Mouse fibroblast cell

Confocal microscope image of a mouse fibroblast cell about to divide in culture (grown in a dish). In the body, fibroblast cells form constituents of connective tissue (e.g. cartilage, tendons and ligaments). Here, the cell nuclei are stained red, while two components of the cytoskeleton, actin and tubulin, are stained green and blue, respectively. The cytoskeleton forms the internal framework of the cell, giving it shape, allowing it to move and maintaining its relationship with other cells. This framework can be rapidly assembled and disassembled by the cell. In the cell about to divide, the cytoskeleton is almost completely dismantled, while it is still intact in the neighbouring cells. The nucleus has divided and the cell is about to split. The two new 'daughter' cells will reassemble their cytoskeleton after division has finished.

Dr David Becker and Kate Whitley, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London.