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Updated: Jan 19, 2026

Author Spotlight: Understanding the Impact of Pathological Proteins on Axonal Transport in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: December 22, 2023
A High-Content Screen Identifies TPP1 and Aurora B as Regulators of Axonal Mitochondrial Transport
Evgeny Shlevkov1, Himanish Basu1, Mark-Anthony Bray2
1F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
Dysregulated axonal trafficking of mitochondria is linked to neurodegenerative disorders. We report a high-content screen for small-molecule regulators of the axonal transport of mitochondria. Six compounds enhanced mitochondrial transport in the sub-micromolar range, acting via three cellular targets: F-actin, Tripeptidyl peptidase 1 (TPP1), or Aurora Kinase B (AurKB). Pharmacological inhibition or small hairpin RNA (shRNA) knockdown of each target promotes mitochondrial axonal transport in rat hippocampal neurons and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived human cortical neurons and enhances mitochondrial transport in iPSC-derived motor neurons from an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient bearing one copy of SOD1A4V mutation. Our work identifies druggable regulators of axonal transport of mitochondria, provides broadly applicable methods for similar image-based screens, and suggests that restoration of proper axonal trafficking of mitochondria can be achieved in human ALS neurons.
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