Towards a molecular description of intermediate filament structure and assembly
- Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North (New Zealand)
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Catholic University of Leuven, Herestraat 49 bus 822, B-3000 Leuven (Belgium)
- Institute of Materials Science, University of Connecticut, 97 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT 06269-3136 (United States)
- Institute of Structural Biology, Biozentrum, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 70, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland)
- Division of Molecular Genetics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany)
Intermediate filaments (IFs) represent one of the prominent cytoskeletal elements of metazoan cells. Their constituent proteins are coded by a multigene family, whose members are expressed in complex patterns that are controlled by developmental programs of differentiation. Hence, IF proteins found in epidermis differ significantly from those in muscle or neuronal tissues. Due to their fibrous nature, which stems from a fairly conserved central {alpha}-helical coiled-coil rod domain, IF proteins have long resisted crystallization and thus determination of their atomic structure. Since they represent the primary structural elements that determine the shape of the nucleus and the cell more generally, a major challenge is to arrive at a more rational understanding of how their nanomechanical properties effect the stability and plasticity of cells and tissues. Here, we review recent structural results of the coiled-coil dimer, assembly intermediates and growing filaments that have been obtained by a hybrid methods approach involving a rigorous combination of X-ray crystallography, small angle X-ray scattering, cryo-electron tomography, computational analysis and molecular modeling.
- OSTI ID:
- 20955485
- Journal Information:
- Experimental Cell Research, Vol. 313, Issue 10; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2007.04.009; PII: S0014-4827(07)00184-X; Copyright (c) 2007 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0014-4827
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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