Mitochondria, Cytoskeleton, & Cell Motility Flashcards
Mitochondria anatomy?
-bound by a double membrane surrounding a fluid-filled matrix
- inner membrane= cristae (has proteins that generate ATP)
- inner space= the matrix; contains enzymes that break down carbs
Mitochondria genetic composition?
-has ~1000 genes that combine to form the mitochondria, are a combo of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA
What is the function of the mitochondria?
- take raw material (fat, protein, glucose) and convert it into usable energy (ATP)
- power plant of the cell
What happens if mitochondria has faulty power production?-
=faulty cell function=problems with organ & tissue function
-leads to many human disorders
How do fats get into cells?
-via carnitine transports
CoQ10?
- an antioxidant, this and others are important in electron transport chain
- accept free radicals so don’t damage the cell
Mitochondria DNA inheritance?
- only from mom
- when cells divide, copies are inherited in each daughter cell randomly
- so each cell can have a unique mix of WT and mutant mito.
- called heteroplasmy
- if happens in utero, can have a mix of WT and mutant tissues/organs, but symptoms could manifest only in high energy organs
what do mitochondria disorders tend to effect? why?
- high energy using organs/ tissues
- because mito. makes ATP, mito fucked= less ATP= less energy to do work by those organs
- most commonly brain/CNS
heteroplasmy
- when an individual has a mix of healthy (wild type) and mutant alleles/ genes
- ex= mitochondria mutants
Mitochondrial mutations in siblings? Why?
- siblings can have same mutations, but have different organs affected and to various degrees
- because mito. get separated randomly during cell division
why test mtDNA mutations in blood not effective?
-because mtDNA can vary tissue to tissue, organ to organ, or blood to either. so can take blood sample and look healthy, but if tested live you’d find it
Mitochondria mutations change over time?
- yes, some mutations can get worse or better (slow accumulation of cell injury)
- depends on mitosis and distribution of mutant vs wild type mito. during cell division
-as get old=more mitosis=more risk of fucking it up=more chance of accumulating mito mutant in CNS and getting a debilitating disorder
How can we combat mito. disease?
-suggested to implant healthy mito. but hard since would need to get into correct cells/tissue and don’t always know how to determine that
Why is there a slow accumulation of cell injury in mito diseases?
- cuz if have a mix of WT and mutant DNA, the wt can partially compensate for the unhealthy mito so works decently
Mitochondrial diseases?
- 100s of diff. diseases genetically
- individuals w/ same mutation, can have diff. symptoms (even identical twins)
- diseases change over time makes hard to diagnose and hard to treat since most affect the CNS
What is the cytoskeleton? What does it do?
- a network of filaments & tubules that extend from the nucleus to the plasma membrane
1) cell structure/shape
2) attachment site for proteins
3) cell movement
what are the three elements of the cytoskeleton ?
1) actin (microfilaments) (7nm)
2) microtubules (25nm)
3) intermediate filaments (10nm)
roles in cell shape, movement within the cell, movement of the cell
microtubules structure & function?
small hollow, cylinders made of tubulin polymers (alpha & beta) dimerize, have 13 columns of tubulin
- 25nm diameter, 15nm hollow tube(lumen)
- maintenance of cell shape, cell motility, chromosome movements in cell division, organelle movements
microfilaments structure and function?
- made of 2 long actin filaments intertwined together
- actin=globluar (circular)
- 7nm long
- maintenance & changes of cell shape, muscle contraction, cell motility & division
intermediate filaments structure & function?
- 10 nm long
- fibrous keratin family proteins supercoiled into thick cables
- very stable, allows cells to withstand mechanical stretching (ex. skin)
1) anchors for nucleus& other organs
2) support plasma membrane & nuclear envelope
3) provide tensile strength in cell
what is tubulin?
- small globular protein used to make microtubules
- alpha and beta are made from it
How is microtubule assembly controlled?
by the microtubule organizing center, the centrosome
How microtubules move things in the cell? Why important?
- act as tracks that kinesin/kinesin receptors can walk along while carrying cargo vesicles
- microtubules=stationary, kinesin utilizes ATP hydrolysis to walk along the track
-important for neurons w/ long axons, when things need to get from cell body to the terminal synapse at end of neuron
microtubules and genetic disordrs
- genetic disorders can be associated w/ dysfunction in microtubules or the accessory proteins that help them (ex: kinesin)
- most diseases affect transport (especially in neurons)
what happens if lack intermediate filaments (keratin fam proteins)?
- cells wouldn’t be able to handle mechanical stretching such as with the skin and things could pop/burst
acidic and basic keratins location and function?
- intermediate filament class
- in epithelial cells
- involved in tissue strength & integrity