Pericentriolar material in the context of Γ-tubulin

In cell biology a centriole is a cylindrical organelle composed mainly of a protein called tubulin. Centrioles are found in most eukaryotic cells, but are not present in conifers (Pinophyta), flowering plants (angiosperms) and most fungi, and are only present in the male gametes of charophytes, bryophytes, seedless vascular plants, cycads, and Ginkgo. A bound pair of centrioles, surrounded by a highly ordered mass of dense material, called the pericentriolar material (PCM), makes up a structure called a centrosome.

Centrioles are typically made up of nine sets of short microtubule triplets, arranged in a cylinder. Deviations from this structure include crabs and Drosophila melanogaster embryos, with nine doublets, and Caenorhabditis elegans sperm cells and early embryos, with nine singlets. Additional proteins include centrin, cenexin and tektin.

The centrosome (Latin centrum 'centre' + Greek sōma 'body') (archaically cytocentre) is a non-membrane bounded organelle in the animal cell that serves as the main microtubule organizing centre (MTOC) and a regulator of cell-cycle progression. The centrosome provides structure for the cell. It is thought to have evolved only in the metazoan lineage of eukaryotic cells. Fungi and plants lack centrosomes and therefore use other structures to organize their microtubules. Although the centrosome has a key role in efficient mitosis in animal cells, it is not essential in certain fly and flatworm species.

In non-rodent mammals the sperm contributes the major part of the centrosome, the centrioles. Centrosomes are composed of two centrioles arranged at right angles to each other, and surrounded by a dense, highly structured mass of proteins termed the pericentriolar material (PCM). The PCM contains proteins responsible for microtubule nucleation and anchoring — including γ-tubulin, pericentrin and ninein. In general, each centriole of the centrosome is based on a nine-triplet microtubule assembled in a cartwheel structure, and contains centrin, cenexin and tektin.In many cell types, the centrosome is replaced by a cilium during cellular differentiation. However, once the cell starts to divide, the cilium is replaced again by the centrosome.

Centrins, also known as caltractins, are a family of calcium-binding phosphoproteins found in the centrosome of eukaryotes. Centrins are small calcium binding proteins that are ubiquitous centrosome components. There are about 350 "signature" proteins that are unique to eukaryotic cells but have no significant homology to proteins in archaea and bacteria. They are a type of protein that is essential and present in almost all eukaryotic cells and are found in the centrioles and pericentriolar lattice. Human centrin genes are CETN1, CETN2 and CETN3

Humans and mice have three centrin genes: Cetn-1, which is typically only expressed in male germ cells, and Cetn-2 and Cetn-3, which are typically only expressed in somatic cells. Centrin-2 is a recombinant GFP-centrin-2 and centriole protein that localizes to centrioles throughout the cell cycle, while centrin-3 seems to stick to the pericentriolar material that surrounds the centrioles.