Imagine a situation in a typical neuron in which mitochondri

Imagine a situation in a typical neuron in which mitochondria, which are localized near the axon terminal in order to provide energy for neurotransmission, have become damaged and need to be replaced with new mitochondria that are synthesized in the cell body. The old mitochondria also need to be destroyed by the lysosomes, which are also located in the cell body. Describe the cellular events which will lead to the destruction of the old mitochondria as well as the delivery of new mitochondria to the axon terminal. Be sure to use the following terms: retrograde, anterograde, kinesin, dynein, microtubules.

Solution

Mitochondria cellular event use motors of one or more kinesin families, with cytoplasmic dynein, to move along microtubules, and its bidirectional movement may be in step through interaction between dynein and kinesin. Translocation along actin filaments is perhaps driven by myosin. Mitochondria can quickly switch between anterograde and retrograde movement, and their net direction in neurons to effect primarily from modulation of the fraction of time spent moving anterogradely. Long-distance fast axonal transport of mitochondria requires microtubules. The patterns of mitochondrial movement involve motor proteins of the kinesin superfamily in anterograde organelle transport and those of the dynein family in retrograde transport.