INVESTIGADORES
ROSSI juan pablo Francisco
artículos
Título:
The cytoskeleton: Structural function and regulation of membrane proteins
Autor/es:
VANAGAS, L.; ROSSI, J.P.F.C
Revista:
REVISTA FARMACÉUTICA
Editorial:
ACADEMIA NACIONAL DE FARMACIA Y BIOQUÍMICA
Referencias:
Lugar: BUENOS AIRES; Año: 2008 vol. 150 p. 26 - 37
ISSN:
0034-9496
Resumen:
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Summary
The cytoskeleton
is a network of proteic filaments which occupy the interior of all vegetable
and animal cells. It has a special relevance in the latter, which lack a rigid
cellular wall, because it maintains the structure and shape of the cell. It
acts as a support for the organization and fixation of organelles and enzymes.
In many cells, the cytoskeleton is not a permanent structure, but instead it is
continuously being dismantled and reconstructed. It is formed by three main
types of proteic filaments: microtubules, actin filaments and intermediate
filaments, bound together and to other cellular structures.
The controlled
polymerization of actin and tubulin is responsible for both the mobility and
shape of eukaryotic cells. The movement of eukaryotic cells is the result of
the coordinated action of the formation of extensions, adhesions and
retractions of the membrane, where the actin network and the interactions
between these and molecular motors play a key role. The microtubules control
the spatial distribution of these activities, creating a polarization of the
cell which determines the direction of movement.
Recent studies
of our laboratory (Vanagas and col, 2007, 2008) show that monomeric actin
activates calcium transport in the membrane of red blood cells, whereas
polymeric or filamentous actin inhibits it.
This phenomenon
seems to be a general property of all membrane proteins in which the
cytoskeleton is no longer restricted to a merely mechanical function, but
rather would produce the modulation of the activity of the integral proteins to
which it is related to.
