title: Conventional kinesin: Biochemical heterogeneity and functional implications in health and disease.
abstract: Intracellular trafficking events powered by microtubule-based molecular motors facilitate the targeted delivery of selected molecular components to specific neuronal subdomains. Within this context, we provide a brief review of mechanisms underlying the execution of axonal transport (AT) by conventional kinesin, the most abundant kinesin-related motor protein in the mature nervous system. We emphasize the biochemical heterogeneity of this multi-subunit motor protein, further discussing its significance in light of recent discoveries revealing its regulation by various protein kinases. In addition, we raise issues relevant to the mode of conventional kinesin attachment to cargoes and examine recent evidence linking alterations in conventional kinesin phosphorylation to the pathogenesis of adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. Electronic address: gmorfini@uic.edu.
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Morfini
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Biology and Human Genetics, University of Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße 13, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weissmann
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigación Médica "Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra", INIMEC-CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Friuli 2434, 5016 Córdoba, Argentina.
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pigino
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Biology and Human Genetics, University of Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße 13, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany. Electronic address: s.kins@biologie.uni-kl.de.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001370:Axonal Transport / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016547:Kinesins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016547:Kinesins
keywords: Axonal transport; KIF5; KLC; Kinesin; Kinesin-1