Abstract
Most eukaryotic cells possess three major distinct classes of fibrous organelles that are independently organized and function as elements of the cytoskeleton. These elements of the cytoskeleton include microtubules (25 nm), which form elaborate cytoplasmic networks; actin or thin filaments (6 nm), which form cytoplasmic stress fibers; and the intermediate filaments (10 nm). The term “intermediate” filaments has been applied to this third class of cytoplasmic fibrous proteins because their mean diameter at the ultrastructural level lies between the mean diameter of actin and microtubules. Investigations have shown that both actin (Clarke and Spudeck, 1977; Pollard and Werhing, 1974; Stossel, 1978) and microtubules (Stephens and Edds, 1976) are involved in various aspects of cell motility and also in the movement of cellular organelles. The role of the intermediate filaments in cell function is unresolved at present. The intermediate filaments were initially regarded as a disaggregation, or degradation product, or myosin and/or microtubules and thus until recently attracted little attention. Current biochemical and immunofluorescent methods have established the intermediate filaments as a distinct class of cytoplasmic proteins that differ with respect to the physical properties of their subunits. In contrast to the proteins actin and tubulin, which are the major structural protein subunits of microfilaments and microtubules, respectively, the intermediate-filament proteins do not appear to be highly conserved (Bennett et al., 1979; Lazarides and Balzer, 1978; Shelanski and Liem, 1979) and exhibit a relatively high degree of tissue specificity. The intermediate filaments have been divided into several subclasses on the basis of biochemical and immunochemical data, and their constituent proteins have been named accordingly. These subclasses at present include: (1) prekeratin tonofilaments found in epithelial cells (Franke et al.,1978a,b, 1979b; Sun et al., 1979) and cells of epithelial origin; (2) vimentin or decamin filaments (Bennett et al., 1978b, 1979; Franke et al.,1978a, 1979a) found in fibroblasts and other cells of mesenchymal orgin; (3) desmin filaments (Izant and Lazarides, 1974; Lazarides and Hubbard, 1976; Lazarides, 1978a; Lazarides and Balzer, 1978) or skeletin (Campbell et al.,1979) of smooth muscle, which have also been identified in the cytoplasm and Z lines of skeletal and cardiac muscle; (4) neurofilaments of neurons; and (5) glial filaments, which are present in astrocytes (Shelanski and Liem, 1979) but not in all types of glial cells (Liem et al., 1978; Schlaepfer, 1977; Schlaepfer and Lynch, 1977). Current studies have shown that it is not uncommon to find two of these classes of intermediate filaments coexisting in the same cell type. It is also quite possible that more than two classes of intermediate filaments can be present in a single cell type (Lazarides, 1980).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Allen, E. R., and Pepe, F. A., 1965, Ultrastructure of developing muscle cells in the chick embryo, Am. J. Anat. 116: 115.
Behrendt, H., 1977, Effect of anabolic steroids on rat heart muscle cells. I. Intermediate filaments, Cell Tissue Res. 180: 303.
Bennett, G. S., Fellini, S. A., and Holtzer, H., 1978a, Immunofluorescent visualization of 100, filaments in different cultured chick embryo cell types, Differentiation 12: 71.
Bennett, G. S., Fellini, S. A., Croop, J. M., Otto, J. J., Bryant, J., and Holtzer, H., 1978b, Differences among 100A-filament subunits from different cell types, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75: 4364.
Bennett, G. S., Fellini, S. A., Toyama, Y., and Holtzer, H., 1979, Redistribution of intermediate filament subunits during skeletal myogenesis and maturation in vitro, J. Cell Biol. 82: 577.
Bignami, A., Eng, L. F., Dahl, D., and Uyeda, C. T., 1972, Localization of the glial fibrillary acidic protein in astrocytes by immunofluorescence, Brain Res. 43: 429.
Blose, S. H., and Chacho, S. J., 1976, Rings of intermediate (100A) filament bundles in the perinuclear region of vascular endothelial cells: Their mobilization by colcemid and mitosis, J. Cell Biol. 70: 459.
Blose, S. H., Shelanski, M. L., and Chacho, S., 1977, Localization of bovine brain filament antibody on intermediate (100A) filaments in guinea pig vascular endothelial cells and chick cardiac muscle cells, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 74: 662.
Bollon, A. P., Nath, K., and Shay, J. W., 1977, Establishment of contracting heart muscle cell cultures, Tissue Culture Assoc. Man. 3: 637.
Campbell, G. R., Campbell, J. C., Stewart, U. G., Small, J. V., and Anderson, P., 1979, Antibody staining of 10 nm (100-A) filaments in cultured cardiac and skeletal muscle cells, J. Cell Sci. 37: 303.
Caron, J. M., and Berlin, R. D., 1979, Interaction of microtubule proteins with phospholipid vesicles, J. Cell Biol. 81: 665.
Clarke, M., and Spudeck, J. A., 1977, Nonmuscle contractile proteins: The role of actin and myosin in cell motility and shape determination, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 46: 797.
Cooke, P. H., 1976, A filamentous cytoskeleton in vertebrate smooth muscle fibers, J. Cell Biol. 68: 539.
