Fun facts about cytoskeleton

The cytoskeleton is responsible for cell shape, motility (movement) of the cell as a whole, and motility of organelles within a cell. There are three types of filaments in the cytoplasm of most vertebrate cells: microfilaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments. All of these filament systems share a critical feature: They are composed of proteins that have the unique property of being able to self-assemble into a filamentous network. Imagine a pile of bricks that could assemble by themselves into a wall; the proteins that make up the fibers of the cytoskeleton are able to do just this. The proteins that make each of the three different filament systems assemble into only the structure characteristic of that filament.