title: Plectin interacts with the rod domain of type III intermediate filament proteins desmin and vimentin.
abstract: Plectin is a versatile cytolinker protein critically involved in the organization of the cytoskeletal filamentous system. The muscle-specific intermediate filament (IF) protein desmin, which progressively replaces vimentin during differentiation of myoblasts, is one of the important binding partners of plectin in mature muscle. Defects of either plectin or desmin cause muscular dystrophies. By cell transfection studies, yeast two-hybrid, overlay and pull-down assays for binding analysis, we have characterized the functionally important sequences for the interaction of plectin with desmin and vimentin. The association of plectin with both desmin and vimentin predominantly depended on its fifth plakin repeat domain and downstream linker region. Conversely, the interaction of desmin and vimentin with plectin required sequences contained within the segments 1A-2A of their central coiled-coil rod domain. This study furthers our knowledge of the interaction between plectin and IF proteins important for maintenance of cytoarchitecture in skeletal muscle. Moreover, binding of plectin to the conserved rod domain of IF proteins could well explain its broad interaction with most types of IFs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital and University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Favre
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Prakash
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lingasamy
authors.forename: Jamal-Eddine
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Bouameur
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Begré
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gontier
authors.forename: Marie-France
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Steiner-Champliaud
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Frias
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Borradori
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fontao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003893:Desmin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000737:chemistry; D051379:Mice; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D051190:Plectin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D051381:Rats; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques; D014746:Vimentin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003893:Desmin; D051190:Plectin; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014746:Vimentin