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Related Concept Videos

Microtubules in Cell Motility01:24

Microtubules in Cell Motility

Microtubules are thick hollow cylindrical proteins that help form the cytoskeleton. Microtubules have varied roles in the cell. These filaments help form cellular appendages like cilia and flagella, which are responsible for locomotion. The cilia arise from basal bodies, separated from the main body by a membrane-like structure forming the transition zone. This zone is the gate for the entry of lipids and proteins, creating a unique composition of lipids and proteins in the ciliary membrane and...
Microtubules in Cell Motility01:24

Microtubules in Cell Motility

Microtubules are thick hollow cylindrical proteins that help form the cytoskeleton. Microtubules have varied roles in the cell. These filaments help form cellular appendages like cilia and flagella, which are responsible for locomotion. The cilia arise from basal bodies, separated from the main body by a membrane-like structure forming the transition zone. This zone is the gate for the entry of lipids and proteins, creating a unique composition of lipids and proteins in the ciliary membrane and...
Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration01:32

Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration

A migrating cell changes its shape during the cyclic events of attachment and detachment from the substratum and repositions the cell organelles correspondingly. These complex events are orchestrated by the dynamic cytoskeletal network comprising actin filaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules. Cytoskeletal crosstalk — the direct and indirect communication between the different components — is crucial for this coordination. Direct communication involves various linker proteins that...
Introduction to the Cytoskeleton01:33

Introduction to the Cytoskeleton

Overview of the Cytoskeleton
The cytoskeleton is a network of protein filaments present within the cell, having three distinct filaments ̶   microfilaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments. Each has characteristic features that distinguish them, including the dynamics of their assembly and disassembly, mechanical properties, polarity, and the type of molecular motors associated with them. Earlier, they were thought to be present only in eukaryotic cells; however, their homologs were...
The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles01:43

The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles

In eukaryotic cells,  cytoskeletal filaments such as actin, microtubules, and intermediate filaments form a mesh-like cytoskeletal network. These filaments serve as tracks for transporting cellular cargo. Specialized motor proteins use the chemical energy stored in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for this transport. During interphase, microtubules are polarized, with the plus-end towards the cell periphery and the minus-end towards the cell center. Two microtubule-associated motor proteins,...
Polarity of the Cytoskeleton01:18

Polarity of the Cytoskeleton

The intrinsic polarity of cells can be primarily attributed to two factors- i) the asymmetric accumulation of mobile components such are regulatory molecules and subcellular components across the cell and ii) the orientation of polar cytoskeletal filaments that make up the cytoskeletal networks, specifically microfilaments, and microtubules arranged along the axis of polarity. Interactions between the cytoskeletal filaments are crucial for the establishment and maintenance of the polar nature...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Reconstituting and Characterizing Actin-Microtubule Composites with Tunable Motor-Driven Dynamics and Mechanics
09:10

Reconstituting and Characterizing Actin-Microtubule Composites with Tunable Motor-Driven Dynamics and Mechanics

Published on: August 25, 2022

Cell mechanics and the cytoskeleton.

Daniel A Fletcher1, R Dyche Mullins

  • 1Bioengineering and Biophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. fletch@berkeley.edu

Nature
|January 30, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The cell

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The Mechanics of (Poro-)Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton
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The Mechanics of (Poro-)Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton

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Last Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Reconstituting and Characterizing Actin-Microtubule Composites with Tunable Motor-Driven Dynamics and Mechanics
09:10

Reconstituting and Characterizing Actin-Microtubule Composites with Tunable Motor-Driven Dynamics and Mechanics

Published on: August 25, 2022

The Mechanics of (Poro-)Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton
08:50

The Mechanics of (Poro-)Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton

Published on: March 10, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • The cytoskeleton, a network of polymers and proteins, governs cell mechanics, transport, and shape.
  • Physical forces influence cytoskeletal properties and cellular behavior.
  • Understanding force transmission in the cytoskeleton is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how cytoskeletal networks generate, transmit, and respond to mechanical signals.
  • To explore the role of long-lived cytoskeletal structures in cell fate.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of cytoskeletal dynamics.
  • Mechanical force application and measurement.
  • Epigenetic analysis of cytoskeletal structures.

Main Results:

  • Cytoskeletal networks actively manage mechanical signals across timescales.
  • Long-lived cytoskeletal structures exhibit epigenetic properties.
  • Mechanical forces impact local cell properties and behavior.

Conclusions:

  • The cytoskeleton's mechanical signaling is key to cellular functions.
  • Stable cytoskeletal architectures can act as epigenetic determinants.
  • This research provides insights into cell mechanics and epigenetic regulation.