week 7 the cytoskeleton Flashcards
what are the componets of the cell cytoskeleton
actin filaments, microtubules, intermediate filaments
what are actin filaments
provides mechanical support, determines cell shape, and allows movement of the cell surface, thereby enabling cells to migrate, engulf particles, and divide.
what are microtubules
function both to determine cell shape and in a variety of cell movements, including some forms of cell locomotion, the intracellular transport of organelles, and the separation of chromosomes during mitosis.
What do the daughter cells do after the cell divides?
They reorganize their microtubule and actin cytoskeletons into smaller versions of those present in the mother cell, enabling them to crawl their separate ways.
What is bound in the deep cleft at the center of an actin monomer?
Either ATP or ADP.
What is the orientation of the subunits within an actin filament?
All the subunits within the filament have the same orientation.
What imaging technique is used to visualize an actin filament?
Electron micrograph of a negatively stained actin filament
what does the cytoskeleton network do
This network is important for cell shape, movement, division, trafficking
what is an actin filament made up of
made up an actin monomer which is wither ATP or ADP bound in a deep cleft
what is nucleation
the formation of a helical momomer of actin where one actins binds to another which binds to another forming a ‘neclus’ of action
what are the 2 ends that actin is polymerised
the minus end which is the slow growing end and the plus end which is the fast growing end
what is treadmilling
occurs when one end of a filament grows in length while the other end shrinks, resulting in a section of filament seemingly “moving” across a stratum or the cytosol.
what is profilin
binds momoers, concentrates them at sites of filament assembly
what is thymosin
binds subunits and prevents assembly
What is the cytoskeleton in a cell?
A network of filaments that supports the plasma membrane, gives the cell shape, aids in organelle positioning, provides tracks for vesicle transport, and allows cell movement.
What are the three types of protein fibers in the cytoskeleton of eukaryotes?
Microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules.
What is another name for microfilaments and why?
Actin filaments, because they are made of actin monomers
Actin filaments, because they are made of actin monomers
Serve as tracks for myosin, involved in cell division, muscle contraction, cargo transport, cell motility, and maintaining cell shape.
How do actin filaments contribute to muscle contraction?
Actin and myosin filaments in sarcomeres slide past each other to contract muscles
What is the primary function of intermediate filaments?
Maintain cell shape and anchor the nucleus and other organelles in place.
What are microtubules made of?
α-tubulin and β-tubulin subunits.
How do microtubules behave dynamically?
They can grow and shrink quickly by adding or removing tubulin proteins.
What specialized roles do microtubules play?
Provide tracks for motor proteins (kinesins and dyneins) to transport vesicles and cargoes, and form the spindle during cell division to pull chromosomes apart.
how does actin filament grow
arp2/3 complexes
-arp2/3 complexes are held together accessory proteins
-when nucleation promoting factor bind they cuse arp2/3 complexes to assemble actin filaments and cause branching
what does proflin do
stimulates proflin elongation
What role does profilin play in actin filament elongation?
Profilin stimulates actin filament elongation.
What do many nucleation-promoting factors (NPFs) contain?
Binding sites for profilin.
What is profilin bound to in the cell?
Actin monomers.
What does the activation of NPFs lead to?
Nucleation of branched actin filaments by Arp2/3 and rapid elongation of new filaments.
what is the pathway for proflin
- inactive arp2/3 comlexes bind to nucleation promoting factors (NPFs)
this causes actin momers to bind and nucleate actin filament
What is the composition of a myosin II molecule?
Two heavy chains and four light chains.
How many types of light chains are present in a myosin II molecule?
Two distinct types, with one copy of each type present on each myosin head.
What causes the dimerization of myosin II?
The two α helices of the heavy chains wrap around each other to form a coiled-coil, driven by the association of regularly spaced hydrophobic amino acids.
What structure does the coiled-coil arrangement of myosin II heavy chains form?
An extended rod in solution, which forms the tail of the myosin II molecule.
Describe the structure of a microtubule.
A microtubule is a stiff hollow tube formed from 13 protofilaments aligned in parallel.
How is the GTP molecule associated with the β-tubulin monomer?
It is less tightly bound and plays an important role in filament dynamics
What is the function of γ-TuRC?
Nucleates microtubule assembly and remains associated with the minus end, forming a centrosome near the nucleus.
Where is γ-TuRC located and what does it form?
Located next to the nucleus in the cytosol, forming a centrosome.