The kinesins constitute a large family of microtubule-dependent motor proteins, which are responsible for the distribution of numerous organelles, vesicles and macromolecular complexes throughout the cell . Individual kinesin members play crucial roles in cell division, intracellular transport, and membrane trafficking events including endocytosis and transcytosis . KIF1C is a member of the KIF1/Unc104 family of kinesin-like proteins, which are involved in the transport of mitochondria or synaptic vesicles in axons . Human KIF1C maps to chromosome 17p13 and encodes a predicted 1,103 amino acid protein with abundant expression in heart and skeletal muscle . Tyrosine phosphorylation is a putative regulator of KIF1C mediated retrograde transport of Golgi vesicles to the endoplasmic reticulum. KIF1C is capable of forming homodimers and can noncovalently associate with 14-3-3 beta, gamma, epsilon and zeta . In mouse macrophages, KIF1C is required for anthrax lethal toxin resistance.
