If, from the outset, all the biological machinery in neurons is in the cell body, the soma, but part of this machinery and molecules produced are needed at the end of an axon, which is sometimes very far away, how does the soma make so that everything at the end of your axon works well?
This spatial difficulty is solved by carrying out a controlled transport of all necessary biological machinery, which according to the direction will be an antegrade or retrograde transport: the transport that is in the soma-final direction of the axon is an antegrade transport and if it is in the opposite direction, the end of the axon / soma, is a retrograde transport.
Antegrade transport is important so that the end of the axon has everything it needs for the synapse to function, while retrograde transport is key so that certain signals that the axon picks up reach the soma. Of course, retrograde transport is sometimes a bit problematic because it is the route by which toxins such as tetanus toxin, or pathogens such as rabies, polio or herpes viruses arrive from the end of the nerve to the soma and affect to neurons.
You can see all the chapters of the Neuropill series by entering here
About Neuropills:
Created, directed and presented by Pablo Barrecheguren (@pjbarrecheguren), Neuropíldoras (2018) is a scientific dissemination project made by Big Van Ciencia in collaboration with Muy Interesante and carried out with the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology – Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FECYT).
