Module 6: The Cytoskeleton (Intermediate Filaments and Septins, Cell Polarization and Migration) Flashcards
- forms cytoplasmic filaments.
- have cells that are subject to mechanical stress.
- not found in animals with rigid exoskeletons
intermediate filaments
Types of intermediate filament (4)
- Nuclear
- Vimentin-like
- Epithelial
- Axonal
- The central domain of elongated proteins in intermediate filaments is a conserved __ containing 40 or so __ that forms an extended coiled-coil structure.
- a pair of __ then associates in an antiparallel fashion to form a __.
intermediate filament construction
- α-helical domain
- heptad repeat motifs
- parallel dimers
- staggered tetramer
Do intermediate filaments contain a binding site for nucleotides?
No
Are the two ends of an intermediate filament the same or different?
Same
They pack together laterally to form the filament, which includes eight parallel protofilaments made up of tetramers.
intermediate filament construction
tetramers
How many individual α-helical coils are present in a cross-section of the filament?
intermediate filaments
32
The mechanical properties of intermediate filaments: They have a __ character, are easily __, but are extremely difficult to __and can be __.
intermediate filaments
- ropelike
- bent
- break
- stretched
Which is the most diverse intermediate filament family?
Keratins
Made up of equal mixture of type I (acidic) and type II (neutral/basic) keratin proteins, forming a heterodimer.
intermediate filaments
Keratin filament
each
- What holds cross-linked keratin networks together?
- What happens to cross-linked keratin networks after cell death?
intermediate filaments
- Disulfide bonds
- Survive
Keratins are used in the diagnosis of __(__).
intermediate filaments
epithelial cancers (carcinomas)
A single epithelial cell produces __ types of keratins, they __ into a __ network.
intermediate filaments
- multiple
- copolymerize
- single
What structure is involved in cell-cell contact?
intermediate filaments
desmosomes
What structure is involved in cell-matrix contact?
intermediate filaments
Hemidesmosomes
- defective keratins in the basal cell layer of the epidermis.
- causes skin blisters in response to even very slight mechanical stress, which ruptures the basal cells.
- mouth, esophageal lining, and cornea of the eye can be affected
- Cell rupture as a consequence of mechanical trauma and a disorganization or clumping of the keratin filament cytoskeleton.
intermediate filaments; a condition
epidermolysis bullosa complex
- found in high concentrations along axons
- have subunits NF-L, NF-M, and NF-H, assemble in vivo into heteropolymers.
intermediate filaments
neurofilament
in vivo-performed or taking place in a living organism.
- During axonal growth, new neurofilament subunits are incorporated all along the axon in a dynamic process that involves the __ of subunits along the filament length as well as the ends.
- The level of __ controls axonal diameter during axonal growth.
- addition
- neurofilament gene expression
What disease is associated with neurofilaments?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease)
sclerosis- areas of scar-like tissue (also called plaques or lesions)
- A vimentin-like filaments expressed in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle, where it forms a scaffold around the Z disc of the sarcomere.
- It stabilizes muscle fibers.
intermediate filaments
desmin
They exhibit muscle-cell abnormalities such as misaligned muscle fibers. They lack desmin.
intermediate filaments; what animal?
mice
What human conditions are associated with defective desmin? (2)
- Muscular dystrophy
- cardiac myopathy
MD- progressive weakness and degeneration of skeletal muscles
Scaffold proteins that control myriad cellular processes including, transcription, chromatin organization, and signal transduction.
intermediate filaments
A-type lamins
Tissue-specific diseases associated with mutant versions of lamin A.
laminopathies
- intermediate filament network linked to the rest of the cytoskeleton
- members of a family of proteins
- They are large and modular, containing multiple domains that connect cytoskeletal filaments to each other and to junctional complexes.
Plakins
Interacts with protein complexes that connect the cytoskeleton to the nuclear interior.
intermediate filaments
Plectin
- an additional filament system that forms ring and cagelike structures.
- act as scaffolds to compartmentalize membranes into distinct domains.
- recruit and organize the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton.
Septins
- form a neck between a dividing yeast mother cell and its growing bud.
- recruit the actin-myosin machinery necessary for cytokinesis.
- involved in cell division, migration, vesicle trafficking, and act as a diffusion barrier.
Septins
How many septin genes are present in humans?
13
- relies on the coordinated deployment of components and processes.
- involves the dynamic assembly and disassembly of cytoskeletal polymers.
- structure of cytoskeletal polymers is through regulation and modification of their structure.
- action of motor proteins moving along cytoskeletal polymers or exert tension against them.
cell migration
How do cells move? Which cells do this to search for food? Which cell is an exception? (3)
cell migration
- by crawling
- Amoebae
- Sperm
unicellular, can alter its shape( extending and retracting pseudopods)
Structure of an animal is created through the __ of individual cells to specific target locations.
migrations