The cytoskeleton and cell motility
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Because cytoplasmic vesicles are seen to move in both directions within an axon, can you conclude that some microtubules are oriented with their plus end facing the axon terminus and others oriented with the opposite polarity?
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The cytoskeleton and cell motility are examined.
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No I'm sorry that is not a correct assumption. Microtubules within the neuron are organized such that the microtubule ends closest to the cell body have a relative negative charge or polarity while the at the axonal end microtubules have a relative positive charge. This polarity is consistent because the polarity is a result of microtubule formation from the center cell body to the outer reaches of the termini.
What allows for vesicles to move either way along the microtubules is due to two distinctly different "carrier proteins" ...
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