Abstract
The extreme, complex morphology of neurons provides an unrivalled model to study the coordination between local signalling and long-range cell responses. A cogent example is provided by the binding of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to its receptor TrkB, which triggers signalling cascades at axon terminals that result in responses at the level of the cell body, including modulation of gene expression. Retrograde propagation of these critical signals relies on the sorting of activated TrkB receptors to retrograde axonal transport organelles termed signalling endosomes. In this work, we show that the small GTPase Rab10 is critical for the sorting of activated TrkB receptors to axonal retrograde carriers and the propagation of neurotrophin signalling from the axon terminal to the soma. Moreover, our data indicate that Rab10 defines a novel class of axonal organelles that are mobilised towards the axon terminal upon BDNF stimulation, thus enabling the axon to dynamically adjust the retrograde signalling flow to changes in BDNF availability at the synapse.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.