title: Recent observations on the structure and composition of elastin.
abstract: The ultrastructural organization of elastin has been studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy of negatively stained specimens coupled with optical diffraction analyses. Purified elastin results from a composite assembly of interwoven branched and twisted thread-like entities of decreasing diameter. The ultimate filamentous component is a rope-like structure each with an overall diameter of 3.5-4.0 nm consisting of paired filaments of indefinite length each 1.5 nm in width and periodically linked longitudinally at a varying distance of 3.5 to 4.5 nm depending on the degree of stretch.
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D004549:Elastin / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008027:Light; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D004549:Elastin