TITLE:
A Review of Centriole Activity, and Wrongful Activity, during Cell Division
AUTHORS:
Ronald L. Huston
KEYWORDS:
Centrioles, Cancer, Mitosis, Microtubules
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Vol.7 No.3,
March
30,
2016
ABSTRACT: This is a review paper on centriole behavior and their role in enabling cell division and duplication.
The paper is based primarily on articles published in this, the 21st century. Following a description
of centriole geometry, the paper discusses centriole duplication and the ensuring events
leading to cell division. From a structural perspective each centriole is seen to be a cylindrical
composition of nine blades, each having three microtubules which are themselves hollow cylinders
approximately 400 nm long, with inner and outer diameters of 15 and 25 nm. The paper then
discusses the nucleation of these microtubules. The paper concludes with a description of centriole
malfunction and overduplication (supernumerary centrioles), leading to clusters of centrioles
—a hallmark of cancer cells. These centriole clusters thus form “biomarkers” for tumor imaging
and treatment.