Molecular Motors

Original Editor - Lucinda hampton

Top Contributors - Lucinda hampton and Vidya Acharya  

Introduction

Did you know inside our bodies are little biological motors that carry cargo inside of our cells? These motors help to move important items inside of our cells. The motors move along tracks inside of our cells, the tracks start at the center of our cells and grow outward. The biological motors move along until they reach the place they need to go. They are vital to our cells dividing and help keep the cells in good working order by moving things inside of our cells.

Perhaps the most fascinating proteins that associate with the cytoskeleton are the molecular motors called motor proteins. These remarkable proteins bind to a polarized cytoskeletal filament and use the energy derived from repeated cycles of ATP hydrolysis to move steadily along it. Dozens of different motor proteins coexist in every eucaryotic cell. They differ in the type of filament they bind to (either actin or microtubules), the direction in which they move along the filament, and the “cargo” they carry. Many motor proteins carry membrane-enclosed organelles—such as mitochondria, Golgi stacks, or secretory vesicles—to their appropriate locations in the cell. Other motor proteins cause cytoskeletal filaments to slide against each other, generating the force that drives such phenomena as muscle contraction, ciliary beating, and cell division.

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