Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules are enriched in specific RNAs and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and mediate critical cellular processes. Purified RBPs form liquid droplets in vitro through liquid-liquid phase separation and liquid-like non-membrane-bound structures in cells. Mutations in the human RBPs TAR-DNA binding protein 43 and RNA-binding protein FUS cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but the biophysical properties of these proteins have not yet been studied in neurons. Here, we show that TDP-43 RNP granules in axons of rodent primary cortical neurons display liquid-like properties, including fusion with rapid relaxation to circular shape, shear stress-induced deformation, and rapid fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. RNP granules formed from wild-type TDP-43 show distinct biophysical properties depending on axonal location, suggesting maturation to a more stabilized structure is dependent on subcellular context, including local density and aging. Superresolution microscopy demonstrates that the stabilized population of TDP-43 RNP granules in the proximal axon is less circular and shows spiculated edges, whereas more distal granules are both more spherical and more dynamic. RNP granules formed by ALS-linked mutant TDP-43 are more viscous and exhibit disrupted transport dynamics. We propose these altered properties may confer toxic gain of function and reflect differential propensity for pathological transformation.TDP-43 | ribonucleoprotein granules | liquid droplets | amyotrophic lateral sclerosis | neurons C ellular organelles allow eukaryotic cells to organize biochemical processes and concentrate specific cellular reactions in space and time. Although the role of membrane-bound organelles in cytoplasmic compartmentalization has long been recognized, the distinct biophysical properties and functions of non-membrane-bound organelles enriched in RNA and proteins have been recognized only recently (1-5). Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules, such as P granules in Caenorhabditis elegans (1), nucleoli in Xenopus laevis oocytes (2), yeast P bodies (3), and mammalian stress granules (6), show liquid droplet properties (reviewed in refs. 5, 7, 8), including fusion with rapid relaxation to a spherical shape, dynamic internal rearrangements, and rapid dissolution and assembly. Proteins comprising RNP granules share a common structure containing both RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) and low-complexity sequences (LCSs), intrinsically disordered regions that mediate protein-protein interactions (7, 9). In vitro characterization of human RNP granule proteins, RNA-binding protein FUS and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (hnRNP A1), which are mutated in rare inherited forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) (10-12), has revealed the LCS drives self-assembly of RNP granules through a process termed liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) (6, 13-18).Among eukaryotic cells, neurons face unique challenges in spatiotemporal cytoplasmic organization related to their com...