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Biophysical Studies Of Axonal Transport, Leslie Cyle Conway

Doctoral Dissertations

Intracellular transport provides a mechanism by which cellular material, such as organelles, vesicles, and protein, can be actively transported throughout the cell. This process relies on the activity of the cytoskeletal filament, microtubules, and their associated motor proteins. These motors are able to walk along microtubule tracks while carrying cellular cargos to enable the fast, regulated transport of these cargos. In cells, these microtubule filaments act as a binding platform for numerous different motor species as well as microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). In addition, these filaments often form higher order structures, such as microtubule bundles. How motors navigate such complex, crowded …