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12.1: Introduction to the Cytoskeleton

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    16163
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    When a eukaryotic cell is taken out of its physiological context and placed in a plastic or glass Petri dish, it is generally seen to flatten out to some extent. On a precipice, it would behave like a Salvador Dali watch, oozing over the edge. The immediate assumption, particularly in light of the fact that the cell is known to be mostly water by mass and volume, is that the cell is simply a bag of fluid. However, the cell actually has an intricate microstructure within it, framed internally by the components of the cytoskeleton.

    Although the genes are not particularly well conserved, a combination of genetic similarity and protein structure have confirmed the presence of prokaryotic proteins that are related to eukaryotic cytoskeletal proteins in both form and function. Compared to the eukaryotic cytoskeleton, study of prokaryotic proteins is very recent, and for a long time, there was an assumption that prokaryotes did not have or need cytoskeletal architecture. FtsZ, the bacterial equivalent of tubulin, was discovered in 1980 but most of the work on it has occurred in the last decade. MreB is an actin-like protein, first compared to actin in 1992, and crescentin, an intermediate filament class protein, was only described in 2003. For comprehensive review of prokaryotic cytoskeleton proteins, see Graumann, P.L., Ann. Rev. Microbiology 61:589-618, 2007.

    As the name implies, the cytoskeleton acts much like our own skeletons in supporting the general shape of a cell. Unlike our skeletons though, the cytoskeleton is highly dynamic and internally motile, shifting and rearranging in response to the needs of the cell. It also has a variety of purposes beyond simply providing the shape of the cell. Generally, these can be categorized as structural and transport. While all three major components of the cytoskeleton perform each of these functions, they do not do so equally, as their biophysical characteristics are quite different. With respect to structure, at some point in the life of every cell, it must change shape, whether simply increasing or decreasing in size, or a more drastic alteration like the super-elongated form of neurons with axons, the cytoskeleton must be able to respond by dynamically increasing and decreasing the size of the internal structures as needed. Structure also applies to the relative position of internal cellular elements, such as organelles or proteins, to one another. In many highly specialized cells, the segregation of particular structures within certain parts of the cell is crucial for it to function. Transport refers to the movement of molecules and organelles within the cell as well as movement of the cell as a whole. We just discussed intracellular movement of proteins and lipids by way of vesicles in the last chapter. Those vesicles, as we will see in this chapter, are not just floating from one place to another; they are moved purposefully and directionally along the cytoskeleton like cargo on highways or railroad tracks. With respect to whole cell movement, this can range from paddling or swimming by single-celled organisms to the stereotyped and highly coordinated crawling of many cells from their point of origin to their eventual destination during the development of a metazoan organism or the movement of fibroblasts to heal a cut in your skin.

    Screen Shot 2019-01-07 at 8.45.43 AM.png
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). Cytoskeletal element distribution in a prototypical eukaryotic cell. The purple ball is the nucleus.

    The three major components of the cytoskeleton are microtubules, microfilaments, and intermediate filaments. Each of these are polymers composed of repeating subunits in specific arrangements. With just a quick glance (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)), it is very clear that the intermediate filaments will likely play a significantly different role from either microtubules or microfilaments. Because the IF’s are made of long fibrous subunits that coil around one another to form the filament, there is clearly a great deal of contact (which facilitates formation of hydrogen bonds, aka molecular velcroTM) between subunits providing great tensile strength. It is very difficult to break these subunits apart, and thus the IF’s are primarily used for long-term or permanent load-bearing purposes. Looking at the other two components of the cytoskeleton, one can see that with the globular instead of fibrous shape of the subunits, the maximum area of contact between subunits is greatly limited (think of the contact area when you push two basketballs together), making it easier to separate the subunits or break the microfilament or microtubule. The cell can use this characteristic to its advantage, by utilizing these kinds of cytoskeletal fibers in dynamic situations where formation or destruction of intermediate filaments would take far too long. We now address these three groups of cytoskeletal elements in more detail.


    This page titled 12.1: Introduction to the Cytoskeleton is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by E. V. Wong via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.