Function and purpose of microfilaments and intermediate filaments?

Question

Function and purpose of microfilaments and intermediate filaments?

Answer 1

The purpose of microfilaments and intermediate filaments is to provide structural support for the cell.  They make up (along with microtubules) the cytoskeleton.

Microfilaments are made of the protein actin.  Actin molecules are linearly cross-linked to make very thin (7nm) actin polymer filaments.

Intermediate filaments can be made of a variety of proteins, including keratin, desmin, and vimentin).  They can be arranged in monomer (single strand), dimer (double strand) or tetramer (four stranded) formations and generally have widths of 9-11nm.