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The cytoskeleton is a complex, dynamic network of interlinking protein filaments present in the cytoplasm of all cells, including those of bacteria and archaea. [2] In eukaryotes , it extends from the cell nucleus to the cell membrane and is composed of similar proteins in the various organisms.
Merlin is a membrane-cytoskeleton scaffolding protein, i.e. linking actin filaments to cell membrane or membrane glycoproteins. [10] Human merlin is predominantly found in nervous tissue, but also in several other fetal tissues, and is mainly located in adherens junctions. [11]
The eukaryotic cytoskeleton is composed of microtubules, intermediate filaments and microfilaments. In the cytoskeleton of a neuron the intermediate filaments are known as neurofilaments. There are a great number of proteins associated with them, each controlling a cell's structure by directing, bundling, and aligning filaments. [2]
Activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein is a plasticity protein that in humans is encoded by the ARC gene. The gene is believed to derive from a retrotransposon. [5] The protein is found in the neurons of tetrapods and other animals where it can form virus-like capsids that transport RNA between neurons. [5]
Actin is a family of globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments in the cytoskeleton, and the thin filaments in muscle fibrils.It is found in essentially all eukaryotic cells, where it may be present at a concentration of over 100 μM; its mass is roughly 42 kDa, with a diameter of 4 to 7 nm.
Specialized unique actin cytoskeletal structures are found adjacent to the plasma membrane. Four remarkable examples include red blood cells, human embryonic kidney cells, neurons, and sperm cells. In red blood cells, a spectrin-actin hexagonal lattice is formed by interconnected short actin filaments. [9]
The cytosol's filaments include the protein filaments such as actin filaments and microtubules that make up the cytoskeleton, as well as soluble proteins and small structures such as ribosomes, proteasomes, and the mysterious vault complexes. [14] The inner, granular and more fluid portion of the cytoplasm is referred to as endoplasm.
In humans, the DMD gene is located on the short (p) arm of the X chromosome between positions 21.2 and 21.1. Dystrophin is a rod-shaped cytoplasmic protein, and a vital part of a protein complex that connects the cytoskeleton of a muscle fiber to the surrounding extracellular matrix through the cell membrane.