Men with a mutation that effects microtubules will have a build up of fluid in their lungs, and they will be sterile because their sperm cells cannot swim. Why would a defect in microtubules have such different and yet specific effects? Solution Microtubules are filamentous intracellular structures that are responsible for various kinds of movements in all eukaryotic cells. Microtubules are involved in nucleic and cell division, organization of intracellular structure, and intracellular transport, as well as ciliary and flagellar motility.Motile cilia include ependymal cilia in the brain that are responsible for circulating cerebrospinal fluid, and respiratory cilia that move mucus and inhaled particulate matter up and out of the lungs. Following ejaculation, millions of motile sperm use their flagella to swim through the uterus and up into the oviducts. As the sperm cells move through the oviduct, they encounter a flow oriented against their direction of movement generated by oviduct cilia sweeping the ovum from the ovary toward the uterus.After mutation, all these got altered and hence, a defect in microtubules have such different and specific effects..