A gate keeper for axonal transport.
The axon and dendritic arbor of neurons require different sets of membrane proteins to carry out their functions. In this issue, Song et al. (2009) describe how a cytoplasmic diffusion barrier in the axon initial segment of rat hippocampal neurons ensures that only axonal (and not dendritic) membrane proteins enter the axon.
Xiao
Shaohua
S
Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Jan
Lily Yeh
LY
D000818:Animals; D001370:Axonal Transport; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats