Week 10 Textbook Flashcards
(87 cards)
what is the cytoskeleton
an intricate network of protein filaments that extends throughout the cytoplasm
- allows organization of internal components
- plants = stiff
- animals = built on IF, MT, AF
what forms intermediate filaments
family of fibrous proteins entwines to form the intermediate filaments
- forms a meshwork called the nuclear lamina under the nuclear membrane
- distributing the mechanical stress of the cell
- very flexible and great tensile strength
what forms the microtubules
globular tubulin subunits come together
- hollow cylinders
- long and straight
- rupture when stretched + more rigid
what forms the actin filaments (microfilaments)
globular actin subunits
- flexible
- most abundant beneath the plasma membrane or in the villa of the epithelial cells
explain the structure of intermediate filaments more
- thinner than actin but thicker than myosin filaments
- toughest and more durable
- remain intact even after the cell dies
- form a network + anchored to the plasma membrane via desmosomes
- form nuclear lamina which reinforces the nuclear envelope
form rope with many strands twisted together
the rod domain has a alpha-helical region (coiled coil)
- they run in opposite directions and are staggered tetramers
what is the process of IF ropes forming
the alpha-helical region of the monomer coil with another monomer = coiled coil dimer
twisted with other coiled coils, they become staggered and anti parallel = tetramer
8 tetramers come together LATERALLY (stacking on top of each other) to form noncovalent bonds (H bonds, LDF, ionic, dipole)
then they twist together to form an array of 8 tetramers
are both ends of the IF the same
bc the dimers are paired in opposite directions both ends of the tetramer are the same
no polarity (no difference in ends, not talking about charge)
what are the 4 classes that intermediate filament can be grouped into
- keratin filaments in epithelial cells
- vimentin and vimentin-related filaments (connective tissue, muscle cells and supportive glial cells of the NS
- neurofilaments in nerve cells
(these 3 = cytoplasm found) - nuclear lamins - strengthen the nuclear envelope (only found in nucleus)
explain keratin filaments
the most diverse of the intermediate filaments
- every epithelium in the body has its own keratin proteins
- specialized keratins = hair, feathers, claws
- the ends of the keratin filaments are anchored by desmosomes - to associate laterally with other cells
- these strong cables distribute the stress when the skin is stressed
what are neurofilaments
they are IF that are found along the axons of vertebrate neurons - they provide strength and stability to the axons that transmit information
explain the nuclear lamina
fibrous layer on the inner surface of the inner nuclear membrane
formed as networks of IF made from nuclear LAMINS
- the nuclear lamina disassembles and re-forms at each cell division and re-appears in the daughter cells
- chromatin binds to the nuclear lamina
explain the process of the nuclear lamina collapsing and reassembling
it is controlled by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of the lamins
phosphorylated by protein kinases
- this weakens the interaction between the lamin tetramers and cause the filaments to fall apart
dephosphorylation causes the protein phosphatases to reassemble
what is progeria
rare disorder that causes ppl to age fast
- caused by defects in a particular nuclear lamin
t/f MT can bundle together to form cilia and flagella
true
they bundle together to form this
explain the structure of microtubules
built from the subunits of tubulin
each dimer is composed of alpha-tubulin and beta-tubulin
- they are bound together by noncovalent bonds
- the tubulin dimers stack together again by noncovalent bonding to form a wall of hollow cylinders
each protofilament has a structural polarity with alpha on one end and beta on the other end
t/f the beta end is the - end of MT
false, the beta end is the plus end
the alpha end is the - end
explain the alpha and beta dimers and how they form the MT
each beta and alpha subunit is binded to GTP which are linked together to form a dimer
they stack vertically to make 1 string = protofilament
t/f dimers add to the plus end when growing MT
true
what are centrosomes
located in most prominent microtubule-organizing center
consists of a pair of centrioles surrounded by a gel-like matrix of proteins
inside of the gel matrix, there are ring-shaped g-tubulin which are the complexes that serve as the starting point or nucleation site for the growth of one microtubule
what is the function of centrioles
the pairs sit perp to one another
they are made of a cylindrical array or short microtubules
- they have no role in the nucleation of microtubules from the centrosome
- the y-tubulin ring complexes are efficient on their own
although the centrioles in the cilia and flagella nucleate the growth of microtubules - called basal bodies
t/f the arrangement of microtubules varies in different cell types
true
in animal cells
what is dynamic instability
behaviour of switching back and forth between polymerization and depolymerization
- undergo rapid remodelling for their function
they can hydrolyze GTP –> GDP
each tubulin dimer has GTP binded and the beta tubulin hydrolyzes GTP into GDP after the dimer was added to the growing chain
what happens when the tubulin dimers are growing faster than the GTP can hydrolyze
the end of the rapidly growing microtubule is composed entirely of GTP tubulin dimers to make a GTP cap
- GTP dimers bind more strongly to their neighbors in the microtubule than dimers with GDP
what happens when the GTP hydrolysis is faster than the addition of new GTP tubulin dimers
GTP cap can be lost
the protofilaments containing GDP tubulin peel away from the microtubule wall
GDP tubulin is released and broken - released into cytosol = shrinking MT
in a typical fibroplast - half of the ublin in the cell is in the MT and the other is in the cytoplasic pool rapidly exchnaginging their bound GDP for GTP