Scientists have long thought that microtubules, part of the microscopic scaffolding that the cell uses to move things around in order to hold its shape and divide, originated from a tiny structure near the nucleus, called the centrosome. Now, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reveal a surprising new origin for these cellular “highways.” In the June issue of Developmental Cell, Irina Kaverina, Ph.D., and colleagues report that the Golgi apparatus -- a stack of pancake-shaped compartments that sorts and ships proteins out to their cellular destinations -- is the source of a particular subset of these microscopic fibers. The findings point to a novel cellular mechanism that may guide cell movement and possibly cancer cell invasion.
