BIOL 103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Santa Barbara City College, Dynein, Kinesin
Document Summary
Microtubules need to be stabilized if it is required to stay in the same place for a long time. Minus end: gamma-tubulin acts as a cap that stops the microtubule from being able to depolymerize. Plus end: a protein cap can be added to the microtubule at the plus so that it cannot depolymerize. In cells like axons, which have long projections that must be maintained, the stabilization of microtubules in the axon (in addition to production and assembly of neurofilaments) is an important part of how axons develop. Loss of microtubules have same effect as loss of neurofilaments, in that the axon may start to retract and will lose its connections and die. Microtubules in these long processes are important because they"re required for the transport of vesicles and other cargo from the cell body to the plasma membrane at the axon terminal. The polarity of the microtubule is critical in moving directionally.
