Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Directly Measuring Forces Within Reconstituted Active Microtubule Bundles
07:47

Directly Measuring Forces Within Reconstituted Active Microtubule Bundles

Published on: May 10, 2022

Review series: The functions and consequences of force at kinetochores

Florencia Rago1, Iain M Cheeseman

  • 1Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 0214, USA.

The Journal of Cell Biology
|March 6, 2013
PubMed

Keywords:
kinetochore functionchromosome segregationforce dynamicscell division mechanisms

More Related Videos

Functional Assessment of Kinesin-7 CENP-E in Spermatocytes Using In Vivo Inhibition, Immunofluorescence and Flow Cytometry09:41

Functional Assessment of Kinesin-7 CENP-E in Spermatocytes Using In Vivo Inhibition, Immunofluorescence and Flow Cytometry

Published on: December 28, 2021

Measurement of Force-Sensitive Protein Dynamics in Living Cells Using a Combination of Fluorescent Techniques08:28

Measurement of Force-Sensitive Protein Dynamics in Living Cells Using a Combination of Fluorescent Techniques

Published on: November 2, 2018

Related Concept Videos

Forces Acting on Chromosomes02:11

Forces Acting on Chromosomes

During mitosis, chromosome movements occur through the interplay of multiple piconewton level forces. In prometaphase, these forces help in chromosome assembly or congression at the equatorial plane, eventually leading to their alignment at the metaphase plate. The forces acting on the chromosomes are space and time-dependent; therefore, they vary with the position of the chromosomes as the cell progresses through mitosis. 
Microtubules and motor proteins exert two types of forces on...
Forces Acting on Chromosomes02:11

Forces Acting on Chromosomes

During mitosis, chromosome movements occur through the interplay of multiple piconewton level forces. In prometaphase, these forces help in chromosome assembly or congression at the equatorial plane, eventually leading to their alignment at the metaphase plate. The forces acting on the chromosomes are space and time-dependent; therefore, they vary with the position of the chromosomes as the cell progresses through mitosis. 
Microtubules and motor proteins exert two types of forces on...
Anaphase A and B01:39

Anaphase A and B

Microtubules form through the end-to-end polymerization of tubulin heterodimers. Kinetochore microtubules originate from the spindle poles, and their plus-ends connect with the kinetochores on sister-chromatids. Ndc80 protein complexes, present on the kinetochore, form low-affinity links with the plus end of these kinetochore microtubules.
Plus-end depolymerization releases tubulin heterodimers from the terminal region of the microtubule. As tubulin subunits are lost, the Ndc80 complexes detach...
Attachment of Sister Chromatids02:57

Attachment of Sister Chromatids

As cells progress into mitosis, the nuclear envelope breaks down, and the condensed chromosomes are exposed to the array of bipolar microtubules of the mitotic spindle. The kinetochore, a large, disc-shaped protein complex, is present at the centromere region of the sister chromatids and acts as a binding site for the microtubules.  Usually, the plus-end of a single microtubule is embedded within the kinetochore. However, some kinetochores first establish lateral contact with the side-wall of a...
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,...
Disassembly of Intermediate Filaments01:35

Disassembly of Intermediate Filaments

Intermediate filaments (IFs) do not undergo spontaneous disassembly. Enzymes, kinases, and phosphatases add and remove phosphates from specific sites to regulate their disassembly. The IF concentration in the cytoplasm also regulates the disassembly. If the concentration crosses a threshold, it activates the protein kinases in the vicinity, allowing the phosphorylation of IFs.
Keratin proteins, found at the cell periphery near cell junctions, undergo a cycle of assembly and disassembly. In Type...