Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1-3
pubmed:dateCreated
1998-3-10
pubmed:abstractText
Structurally there are four classes of intermediate filaments (IF) with distinct but closely related axial organisations. One of these, hard alpha-keratin IF, has been studied to clarify several apparently exceptional features which include the number of molecules in the IF cross-section and the mode by which the axial organisation of its constituent molecules is stabilised. Using the dark-field mode of the STEM at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA) mass measurements were obtained from unstained IF isolated from hair keratin. The data thus obtained show that the number of chains in cross-section is about 30 (+/-3: standard deviation) and is very similar to the numbers determined in previous STEM experiments for the dominant filament type in other classes of IF (about 32). Furthermore, re-analysis of the low-angle equatorial X-ray diffraction pattern reveals, in contrast to earlier work, solutions that are compatible with the number of chains in cross-section indicated by the STEM data. The absence of the head-to-tail overlap between parallel molecules characteristic of most of IF may be compensated in hard alpha-keratin by a network of intermolecular disulfide bonds. It is concluded that native IF of hard alpha-keratin and desmin/vimentin--and probably many other kinds of IF as well--contain about 32 chains in cross-section, and that the axial structures of these various kinds of IF differ in small but significant ways, while generally observing the same basic modes of aggregation.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Oct
pubmed:issn
0301-4622
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
68
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
83-93
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1997
pubmed:articleTitle
Intermediate filament structure: hard alpha-keratin.
pubmed:affiliation
CSIRO Division of Wool Technology, Belmont, Vic., Australia.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article