Background information
The kinesin superfamily of proteins (KIFs) consists of a class of microtubule-dependent motors that play a major role in many cellular and developmental functions, including organelle transport, mitosis, meiosis, and possibly long-range signaling in neurons. The kinesin proteins are involved in organelle transport and are primarily associated with anterograde transport of vesicles and organelles in neurons, epithelial cells, and melanosomes with bidirectional transport of mitochondria. They also mediate transport between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi complex. In neurons, kinesin motors conduct vesicular transport, such as of synaptic vesicle components to axons and of neurotransmitter receptors to dendrites. KIF17 belongs to the functionally diverse subgroup of the kinesin superfamily characterized by a N-terminal motor domain (N-IV class), that includes the KIF3 motor protein. KIF17 is specifically expressed in the brain, present in abundance in the gray matter, particularly in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, but not in the white matter such as the optic nerve.
