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Microfilaments, also called actin filaments, are protein filaments in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells that form part of the cytoskeleton. They are primarily composed of polymers of actin , but are modified by and interact with numerous other proteins in the cell.
Inside a cilium and a flagellum is a microtubule-based cytoskeleton called the axoneme. The axoneme of a primary cilium typically has a ring of nine outer microtubule doublets (called a 9+0 axoneme), and the axoneme of a motile cilium has two central microtubules in addition to the nine outer doublets (called a 9+2 axoneme).
Like tubulin, FtsZ forms filaments in the presence of guanosine triphosphate (GTP), but these filaments do not group into tubules. During cell division , FtsZ is the first protein to move to the division site, and is essential for recruiting other proteins that synthesize the new cell wall between the dividing cells.
In cosmology, galaxy filaments are the largest known structures in the universe, consisting of walls of galactic superclusters.These massive, thread-like formations can commonly reach 50 to 80 megaparsecs (160 to 260 megalight-years)—with the largest found to date being the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall at around 3 gigaparsecs (9.8 Gly) in length—and form the boundaries between voids ...
Compared to the other parts of the cytoskeletons, the microfilaments contain the thinnest filaments, with a diameter of approximately 7 nm. Microfilaments are part of the cytoskeleton that are composed of protein called actin. Two strands of actin intertwined together form a filamentous structure allowing for the movement of motor proteins.
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.
Integrins span the membrane and bind on the cytoplasmic side to associated proteins attached to microfilaments of the cytoskeleton. The name integrin is based on the word integrate, integrins are in a position to transmit signals between the ECM and the cytoskeleton and thus to integrate changes occurring outside and inside the cell.
Thousands of microvilli form a structure called the brush border that is found on the apical surface of some epithelial cells, such as the small intestines. (Microvilli should not be confused with intestinal villi, which are made of many cells. Each of these cells has many microvilli.)