microtubule (redirected from Dynamic instability)

microtubule /mi·cro·tu·bule/ (mi″kro-too´būl) any of the slender, tubular structures composed chiefly of tubulin, found in the cytoplasmic ground substance of nearly all cells; they are involved in maintenance of cell shape and in the movements of organelles and inclusions, and form the spindle fibers of mitosis.

Microtubules in a 9 + 2 array in a cross-section of the axoneme of a cilium.

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mi·cro·tu·bule (mkr-tbyl)

n.

Any of the proteinaceous cylindrical hollow structures that are distributed throughout the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells, providing structural support and assisting in cellular locomotion and transport.

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microtubule,

a hollow cylindrical structure (200 to 300 angstroms in diameter and of variable length) that occurs widely within plant and animal cells. Microtubules increase in number during cell division and are associated with the movement of deoxyribonucleic acid material. Compare microfilament.

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microtubule

(mī´krōtoo´būl),
n a hollow cylindrical structure that occurs widely within plant and animal cells. Microtubules increase in number during cell division and are associated with the movement of DNA material.

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microtubule

any of the slender, tubular structures composed chiefly of tubulin, found in the cytoplasmic ground substance of nearly all cells; they are involved in maintenance of cell shape and in the movements of organelles and inclusions, and form the spindle fibers of mitosis.

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microtubule-associated protein (MAP)

any of the high molecular weight proteins that bind to microtubules, enhancing polymerization.

microtubule-associated protein (MAP) kinase

a protein kinase that is activated in response to cell stimulation by many different growth factors and that mediates cellular responses by phosphorylating specific transcription factors and other target proteins.

microtubule organizing center (MTOC)

the location in a cell from which microtubules regrow after depolymerization. See also centrosome.