[Radial-organized microtubules provide maintenance of the cell shape and more effective intercellular transport than in the case of free microtubules].

Microtubules take part in very different cell processes including cell polarization and migration, intercellular transport and some others. Therefore the microtubules spatial organization is crucial for normal cell behaviour. Fibroblasts have radial microtubule array consisting of microtubules running from the centrosome.

[The dynamics of microtubule repolymerization in a cell: rapid growth from the centrosome and slow recovery of free microtubules].

According to the current view, the microtubule system in animal cells consists of two components: microtubules attached to the centrosome (these microtubules stretch radially towards the cell margin), and free microtubules randomly distributed in the cytoplasm without visible association with any microtubule-organizing centers. The ratio of the two sets of microtubules in the whole microtubule array is under discussion. Addressing this question, we have analysed the recovery of microtubules in cultured Vero nucleated cells and cytoplasts, with and without centrosomes in these.

[Evaluation of various methods of measurement of the microtubule length in the cytoplasm of cultured cells].

It is generally assumed that microtubules in tissue culture cells extend from the centrosome to cell periphery, and the length of individual microtubules averages several dozens of microns. However, direct electron-microscopic measurements have cast some doubt on this assumption. In this study, the average length of microtubules in cultured Vero cells was estimated using a combined approach.