Cooke, P. H., and Chase, R. H., 1971, Potassium chloride-insoluble myofilaments in vertebrate smooth muscle cells, Exp. Cell Res. 66: 417.
Davison, P. F., and Winslow, B., 1974, The protein subunit of calf brain neurofilament, Neurobiology 5: 119.
Eckert, B. S., Koons, S. J., Schantz, A. W., and Zobel, C. R., 1980, Association of creatine phosphokinase with the cytoskeleton of cultured mammalian cells, J. Cell Biol. 86: 1.
Eng, L. F., Vanderhaeghen, J. J., Bignami, A., and Gerstl, B., 1971, An acidic protein isolated from fibrous astrocytes, Brain Res. 28: 351.
Eriksson, A., and Thornell, L.-E., 1979, Intermediate (skeletin) filaments in heart Purkinje fibers: A correlative morphological and biochemical identification with evidence of a cytoskeletal function, J. Cell Biol. 80: 231.
Eriksson, A., Thornell, L.-E., and Stigbrand, T., 1977, Cytoskeletal filaments of heart conducting system localized by antibody against 55,000 dalton protein, Experientia 34: 792.
Feit, H., Neudeck, U., and Shay, J. W., 1977, Anomalous electrophoretic properties of brain filament protein subunits, Brain Res. 133: 341.
Ferrans, V. J., and Roberts, W. C., 1973, Intermyofibrillar and nuclear myofibrillar connections in human and canine myocardium: An ultrastructure study, J, Mol. Cell. Cardiol. 5: 247.
Franke, W. W., Schmid, E., Osborn, M., and Weber, K., 1978a, Different intermediate-sized filaments distinguished by immunofluorescence microscopy, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75: 5034.
Franke, W. W., Weber, K., Osborn, M., Schmid, E., and Freudenstein, C., 1978b, Antibody to prekeratin: Decoration of tonofilament-like arrays in various cells of epithelial character, Exp. Cell Res. 116: 429.
Franke, W. W., Schmid, E., Osborn, M., and Weber, K., 1979a, Intermediate-sized filaments of human endothelial cells, J. Cell Biol. 81: 570.
Franke, W. W., Schmid, E., Weber, K., and Osborn, M., 1979, Hela cells contain intermediate-sized filaments of the prekeratin type, Exp. Cell Res. 118: 95.
Fuseler, J. W., 1975, Temperature dependence of anaphase chromosome velocity and microtubule depolymerization rate, J. Cell Biol. 89: 737.
Garamvölgyi, N., 1965, Inter-Z-bridges in the flight muscle of the bee, J. Ultrastruct. Res. 13: 435.
Gard, D. L., Bell, P. B., and Lazarides, E., 1979, Coexistence of desmin and the fibroblastic intermediate filament subunit in muscle and non-muscle cells: Identification and comparative peptide analysis, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76: 3894.
Goldman, R. D., and Knipe, D. M., 1973, Functions of cytoplasmic fibers in non-muscle cell motility, in: The Mechanism of Muscle Contraction, Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 37: 523. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York.
Granger, B. L., and Lazarides, E., 1978, The existence of an insoluble Z disc scaffold in chicken skeletal muscle, Cell 15: 1253.
Granger, B. L., and Lazarides, E., 1979, Desmin and vimentin coexist at the periphery of myofibril Z disc, Cell 18: 1053.
Granger, B. L., Gard, D. L., and Lazarides, E., 1979, The coexistence of desmin and vimentin in developing and mature chicken skeletal muscle and their association with myofibril disks, J. Cell Biol. 83: 314a.
Gudrun, B. S., Fellini, S. A., Toyama, Y, and Holtzer, H., 1979, Redistribution of intermediate filament subunits during skeletal myogenesis and maturation in vitro, J. Cell Biol. 82: 577.
Holtrap, M. E., Raisz, L. G., and Simmons, H. A., 1974, The effects of parathyroid hormone, colchicine, and calcitonin on the ultrastructure and the activity of osteoclasts in organ culture, J. Cell Biol. 60: 346.
Holtzer, H., Sanger, J., Ishikawa, H., and Strahxi, K., 1973, Selected topics in myogenesis, Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 37: 549.
Holtzer, H., Croop, J., Dienstman, S., and Somlyo, A. P., 1975, Effects of cytochalasin and colcemid on myogenic cultures, Proc. Natl. Acad Sci. U.S.A. 72: 513.
Hubbard, B. D., and Lazarides, E., 1979, Copurification of actin and desmin from chicken smooth muscle and their copolymerization in vitro to intermediate filaments, J. Cell Biol. 80: 166.
Inoué, S., and Ritter, H., Jr., 1975, Dynamics of mitotic spindle organization and function, in: Molecules and Cell Movements ( S. Inoue and R. E. Stephens, eds.), pp. 3–30, Raven Press, New York.
Ishikawa, H., Bischoff, R., and Holtzer, H., 1968, Mitosis and intermediate-sized filaments in developing skeletal muscle, J. Cell Biol. 38: 538.
Ishikawa, H., Bischoff, R., and Holtzer, H., 1969, Formation of arrowhead complexes with heavy meromyosin in a variety of cell types, J. Cell Biol. 43: 312.
