title: Neurofilament subunit (NFL) head domain phosphorylation regulates axonal transport of neurofilaments.
abstract: Neurofilaments are the intermediate filaments of neurons and are synthesised in neuronal cell bodies and then transported through axons. Neurofilament light chain (NFL) is a principal component of neurofilaments, and phosphorylation of NFL head domain is believed to regulate the assembly of neurofilaments. However, the role that NFL phosphorylation has on transport of neurofilaments is poorly understood. To address this issue, we monitored axonal transport of phosphorylation mutants of NFL. We mutated four known phosphorylation sites in NFL head domain to either preclude phosphorylation, or mimic permanent phosphorylation. Mutation to preclude phosphorylation had no effect on transport but mutation of three sites to mimic permanent phosphorylation inhibited transport. Mutation of all four sites together to mimic permanent phosphorylation proved especially potent at inhibiting transport and also disrupted neurofilament assembly. Our results suggest that NFL head domain phosphorylation is a regulator of neurofilament axonal transport.
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre for Neurodegeneration Research, Department of Neuroscience P037, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE58AF, UK.
authors.forename: Darran M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Yates
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Manser
authors.forename: Kurt J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: De Vos
authors.forename: Christopher E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: Declan M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: McLoughlin
authors.forename: Christopher C J
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001370:Axonal Transport; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D050505:Mutant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D051381:Rats; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D050505:Mutant Proteins