Microfilaments axonal transport

Paclitaxel (Taxol) is a highly complex, organic compound isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew tree. It binds to tubulin dimers and microtubulin filaments, promoting the assembly of filaments and preventing their depolymerization. This increase in the stability of microfilaments results in disruption of mitosis and cytotoxicity and disrupts other normal microtubular functions, such as axonal transport in nerve fibers. 

Intracellular motility is also of vital importance in the lives of cells and the organisms they form. Material and organelles are transported within cells along microtubules and microfilaments an extreme example of this are the axons of nerve cells which transport materials to the synapses where they are secreted—another motile event. Other examples of intracellular motility include phagocytosis, pino-cytosis, the separating of chromosomes and cells in cell division, and maintenance of cell polarity. 

Microtubules similar to those found in flagella are also present in the cytoplasm. Together with thinner microfilaments of several kinds they form an internal cytoskeleton that provides rigidity to cells.58 59 Microtubules also form the "spindle" of dividing cells. In nerve axons (Chapter 30) the microtubules run parallel to the length of the axons and are part of a mechanical transport system for cell constituents. 

Dendrites are the (filamentous) terminal portions of neuron that bind neurotransrrritter chemicals migrating across the synaptic gaps separating neurons. Depending on the type and function of a particular neuron, neurotransmitters may cause or inhibit the transmission of neural impulses. The cell body contains the cell nucleus and a concentration of cellular organelles. The cell body is the site of the normal metabolic reactions that allow the cell to remain viable. Neurotransmitters synthesized within the cell body are transported to the axon terminus by microfilaments and microtubules. 

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