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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Expanding the Toolkit for In Vivo Imaging of Axonal Transport
Published on: December 23, 2021
A model of intracellular transport of particles in an axon
Avner Friedman1, Gheorghe Craciun
1Mathematical Biosciences Institute, The Ohio State University, 231 W 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. afriedman@mbi.ohio-state.edu
Abstract:
In this paper we develop a model of intracellular transport of cell organelles and vesicles along the axon of a nerve cell. These particles are moving alternately by processive motion along a microtubule with the aid of motor proteins, and by diffusion. The model involves a degenerate system of diffusion equations. We prove a maximum principle and establish existence and behavior of a unique solution. Numerical results show how the transportation of mass depends on the relevant parameters of the model.
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