Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026

Using Live-Cell Imaging to Measure the Effects of Pathological Proteins on Axonal Transport in Primary Hippocampal Neurons
Published on: December 22, 2023
Axonal transport and neurodegenerative disease: can we see the elephant?
1Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Department of Neurosciences, UCSD School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0695, USA. lgoldstein@ucsd.edu
Abstract:
Although it is well established that axonal transport defects are part of the initiation or progression of some neurodegenerative diseases, the precise role of these defects in disease development is poorly understood. Thus, in this article, rather than enumerate the already well-reviewed evidence that there are transport deficits in disease, I will focus on a discussion of two crucial and unanswered questions about the possible role of axonal transport defects in HD and AD. (1) Are alterations in axonal transport caused by changes in the normal function of proteins mutated or altered in HD and AD and/or do such alterations in transport occur as a result of the formation of toxic aggregates of peptides or proteins? (2) Do alterations in axonal transport contribute to the causes of HD and AD or are they early, or late, secondary consequences of other cellular defects caused by disease-induction?
Related Concept Videos
Neurons: The Axon
The axon attaches to the cell body at a cone-shaped elevation called the axon hillock. The initial part of the axon, closest to the hillock, is known as the initial segment.
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Parkinson Disease ll: Pathophysiology

