Q.What do you mean by 'Cytoskeleton' ?

The Cytoskeleton

The cytoskeleton is an elaborate network of proteinaceous filaments in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells. (It is made of protein, not lipid or polysaccharide.) It is composed of three types of filaments:

• Microfilaments — thin fibres of the protein actin.
• Intermediate filaments — of proteins such as keratin and vimentin.
• Microtubules — hollow tubes of the protein tubulin.

The cytoskeleton performs several functions: it provides mechanical support and maintains cell shape, anchors organelles, and enables intracellular transport and cell movement (with motor proteins). It does not carry out intercellular transport between neighbouring cells.

Thus, a common examination point is that the cytoskeleton is a filamentous protein framework (microfilaments + intermediate filaments + microtubules) whose roles are support, shape and intracellular movement — while intercellular transport is not one of its functions. …