ALS gene may be a hitchhiker’s guide to the neuron

Scientists peered inside neurons and watched the workings of annexin A11, a gene linked to a rare form of ALS. They found that neurons may normally use the gene to ship internal housekeeping instructions via a newly discovered “hitchhiking” system and that disease-causing mutations may tie up deliveries at the cell’s loading docks. This research is supported by an ALS Society of Canada/Brain Canada Arthur J. Hudson Translational Team Grant.