The evolution of nerves: understanding the roots of neurodegeneration

“轴突是神经元的细长延伸，可以有一米长，形成穿过我们神经的生物电缆，使神经系统坚固。在人类中，轴突必须存活长达一个世纪；到了高龄，我们失去了大约40%的轴突，更多的轴突是在神经退化中失去的，但其原因尚不清楚。为了了解轴突的维持和病理，我们正在关注沿着轴突运行的微管束(MT)--无论是在微小的苍蝇中还是在人类中[参考文献1]。这些束决定轴突的结构，并形成维持生命的轴突运输的高速公路。因此，MT束衰退导致轴突变性。但维持这些束的机制(可能会在病理学上失败！)鲜为人知“

"Axons are slender extensions of neurons which can be meter-long and form the biological cables that run through our nerves to hardwire the nervous system. In humans, axons must survive for up to a century; we lose ~40% of axons towards high age and many more in neurodegeneration, but the causes are poorly understood. To understand axon maintenance and pathologies, we are focussing on the bundles of microtubules (MTs) that run all along axons - be it in a tiny fly or in a human [Ref1]. These bundles determine axon structure and form the highways for life-sustaining axonal transport. Accordingly, MT bundle decay causes axon degeneration. But the mechanisms that maintain these bundles (and might fail in pathology!) are little understood "