Deng, Mam Biol381
Introduction
The cytoskeleton is one of the most heavily researched areas in cellular biology. This is due to the many vital functions of the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton plays a role in cellular growth, proliferation, motility, structure, signaling, and is involved in many other aspects of cell survival. The cytoskeleton is made of 4 main parts, each playing multiple important roles in the cell. The parts are as follows: Actin microfilaments, intermediate filaments(Ifs), microtubules(MTs), and accessory proteins. Actin microfilaments play roles in cellular processes such as endo/exocytosis, cellular motility, and cytokinesis and are made up of actin filaments. Intermediate filaments are composed …show more content…
Aside from the obvious functional implications of train tracks, there are two important questions that need be answered. The first is where do the tracks start and the second is what are the trains that run on the track. Luckily, research has given us the answer to both questions. MTs anchor to what is called a microtubule organizing center (MTOC). MTOCs can appear in different locations of a cell depending mostly on the type of cell. In a fibroblast for example. the MTOC will be seen in the centrosome near the nucleus and can easily be identified with light microscopy. There are two main groups of trains that run on MTs and each can be classified by the direction they move. Kinesins are the first set of accessory proteins for MTs and they moved towards the periphery of the cell, away from the MTOC. Their movement is termed (+) ended. Dyneins are the second set and their movement is towards the MTOC or (-) ended. These two motors fuel the many roles that MTs carry out throughout the cell by walking along the MTs with whatever cargo they need to carry. Varying expression of these proteins has been directly linked to human illnesses such as cancer and human papillomavirus(HPV). In this experiment, we will be indirectly manipulating one of the motors, dynein, to see how it affects MT anchoring/organization, organelle localization, and cell cycle progression at varying …show more content…
The p25/p27 dimer has been shown to play a crucial role in multiple cargo binding processes implicating that a successful knockdown of the p27 dimer should result, at the minimum, in improper cargo binding. This can easily be observed by looking at various dynein directed organelles and comparing what a knockdown of the subunit does to their localization. If this were the only result, we would be able to conclude that each subunit in the dynactin complex acts independently. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that each of the parts of a multi-protein complex will act independently without effecting the overall functions of the
Introduction
The cytoskeleton is one of the most heavily researched areas in cellular biology. This is due to the many vital functions of the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton plays a role in cellular growth, proliferation, motility, structure, signaling, and is involved in many other aspects of cell survival. The cytoskeleton is made of 4 main parts, each playing multiple important roles in the cell. The parts are as follows: Actin microfilaments, intermediate filaments(Ifs), microtubules(MTs), and accessory proteins. Actin microfilaments play roles in cellular processes such as endo/exocytosis, cellular motility, and cytokinesis and are made up of actin filaments. Intermediate filaments are composed …show more content…
Aside from the obvious functional implications of train tracks, there are two important questions that need be answered. The first is where do the tracks start and the second is what are the trains that run on the track. Luckily, research has given us the answer to both questions. MTs anchor to what is called a microtubule organizing center (MTOC). MTOCs can appear in different locations of a cell depending mostly on the type of cell. In a fibroblast for example. the MTOC will be seen in the centrosome near the nucleus and can easily be identified with light microscopy. There are two main groups of trains that run on MTs and each can be classified by the direction they move. Kinesins are the first set of accessory proteins for MTs and they moved towards the periphery of the cell, away from the MTOC. Their movement is termed (+) ended. Dyneins are the second set and their movement is towards the MTOC or (-) ended. These two motors fuel the many roles that MTs carry out throughout the cell by walking along the MTs with whatever cargo they need to carry. Varying expression of these proteins has been directly linked to human illnesses such as cancer and human papillomavirus(HPV). In this experiment, we will be indirectly manipulating one of the motors, dynein, to see how it affects MT anchoring/organization, organelle localization, and cell cycle progression at varying …show more content…
The p25/p27 dimer has been shown to play a crucial role in multiple cargo binding processes implicating that a successful knockdown of the p27 dimer should result, at the minimum, in improper cargo binding. This can easily be observed by looking at various dynein directed organelles and comparing what a knockdown of the subunit does to their localization. If this were the only result, we would be able to conclude that each subunit in the dynactin complex acts independently. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that each of the parts of a multi-protein complex will act independently without effecting the overall functions of the