Th1L06 Intermediate Filaments

structure
1. polymer of individual intermediate filament proteins
  1. Formation
    1. (1) intermediate filament protein (monomer) forms a helical dimer
    2. (2) two dimers combine to form a tetrameter
      1. (the fundamental units of the IF)
    3. (3) tetramers link in a staggered formation and end-to-end to form the filament
2. 10nm in diameter
3. visible by electro microscope
not dynamic
functions
1. anchor cells at some cell junctions
  1. from a meshwork around the cell nucleus to hold it in place
2. support nuclear structure
  1. Stabilise the shape of axons
    Annotations:
    - NB: so do MTs
3. act as diagnostic tools to identify foreign cells as they are expressed differently based on their different locations (e.g. cancer)
common types
1. keratin, vimentin, glial fibriallary acidic protein, neurofilamin

Resource summary

	Created by Emma Allde over 8 years ago

	Copied by Emma Allde over 8 years ago