title: Methods for Determining the Cellular Functions of Vimentin Intermediate Filaments.
abstract: The type III intermediate filament protein vimentin was once thought to function mainly as a static structural protein in the cytoskeleton of cells of mesenchymal origin. Now, however, vimentin is known to form a dynamic, flexible network that plays an important role in a number of signaling pathways. Here, we describe various methods that have been developed to investigate the cellular functions of the vimentin protein and intermediate filament network, including chemical disruption, photoactivation and photoconversion, biolayer interferometry, soluble bead binding assay, three-dimensional substrate experiments, collagen gel contraction, optical-tweezer active microrheology, and force spectrum microscopy. Using these techniques, the contributions of vimentin to essential cellular processes can be probed in ever further detail.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Veterans Administration, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Electronic address: kridge@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ridge
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Dale
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shumaker
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Amélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hookway
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Vladimir I
authors.initials: VI
authors.lastname: Gelfand
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Departments of Physiology and Physics & Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Janmey
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lowery
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Weitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kuczmarski
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Goldman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000378:metabolism*; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014746:Vimentin; D003094:Collagen
keywords: Biolayer interferometry; Collagen gel contraction; Force spectrum microscopy; Gigaxonin; Optical tweezers; Photoactivation; Photoconversion; Three-dimensional substrate; Vimentin; Withaferin A