Lecture 2 - Quiz 1 Flashcards
What is the cell interior filled with?
Organelles, cytosol and cytoskeletal components
How can you visualize the cytoskeleton?
Treat cell with detergent like Triton X to extract soluble proteins of cytosol and fix and observe with SEM
What is the cytoskeleton?
A network of protein filaments throughout the cytosol that goes around or between organelles and can help with structure and transport
What has the greatest surface area within a cell?
Cytoskeletal network is >12x the SA of the combined membranous components of cells
What filaments make up the cytoskeleton?
Actin, intermediate and microtubules
Rank the cytoskeleton filaments by size
Actin (7-9 nm), intermediate (10 nm), microtubules (24 nm)
What is another name for actin filaments?
Microfilaments
Which of the filaments is not found in bacteria or fungi?
Intermediate filaments
How can filaments be organized structurally?
Bundles (parallel), geodesic-domes (found under membranes with foci radiating out), or gel-like 3-dimensional lattices
What are some functions of the cytoskeleton?
Organize the cytosol and establish polarity, support specialized structures, support the plasma and nuclear membrane, cell motility
What is an example of specialized supported structures by the cytoskeleton?
Microvilli, cilia, flagella
How does the cytoskeleton support the plasma and nuclear membrane?
Microfilaments indirectly attach to the plasma membrane with accessory proteins by forming geodesic dome structures
How does cytoskeleton provide indirect linkages between adjacent cells and cells and the ECM?
Actin and IFs provide adhesion by associating with adhering junctions and demosomal junctions by hooking in to junctions
How does the cytoskeleton provide intracellular movements?
Microtubules can move vesicles, organelles and chromosomes, actin can also participate
How does the cytoskeleton provide cell motility?
Microtubules form core of cilia and provide structural support for ciliary beating and actin can utilize motor protein myosin to generate force for motility, flagellar beating of sperm
Which is the most abundant intracellular protein?
Actin
What are the forms of actin and what property does this give actin?
Monomeric, globular G-actin and polymeric, filamentous F-actin, allows actin cytoskeleton to be dynamic and change shape and size
What is the structure of G-actin?
It is non-symmetrical with 2 lobes with a cleft between where ATP can bind and be complexed with magnesium
What is the structure of F-actin?
Binds in tight helix of twisted strand of beads and strand has polarity with units always binding with ATP binding cleft facing negative end
How can you distinguish the negative and positive end of F-actin?
Myosin decoration forms arrowheads
How does actin polymerize? What are the steps?
G-actin aggregates into short, unstable oligomers during nucleation or the lag period
Stable oligomers 3-4 subunits long stabilize during elongation and free g-actin decreases
Steady state is achieved when there is no net increase in monomers and their is equilibrium with as many coming off as going on
What can prevent G-actin nucleus from falling apart to speed up filament assembly?
Formins (FH2) with a ring structure that binds and stabilizes the nucleus, also Arp2/3 (actin related protein) that binds to existing nucleus site and build new filament that starts to form a network
What happens if you add actin nucleating proteins during filament assembly?
Eliminate most of the lag time
What is the concentration of G actin at steady state?
The critical concentration
What is the typical in vitro critical concentartion (Cc)?
0.1 uM
What happens when monomer concentration falls below Cc? And rises above?
F-actin begins to depolymerize, or polymerizes when higher
What does the actin filament prefer addition of? And what is it mostly comprised of?
Prefers to bind ATP bound G-actin, but because it is hydrolyzed most of the filament is comprised of ADP F-actin
Which end of the actin filament grows faster?
The positive end elongates 5-10X faster than the negative end because the negative end is stabilized by monomer heads, because there is a lower Cc at the positive end
In steady state where are subunits adding and subtractin on an actin filament? and what are the concentrations?
Adding to positive end and losing from negative end with length remaining constant and subunits treadmilling through, Cc- > G-actin concentration > Cc+
What proteins regulate actin polymerization (in vivo)?
Thymosin beta 4: sequesters ATP-G-actin and binds 1:1 blocking ATP site preventing polymerization
Profilin promotes F-actin assembly and binds 1:1 to bind opposite ATP binding cleft promoting filament assembly by allowing ADP exchange for ATP
How can actin be organized?
Into networks and bundles