF subunits (which contains the vast majority of phosphorylation sites) has been deleted has prompted an ongoing challenge to this hypothesis. We evaluate the collective evidence to date for and against a role for NF C‐terminal phosphorylation in regulation of axonal transport and in providing structural support for axons, including some novel studies from our laboratory. We present a few suggestions for further experimentation in this area, and expand upon previous models for axonal NF dynamics. Finally, we address how C‐terminal phosphorylation is regionally and temporally regulated by a balance of kinase and phosphatase activities, and how misregulation of this balance can contribute to motor neuron disease.