A Stochastic Multiscale Model That Explains the Segregation of Axonal Microtubules and Neurofilaments in Neurological Diseases.

ABSTRACT: The organization of the axonal cytoskeleton is a key determinant of the normal function of an axon, which is a long thin projection of a neuron. Under normal conditions two axonal cytoskeletal polymers, microtubules and neurofilaments, align longitudinally in axons and are interspersed in axonal cross-sections. However, in many neurotoxic and neurodegenerative disorders, microtubules and neurofilaments segregate apart from each other, with microtubules and membranous organelles clustered centrally and neurofilaments displaced to the periphery. This striking segregation precedes the abnormal and excessive neurofilament accumulation in these diseases, which in turn leads to focal axonal swellings. While neurofilament accumulation suggests an impairment of neurofilament transport along axons,

SUBMITTER: Xue C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4540448 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature