Monitoring intermediate filament assembly by small-angle x-ray scattering reveals the molecular architecture of assembly intermediates.

ABSTRACT: Intermediate filaments (IFs), along with microtubules, microfilaments, and associated cross-bridging proteins, constitute the cytoskeleton of metazoan cells. While crystallographic data on the dimer representing the elementary IF "building block" have recently become available, little structural detail is known about both the mature IF architecture and its assembly pathway. Here, we have applied solution small-angle x-ray scattering to investigate the in vitro assembly of a 53-kDa human IF protein vimentin at pH 8.4 by systematically varying the ionic strength conditions, and complemented these experiments by electron microscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation. While a vimentin solution in 5 mM Tris.HCl (pH 8.4) contains predominantly tetramers, addition of 20 mM NaCl induces further la

SUBMITTER: Sokolova AV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1637561 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature