studyguide bio 344 – exam iii - januccnauedu.doc

Studyguide BIO 344 – Exam III Chapter 16 The Cytoskeleton What are the differences between microtubules, intermediate filaments and actin filaments? What is each type of filament made of? What are the functions of each type of filament? Where in the cell would you find each type of filament? Understand polymerization of actin and microtubules What is the difference between the plus and the minus end of actin and microtubules? What is the difference between the T and D forms of filament subunits? How do these forms affect polymerization kinetics? What are GTP caps? What types of filaments have these caps? Compare the mechanical properties of actin, microtubules and intermediate filaments. Name an intermediate filament. How can a mutation in a keratin gene lead to blistering? How are microtubules nucleated? Name the protein involved. How are actin filaments nucleated? Name the protein involved. What is a centrosome? How do profilin and thymosin affect actin polymerization rates? How does stathmin affect the polymerization rate of microtubules? How does capping of filaments affect their polymerization rates? How do cross-linking proteins organize different assemblies of actin filaments? What impact would spectrin vs. fimbrin have on the properties of actin bundles? Why are there fimbrin crosslinking proteins in microvilli? Describe the cytoskeleton rearrangements that occur in a blood platelet when it is activated. What does gelsolin do? Why sever actin filaments during platelet activation? What are myosins? What filament are they associated with? In what part of the myosin protein is the motor activity located? How are organelles moved around a cell? What is a skeletal muscle cell? How is it formed? What is a myofibril? Describe the structure of myofibrils in detail. What is a Z-disc? What is a sarcomere? How do your muscles move? Describe how a muscle cell receives a signal for contraction in detail. What are transverse tubules? Why are they necessary? Descri