The cytoskeleton is a complex, dynamic network of interlinking protein filaments present in the cytoplasm of all cells, including bacteria and archaea. It extends from the cell nucleus to the cell membrane and is composed of similar proteins in the various organisms. In eukaryotes, it is composed of three main components, microfilaments, intermediate filaments and microtubules, and these are all capable of rapid growth or disassembly dependent on the cell's requirements. Microfilament functions include cytokinesis, amoeboid movement, cell motility, changes in cell shape, endocytosis and exocytosis, cell contractility, and mechanical stability. Microtubules provide structure and shape to eukaryotic cells and help localize membrane-enclosed organelles. Intermediate filaments have great tensile strength, and their main function is to enable cells to withstand the mechanical stress that occurs when cells are stretched.

The cytoskeleton is responsible for contraction, cell motility, movement of organelles and vesicles through the cytoplasm, cytokinesis, establishment of the intracellular organization of the cytoplasm, establishment of cell polarity, and many other functions that are essential for cellular homeostasis and survival. Many diseases have now been associated with abnormalities in cytoskeletal and nucleoskeletal proteins, including neurodegeneration such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) with the accumulation of amyloid beta peptide, and the intracellular neurofibrillary tangles that composed of paired helical filaments of the microtubule-associated protein, tau; cancer (invasion) with cytoskeleton aberration like reduced microtubule polymerization, etc.

TargetMol’s Cytoskeletal Signaling Pathway Compound Library collects 759 compounds related to cytoskeletal regulation with targets on Microtubule/Tubulin, Kinesin, PKC, MAPK, etc. It can be used for research in cytoskeletal signaling pathway, cytoskeleton associated disease, and drug discovery.