Focal adhesions are usually formed at points where the plasma membrane of a cultured cell is closely associated with the substratum. Each of the specialized adherens junctions is composed of a stress fiber, which consists of bundled actin filaments, affixed to the surface via anchorage proteins, such as integrins. Myosin is also contained in stress fibers, and the structures exhibit contractile properties. Stress fibers are particularly profuse in cells that frequently exercise tension. Numerous prominent stress fibers that appear as long striations in the A-10 myoblast cytoplasm can be observed during the high speed playback of this time-lapse sequence.

Mature skeletal muscle cells, often referred to as muscle fibers, are formed from the fusion of myoblasts. Microtubules, which span the cell in a direction parallel to its long axis, are important components of myoblasts. The cytoskeletal filaments are generally thought to be involved in organizing differentiating myoblasts. Each of the A-10 myoblasts appearing in this video exhibits more than one nucleus, a notable point since the fibers that they naturally form in the body upon differentiation are also multinucleate.

The broadly flattened lamellipodia of the A-10 cells featured in this video facilitate the observation of small, round vesicles and slightly larger vacuoles, both of which can be much more difficult to observe in rounded cells. The membrane-enclosed sacs are often formed at the periphery of a cell and are then transported to the central cell body, where their contents can be digested to provide nutrients to the cell. The vesicles that can be seen during the playback of the time-lapse sequence clearly demonstrate this inward movement.