title: Dynamics of in vitro intermediate filament length distributions.
abstract: An aggregation model with explicit expression of association rate constants is considered to study in vitro type III intermediate filament length distribution dynamics. Different assumptions on the properties of filaments and probability of aggregation are considered, leading to four models. Fitting of model responses to experimental data leads to the identification of the most appropriate model to represent each time point of the assembly. A combination of models allows the construction of a mixed model that represents well the complete assembly dynamics: it is found that the rate constants decrease with respect to filament size when the aggregation involves at least one short filament, whereas for longer filaments they are almost independent of size. The flexible nature of filaments is thus important in the assembly of intermediate filaments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, 342 Machray Hall, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 2N2. portets@cc.umanitoba.ca
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Portet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008956:Models, Chemical
keywords: Aggregation; Assembly dynamics; Intermediate filaments; Length distributions