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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Author Spotlight: Understanding the Impact of Pathological Proteins on Axonal Transport in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: December 22, 2023
Effect of the microtubule-associated protein tau on dynamics of single-headed motor proteins KIF1A
J Sparacino1, M G Farías2, P W Lamberti1
1Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba and CONICET, Medina Allende s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 5000 Córdoba, Argentina.
Abstract:
Intracellular transport based on molecular motors and its regulation are crucial to the functioning of cells. Filamentary tracks of the cells are abundantly decorated with nonmotile microtubule-associated proteins, such as tau. Motivated by experiments on kinesin-tau interactions [Dixit et al., Science 319, 1086 (2008)] we developed a stochastic model of interacting single-headed motor proteins KIF1A that also takes into account the interactions between motor proteins and tau molecules. Our model reproduces experimental observations and predicts significant effects of tau on bound time and run length which suggest an important role of tau in regulation of kinesin-based transport.
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