Koushika SP (2008) Bioessays ""JIP"ing along the axon: the complex roles of JIPs in axonal transport."

Koushika SP

[Bioessays, 2008]

JIPs are JNK interacting proteins and bind to JNK cascade kinases. JIP1 and JIP3 were known to be adaptors linking cargo to Kinesin-I, a major molecular motor for axonal transport. Recent research sheds further light on JIPs'' complex roles in axonal transport, namely in activation of Kinesin-I and in cargo release. In Drosophila, APLIP1/JIP1 allows the Kinesin-I complex to enable cargo release through activation of JNK signaling.1 In mammalian cell culture, JIP1 is necessary and, together with UNC-76/FEZ1, sufficient for activating Kinesin-I.2 I discuss and compare the many roles played by JIP1 and JIP3 through interactions with several distinct players, in retrograde as well as anterograde transport.

Koushika SP et al. (2000) Curr Opin Cell Biol "Sorting and transport in C. elegans: aA model system with a sequenced genome."

Nonet ML, Koushika SP

[Curr Opin Cell Biol, 2000]

In the past few years, yeast and cultured cells have been the model systems of choice for the study of protein sorting and transport. Recently, there has been a surge in research in these areas in Caenorhabditis elegans, with advances in experimental techniques and genomics. New in vivo assays that monitor endocytosis and neuronal transport have been used to delineate roles for several genes in these processes.