title: Intermediate Filaments Play a Pivotal Role in Regulating Cell Architecture and Function.
abstract: Intermediate filaments (IFs) are composed of one or more members of a large family of cytoskeletal proteins, whose expression is cell- and tissue type-specific. Their importance in regulating the physiological properties of cells is becoming widely recognized in functions ranging from cell motility to signal transduction. IF proteins assemble into nanoscale biopolymers with unique strain-hardening properties that are related to their roles in regulating the mechanical integrity of cells. Furthermore, mutations in the genes encoding IF proteins cause a wide range of human diseases. Due to the number of different types of IF proteins, we have limited this short review to cover structure and function topics mainly related to the simpler homopolymeric IF networks composed of vimentin, and specifically for diseases, the related muscle-specific desmin IF networks.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611 and.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lowery
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611 and.
authors.forename: Edward R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Kuczmarski
authors.affiliation: the Division of Molecular Genetics (B060), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611 and r-goldman@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Goldman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002465:Cell Movement; D048430:Cell Shape; D003893:Desmin / Q000378:metabolism; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D006801:Humans; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009154:Mutation; D015388:Organelles / Q000378:metabolism; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003893:Desmin; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; D014746:Vimentin
keywords: cell motility; cytoskeleton; intermediate filament; mechanotransduction; signal transduction