Structure & Function
A) Actin Filaments
Actin Filaments are the thinnest of the three and are monomers of actin that combine to make long, thin fibers. They move by elongating one end of a strand and shrinking another, which aids in cellular division. Also they can help as "sidewalks" by allowing myosin molecules to use them as a track to "walk" along(Work Cited Page 2, Cytoskeleton, 1). Another important function is when binded with myosin they provide the force for muscle contraction
B) Intermediate Filaments
These filaments act very much
the same as Actin filaments in the sense they are the common structural support
of most cells and made of keratin which is found in your hair, nails, and skin.
They help stabilize the structure of the nuclear envelope and also help hold the
nucleus in a complex of "cables" in many cells.
C)
Microtubules
The Microtubules are essential to cell function. They are formed as long hollow cylinders made of 13 protofilaments
which in turn are made of alpha and beta tublin. Microtubules in the cell are organized by the centrosome, a nine-triplet set of microtubules that aid in cell division, and in other formation they make important cell structures like flagella. They also form together in triplets to make centrioles which are vital to cell division.(Work Cited Page 2, Cytoskeleton, 2) They are used mainly for cell transport like a "subway system"
moving along vesicles and mitochondria using ATP as the energy for the proteins in them that move the organelles. Such protein motors are kinesins, moving toward the plus end of the microtubles, and the dyneins, moving toward the minus
end. Filaments may be the "cables" of the cell but microtubules are the "support beams."
Actin Filaments are the thinnest of the three and are monomers of actin that combine to make long, thin fibers. They move by elongating one end of a strand and shrinking another, which aids in cellular division. Also they can help as "sidewalks" by allowing myosin molecules to use them as a track to "walk" along(Work Cited Page 2, Cytoskeleton, 1). Another important function is when binded with myosin they provide the force for muscle contraction
B) Intermediate Filaments
These filaments act very much
the same as Actin filaments in the sense they are the common structural support
of most cells and made of keratin which is found in your hair, nails, and skin.
They help stabilize the structure of the nuclear envelope and also help hold the
nucleus in a complex of "cables" in many cells.
C)
Microtubules
The Microtubules are essential to cell function. They are formed as long hollow cylinders made of 13 protofilaments
which in turn are made of alpha and beta tublin. Microtubules in the cell are organized by the centrosome, a nine-triplet set of microtubules that aid in cell division, and in other formation they make important cell structures like flagella. They also form together in triplets to make centrioles which are vital to cell division.(Work Cited Page 2, Cytoskeleton, 2) They are used mainly for cell transport like a "subway system"
moving along vesicles and mitochondria using ATP as the energy for the proteins in them that move the organelles. Such protein motors are kinesins, moving toward the plus end of the microtubles, and the dyneins, moving toward the minus
end. Filaments may be the "cables" of the cell but microtubules are the "support beams."