Cellular fibers or filaments are a group of elongated structures with the appearance of a cord or ribbons responsible for the formation of the cellular cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton is a unique structure of eukaryotic cells, it is described as a composition in three-dimensional form, which fulfills the function of a muscle or a skeleton for a cell, allowing the movement or stability of the additional structures that comprise it, such as previously mentioned, the cytoskeleton is manufactured thanks to the conjugation of several cell fibers, which are characterized by being polymers of proteins, carbohydrates or lipids. The conjugating fibers of the cytoskeleton are known as: microfilaments, intermediate filaments and microtubules.
Microfilaments are fine fibers or threads that have a diameter of approximately 3 to 6 mm, in a large percentage they are made up of a protein with a great contractile capacity called actin (located in muscle fibers), actin is the protein that is found more abundant in the cell cytoplasm. The union of this protein with myosin found in muscle cells is responsible for contraction in these voluminous masses; In the case of general cells, actin microfilaments comply with various mechanisms that involve the execution of movements, such as cell movement or contraction and cytokinesis (division of the cytoplasm).
Another important cell fiber for the cytoskeleton is the microtubules, they are so called because they have a tubular shape with an approximate diameter of 21 to 25 mm, these are made up of a special protein called tubulin and their main function is to serve as a basis for the conjugation of the definitive cell shape, as well as the location of some organelles of the cytoplasm, these participate in cell division because they make up the achromatic spindle, this filament will allow the division of chromosomes in the processes of mitosis and meiosis.
Finally, there are the intermediate filaments, they are the smallest in the cytoplasm, they are rows with an approximate diameter of 10nm and are responsible for generating cell tension, a property that is inhibited in the cell division process, for this reason these fibers are the least important of those that conjugate to the cytoskeleton.
