Motor de proteínas de superfamília de quinesinas e o transporte celular

Review

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 10, 682-696 (October 2009) | doi:10.1038/nrm2774

ARTICLE SERIES: Cytoskeletal motors

Kinesin superfamily motor proteins and intracellular transport

Nobutaka Hirokawa 1, Yasuko Noda 1, Yosuke Tanaka 1 & Shinsuke Niwa 1 About the authors

Intracellular transport is fundamental for cellular function, survival and morphogenesis. Kinesin superfamily proteins (also known as KIFs) are important molecular motors that directionally transport various cargos, including membranous organelles, protein complexes and mRNAs. The mechanisms by which different kinesins recognize and bind to specific cargos, as well as how kinesins unload cargo and determine the direction of transport, have now been identified. Furthermore, recent molecular genetic experiments have uncovered important and unexpected roles for kinesins in the regulation of such physiological processes as higher brain function, tumour suppression and developmental patterning. These findings open exciting new areas of kinesin research.

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Author affiliations

Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

Correspondence to: Nobutaka Hirokawa 1 Email: hirokawa@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp