Dr Laura Gumy, New Zealand : "MAP2-dependent regulation of axonal transport"
Speaker :
Dr Laura Gumy,
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, New Zealand
Title: "MAP2-dependent regulation of axonal transport"
Abstract: Intracellular trafficking of cellular material is essential to maintain cell structure and function. This involves the movement of cellular cargoes by motor proteins that move along cytoskeletal microtubules. Such trafficking is especially critical for neurons because the extreme length of axons (up to 1 metre in humans) demands that cargoes originating in the cell body travel very long distances to reach their target destinations. Despite the importance of long-range transport to proper cell functioning, knowledge on the basic mechanisms regulating the distribution of cargoes in axons over long distances are poorly understood. To date, the bottleneck limiting advances in this area have been due to technical challenges in imaging of intracellular trafficking over long distances as evidenced by a paucity of literature in the field.
We recently developed an imaging method to visualise long distance transport in mammalian axons. We found that secretory vesicle motility along the axon depends on the switch between the activities of different motor proteins (KIF5 and KIF1) by a microtubule associated protein (MAP2). In addition to deciphering the fundamental mechanisms of long-range transport processes in neurons, we also show that modulation of intracellular transport pathways can promote axon regeneration. Given the ubiquitous presence of many microtubule associated proteins in axons, we propose the existence of a “MAP code” where microtubule associated proteins provide signals to coordinate specific transport routes.
About Neuroscience Seminars
Neuroscience seminars at the QBI play a major role in the advancement of neuroscience in the Asia-Pacific region. The primary goal of these seminars is to promote excellence in neuroscience through the exchange of ideas, establishing new collaborations and augmenting partnerships already in place.
Seminars in the QBI Auditorium are held on Wednesdays at 12-1pm, which are sometimes simulcast on Zoom (with approval from the speaker). We also occassionally hold seminars from international speakers via Zoom. The days and times of these seminars will vary depending on the time zone of the speaker. Please see each seminar listed below for details.
