(Nanowerk Spotlight) In animal cells, the well known cytoskeletal proteins actin microfilaments and microtubules are accompanied by a third filament system that in humans consist of a family of more ...

Intermediate filaments (IFs) are critical parts of the structure of cells. They are essential for both normal tissue structure and function. Enabling cells to withstand the stretch and pressure on the ...

Intermediate filaments may function to integrate mechanically the various structures of the cytoplasmic space in a way that is tailored to the differentiated state of the cell. The need to modulate ...

The cornified envelope is an essential component of the epidermal permeability barrier of vertebrate organisms. Once assembled under the plasma membrane of keratinocytes in the outer epidermis it ...

Just as the skeleton and muscles move the human body and hold its shape, the cells of the body are stabilized and moved by a cellular skeleton. This cellular skeleton is a dynamic structure, ...

Providing structural support and protection against such conditions as blistering, cataracts and dementia, intermediate filament proteins (IFs) reside in every cell in the human body. In insects, ...

Changes to the intermediate filament (IF) protein, vimentin, were found to promote tumor growth by increasing cancer stemness in an estrogen independent manner. Targeting vimentin and/or the long ...

This is a site to keep an eye on, despite the fact that (while writing this) the homepage flashed the disclaimer that the page is “currently undergoing radical software updates.” Curated by the Centre ...

The symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal dementia, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are different, but they have one feature in common: the presence of ...

How did life leap from simple microbial cells to the complex, structured cells that make up animals, plants, and fungi? A new study in The EMBO Journal by researchers at the Indian Institute of ...

Biologists have found a unique version of a filament-forming protein in human cells that insects lack. Providing structural support and protection against such conditions as blistering, cataracts and ...