EMBO J 31 6, 1350–1363 (2012); published online January 13 2012
In this issue of The EMBO Journal, Ben-Yaakov et al (2012) explore the contribution of transcription factors (TFs) in directly communicating information about injury between the axon and the nucleus. They show that multiple TFs bind the retrograde molecular motor dynein in injured axons. Focusing on one TF family, the authors reveal that STAT3 is locally translated and activated in injured axons, and then transported retrogradely to the nucleus to promote survival of peripheral sensory neurons.