Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026

Preparation of Synaptic Plasma Membrane and Postsynaptic Density Proteins Using a Discontinuous Sucrose Gradient
Published on: September 3, 2014
The postsynaptic density protein Abelson interactor protein 1 interacts with the motor protein Kinesin family member
J Heinrich1, C Proepper, T Schmidt
1Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
Abstract:
Abelson interactor protein 1 (Abi-1) localizes to postsynaptic densities (PSDs) of excitatory synapses and was shown to be transported from the PSD to the nucleus and back depending upon synaptic activation. We employed a yeast-two-hybrid screen to search for putative transport molecules. We found Kif26B a member of the Kif family of transport proteins that has not been characterized in the central nervous system as a direct interaction partner of Abi-1. We delineated a proline-rich motif within the cargo-binding domain of Kif26B to be responsible for this protein-protein interaction. Kif26B was able to recruit Abi-1 to the microtubule network and we found that the expression of Kif26B is responsible for the localization of Abi-1 to PSDs in maturing neurons. Taken together we report that Abi-1 is a cargo of Kif26B in primary hippocampal neurons, pointing to a role of this transport molecule in the movement of Abi-1 between different cell compartments. Additionally, we provide the first detailed investigation of Kif26B and its cargo molecules in neuronal cells.
Related Concept Videos
Microtubule Associated Motor Proteins
Assembly of Complex Microtubule Structures
Cytoskeletal Accessory Proteins
Microtubule Associated Proteins (MAPs)
The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles
SNAREs and Membrane Fusion
SNAREs exist in pairs that symmetrically interact and catalyze the fusion of the lipid bilayers in vesicle and target organelle. v-SNARE in the vesicle membrane are single polypeptide chains that bind to a complementary t-SNARE, composed of 2...

