Desmin filaments studied by quasi-elastic light scattering.
We studied polymers of desmin, a muscle-specific type III intermediate filament protein, using quasi-elastic light scattering. Desmin was purified from chicken gizzard. Polymerization was induced either by 2 mM MgCl(2) or 150 mM NaCl. The polymer solutions were in the semidilute regime. We concluded that the persistence length of the filaments is between 0.1 and 1 microm. In all cases, we found a hydrodynamic diameter of desmin filaments of 16-18 nm. The filament dynamics exhibits a characteristic frequency in the sense that correlation functions measured on one sample but at different scattering vectors collapse onto a single master curve when time is normalized by the experimentally determined initial decay rate.
Hohenadl
M
M
Lehrstuhl für Biophysik, E22, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany.
Storz
T
T
Kirpal
H
H
Kroy
K
K
Merkel
R
R
D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D003893:Desmin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004548:Elasticity; D005895:Gizzard, Avian; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007700:Kinetics; D008027:Light; D015636:Magnesium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D008433:Mathematics; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D011108:Polymers; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D013696:Temperature; D014783:Viscosity
D003893:Desmin; D011108:Polymers; D015636:Magnesium Chloride; D012965:Sodium Chloride