thin filament, composed of the protein actin and associated proteins, that occurs abundantly in muscle and in the cytoplasm of other cells
microfilament in American English
(ˌmaikrəˈfɪləmənt)
noun
Biology
a minute, narrow tubelike cell structure composed of a protein similar to actin, occurringsingly and in bundles, involved in cytoplasmic movement and changes in cell shape
Derived forms
microfilamentous (ˌmaikrouˌfɪləˈmentəs)
adjective
Word origin
[1960–65; micro- + filament]This word is first recorded in the period 1960–65. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: buyback, deinstitutionalize, parvovirus, proxemics, zip codemicro- is a combining form with the meanings “small” (microcosm; microgamete), “very small in comparison with others of its kind” (microcomputer; microlith), “too small to be seen by the unaided eye” (microfossil; microorganism), “dealing with extremely minute organisms, organic structures, or quantities ofa substance” (microdissection; microscope), “localized, restricted in scope or area” (microburst; microhabitat), “(of a discipline) focusing on a restricted area” (microeconomics), “containing or dealing with texts that require enlargement to be read” (microfilm; microreader), “one millionth” (microgram)
Examples of 'microfilament' in a sentence
microfilament
Desmin intermediate filament, microfilament, and microtubule subcellular organization appeared normal in dt hearts.
Justin G. Boyer, Kunal Bhanot, Rashmi Kothary, Céline Boudreau-Larivière 2010, 'Hearts of Dystonia musculorum Mice Display Normal Morphological and Histological Featuresbut Show Signs of Cardiac Stress', PLoS ONE10.1371/journal.pone.0009465. Retrieved from PLOS CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
Here, we examined the effect of direct modulation of actin microfilament dynamics on adipocyte differentiation.
Li Chen, Huimin Hu, Weimin Qiu, Kaikai Shi, Moustapha Kassem 2018, 'Actin depolymerization enhances adipogenic differentiation in human stromal stem cells',Stem Cell Researchhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1873506118300886. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
Furthermore, heteronemin interfered with actin microfilament and caused morphology changes.
Yu-Cheng Chen, Mei-Chin Lu, Mohamed El-Shazly, Kuei-Hung Lai, Tung-Ying Wu, Yu-MingHsu, Yi-Lun Lee, Yi-Chang Liu 2018, 'Breaking down Leukemia Walls: Heteronemin, a Sesterterpene Derivative, Induces Apoptosisin Leukemia Molt4 Cells through Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Inductionof Talin Expression', Marine Drugshttp://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/16/6/212. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
This change resulted in weaker cell–cell fusion, smaller plaque morphology, higher virus titer and serious microfilament condensation.
Min Sun, Jiale Ma, Zeyanqiu Yu, Zihao Pan, Chengping Lu, Huochun Yao 2017, 'Identification of two mutation sites in spike and envelope proteins mediating optimalcellular infection of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus from different pathways', Veterinary Researchhttp://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13567-017-0449-y. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
Previous studies with microfilament inhibitors indicated that stromule shape and movement are dependent on the actin cytoskeleton.
Kwok Ernest Y, Hanson Maureen R 2004, 'In vivo analysis of interactions between GFP-labeled microfilaments and plastidstromules', BMC Plant Biologyhttp://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2229/4/2. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
Time-lapse confocal microscopy revealed that microfilament rearrangements were associated with changes in plastid and stromule morphology and position.
Kwok Ernest Y, Hanson Maureen R 2004, 'In vivo analysis of interactions between GFP-labeled microfilaments and plastidstromules', BMC Plant Biologyhttp://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2229/4/2. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)