The Centrosome as a Geometry Organizer.

'Does the geometric design of centrioles imply their function? Several principles of construction of a microscopically small device for locating the directions of signal sources in microscopic dimensions: it appears that the simplest and smallest device that is compatible with the scrambling influence of thermal fluctuations, as are demonstrated by Brownian motion, is a pair of cylinders oriented at right angles to each other. Centrioles locate the direction of hypothetical signals inside cells' (Albrecht-Buehler G, Cell Motil, 1:237-245; 1981).Despite a century of devoted efforts (articles on the centrosome always begin like this) its role remains vague and nebulous: does the centrosome suffer from bad press? Likely it does, it has an unfair image problem.

Integration of intracellular signaling: Biological analogues of wires, processors and memories organized by a centrosome 3D reference system.

Background: Myriads of signaling pathways in a single cell function to achieve the highest spatio-temporal integration. Data are accumulating on the role of electromechanical soliton-like waves in signal transduction processes. Theoretical studies strongly suggest feasibility of both classical and quantum computing involving microtubules.

Centrosome: is it a geometric, noise resistant, 3D interface that translates morphogenetic signals into precise locations in the cell?

The requirements of a spherical reference system based on two orthogonal goniometers show a surprising correspondence with the evidence emerging from numerous experimental studies on centrioles and centrosomes: the centrosome, because of the 9-fold symmetry of its centrioles, their orthogonal arrangement and their circumferential polarity, may play the role of an interface, composed by two orthogonal goniometers, that recognizes and decodes morphogenetic instructions, or, more generally, geometric molecular signals and translates them into their expected real locations in the cell. The purpose of this study is to outline a theoretical model of the centrosome and address the question on "how" the centrosome works, rather than investigate "what" centrioles might be or "what" might be their task, as many in-depth previous studies have discussed; the present analysis looks for the correspondence between structure and function in the centrosome, delineates a link between morphogenetic (DNA) instructions and their translation into actual locations into cells, tissues and organs, and finally analyzes centrosome behavior in many developmental processes: polarization, planar polarity, apical constriction, migration, morphogens transport, convergent extension, left-right bilateral symmetry and asymmetry establishment.