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Possible mechanisms of bidirectional nuclear transport during neuronal migration

CHUYING ZHOU¹, MINEKO KENGAKU^1,2,*

1 Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan
2 Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (WPI-iCeMS), Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

* Corresponding Author: MINEKO KENGAKU. Email: -u.ac.jp

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Tumor Microenvironment and Cytoskeletal Dynamics)

BIOCELL 2022, 46(11), 2357-2361. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2022.021050

Received 05 January 2022; Accepted 18 April 2022; Issue published 07 July 2022

Abstract

Neuronal migration is a fundamental process of mammalian brain development. In migrating neurons, the nuclear membrane protein Nesprin-2 has been shown to serve as an adaptor to pull the nucleus along microtubule tracks. Current evidence has shown that Nesprin-2 binds to both the minus-end-directed motor dynein as well as the plus-end-directed motor kinesin. However, translocation of neuronal nucleus has long been thought to be primarily driven by dynein motors. Intriguing questions could be raised about the role of kinesin in nuclear transport and how the activities of opposing motors are coordinated through interactions with Nesprin. Combining evidence from recent studies, we propose that Nesprin-2 serves as a switchboard in mediating bidirectional neuronal nuclear movements.

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