What is Cytoskeleton? Cytoskeleton is found in eukaryotic cells, this encounter allows them to adopt shapes and perform varied movements, in a complex web of fibers.
The Cytoskeleton is formed by structures, being 3: Microtubules, Microfilaments or Actin Filaments and Intermediate Filaments.
Microtubes: Microtubules have ~25nm diameter, this being is a type of thick fiber, formed by tubulin, globular protein, made up of filaments long and hollow, the main objective is to make the cells move, it has the ability to increase or decrease its size, this effect happens by the addition of tubulin subunits, or the loss of it, it also participates in the transport of vesicles and organelles, and the formation of cilia and scourges.
Microfilaments / Actin Filaments: They are found throughout the cell, concentrated mainly in the plasma membrane, the microfilaments are made of solid fibers, forming two interlocking lines of molecules of Actin, are the thinnest filaments of the Cytoskeleton, all Actin are globular proteins, this relationship allows the maintenance of cells, cell motility and contraction muscle. Microfilaments have a diameter of ~5 to 9 nm, the main purpose is cell migration, microvilli formation, and participation in muscle contraction.
Intermediate filaments, on the other hand, are larger than their friend Microfilaments, and smaller than Microtubules, they are filaments supercoiled in cables, it is very special and even rare, its presence may contain only cells of some animals, and very little in other cell types, the filament acts in the maintenance of the cells, as the microfilaments, they are totally resistant to very high temperatures. The diameter of the filaments is ~10nm, the main purpose is the transport of vesicles and other organelles.
They all form a cytoplasmic network, forming a dynamic structure between them, this dynamic is important for the cell to respond to various stimuli,
Therefore, the Cytoskeleton ensures the movement of vesicles and the movement of the plasma membrane, with this result, allows endocytosis and exocytosis to occur.
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