title: Structure of the fibers of hemoglobin S.
abstract: Several lines of evidence are converging on a consistent model for the structure of the fibers of hemoglobin S. The basic structure of the fibers is a solid helical assembly of 14 protofilaments deduced from three-dimensional reconstructions of electron micrographs. The filaments are organized in half-staggered pairs which appear to be related to the pairs of filaments in a crystal form of hemoglobin S studied by X-ray diffraction. This relationship between fibers and crystals suggests an orientation of the hemoglobin S molecules in the fibers and the regions of the molecules that contribute to the various intermolecular contacts.
mesh_terms: D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D003460:Crystallization; D004913:Erythrocytes, Abnormal / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006451:Hemoglobin, Sickle; D006801:Humans; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D009154:Mutation; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D006451:Hemoglobin, Sickle