ABSTRACT
One of the most widely used techniques for studying axonal transport of macromolecules is to inject a radioactively labeled precursor into the vicinity of a neuronal cell body and then examine the distribution of radioactive product along the length of the nerve. The most definitive study on the axonal transport of DNA has been published only as an abstract. The axonal transport of ribonucleic acid (RNA) has proved to be significantly more complex and intriguing than DNA transport. While there had been several reports suggesting that RNA was present in axons, the first definitive evidence was supplied by R. J. Lasek and colleagues in 1973. Prior to Lasek's finding of 4S RNA in the giant axon, many reports had been published on the presence of RNA in vertebrate axons. The facet of this work which is most exciting and likely to be most relevant to clinical neurology is the effect of nerve growth on the axonal transport of RNA.
