RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Kinesin Heavy Chain Function in Drosophila Glial Cells Controls Neuronal Activity JF The Journal of Neuroscience JO J. Neurosci. FD Society for Neuroscience SP 7466 OP 7476 DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0349-12.2012 VO 32 IS 22 A1 Imke Schmidt A1 Silke Thomas A1 Pinky Kain A1 Benjamin Risse A1 Elke Naffin A1 Christian Klämbt YR 2012 UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/32/22/7466.abstract AB Kinesin heavy chain (Khc) is crucially required for axonal transport and khc mutants show axonal swellings and paralysis. Here, we demonstrate that in Drosophila khc is equally important in glial cells. Glial-specific downregulation of khc by RNA interference suppresses neuronal excitability and results in spastic flies. The specificity of the phenotype was verified by interspecies rescue experiments and further mutant analyses. Khc is mostly required in the subperineurial glia forming the blood–brain barrier. Following glial-specific knockdown, peripheral nerves are swollen with maldistributed mitochondria. To better understand khc function, we determined Khc-dependent Rab proteins in glia and present evidence that Neurexin IV, a well known blood–brain barrier constituent, is one of the relevant cargo proteins. Our work shows that the role of Khc for neuronal excitability must be considered in the light of its necessity for directed transport in glia.