Izant, J. G., and Lazarides, E., 1974, Invariance and heterogeneity in the major structural and regulatory proteins of chick muscle cells revealed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 74: 1450.
Jacobus, W. E., and Lehninger, A. L., 1973, Creatine kinase of rat heart mitochondria, J. Biol. Chem. 248: 4803.
Kelly, D. E., 1969, Myofibrillogenesis and Z-band differentiation, Anat. Rec. 163:403.
Knappeis, G. G., and Carlsen, F., 1962, The ultrastructure of the Z disc in skeletal muscle, J. Cell Biol. 13: 323.
Lazarides, E., 1978a, The distribution of desmin (100 A) filaments in primary cultures of embryonic chick cardiac cells, Exp. Cell Res. 112: 265.
Lazarides, E., 1978b, Comparison of the structure, distribution and possible function of desmin (100 A) filaments in various types of muscle and non muscle cells, Birth Defects Orig. Artic. Ser. 14: 41.
Lazarides, E., 1980, Intermediate filaments as mechanical integrators of cellular space, Nature (London 283: 249.
Lazarides, E., and Balzer, D. R., Jr., 1978, Specificity of desmin to avian and mammalian cells, Cell 14: 429.
Lazarides, E., and Granger, B. L., 1978, Fluorescent localization of membrane sites in glycerinated chicken skeletal muscle fibers and the relationship of these sites to the protein composition of the Z disk, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75: 3683.
Lazarides, E., and Hubbard, B. D., 1976, Immunological characterization of the subunit of the 100 A filaments from muscle cells, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 73: 4344.
Lazarides, E., and Revel, J. P., 1979, The molecular basis of cell movement, Sci. Am. 240: 100.
Lazarides, E., and Weber, K., 1974, Actin antibody: The specific visualization of actin filaments in non-muscle cells, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 71: 2268.
Liem, R. K. H., Yen, S.-H., Salomon, G. D., and Shelanski, M. L., 1978, Intermediate filaments in nervous tissue, J. Cell Biol. 79: 637.
McEwen, B. S., and Grafstein, B., 1968, Fast and slow components in axonal transport of protein, J. Cell Biol. 38: 494.
Miller, C. L., Fuseler, J. W., and Brinkley, B. R., 1977, Cytoplasmic microtubules in transformed mouse x nontransformed human cell hybrids: Correlation with in vitro growth, Cell 12: 319.
Morris, G. F., Cooke, A., and Cole, R. J., 1972, Isoenzymes of creatine phosphokinase during myogenesis in vitro, Exp. Cell. Res. 74: 582.
Nandy, K., and Bourne, G. H., 1963, A study of the morphology of the conducting tissue in mammalian hearts, Acta Anat. 53: 217.
Nath, K., Shay, J. W., and Bollon, A. P., 1978, Relationship between dibutyryl cyclic AMP and microtubule organization in contracting heart muscle cells, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75: 319.
Ochs, S., 1972, Fast transport of materials in mammalian nerve fibers, Science 176: 252.
O’Farrell, P. H., 1975, High resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis of proteins, J. Biol. Chem. 250: 4007.
Olden, K., and Yamada, K. M., 1977, Direct detection of antigens in sodium dodecyl sulfatepolyacrylamide gels, Anal. Biochem. 78: 483.
Oliphant, L. W., and Loewen, R. D., 1976, Filament systems in Purkinje cells of the sheep heart: Possible alteration of myofibrillogenesis, J. Mol. Cell Cardiol. 8: 679.
Osborn, M., Franke, W., and Weber, K., 1980, Direct demonstration of the presence of two immunologically distinct intermediate sized filament systems in the same cell by double immunofluorescence microscopy, Exp. Cell Res. 125: 37.
Page, E., Power, B., Fozzard, H. A., and Meddoff, D. A., 1969, Sarcolemmal evaginations with knob-like or stalked projections in Purkinje fibers of the sheep’s heart, J. Ultrastruct. Res. 28: 288.
Pollard, T. D., and Werhing, R. R., 1974, Actin and myosin and cell movement, CRC Grit. Rev. Biochem. 2: 1.
Rash, J. E., Shay, J. W., and Besele, J. J., 1968, Urea extraction of Z bands, intercalated disks, and desmosomes, J. Ultrastruct. Res. 24: 181.
Rash, J. E., Biesele, J. J., and Gey, G. O., 1970, Three classes of filaments in cardiac differentiation, J. Ultrastruct. Res. 33: 408.
Salmon, E. D., 1975, Spindle microtubules: Thermodynamics of in vitro assembly and role in chromosome movement, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 253: 383.
Schlaepfer, W. W., 1977, Immunological and ultrastructural studies of neurofilaments isolated from rat peripheral nerve, J. Cell Biol. 74: 226.
Schlaepfer, W. W., and Lynch, R. G., 1977, Immunofluorescence studies of neurofilaments in the rat and human peripheral and central nervous systems, J. Cell Biol. 74: 241.
Schollmeyer, J. V., Furcht, L. T., Goll, D. E., Robson, R. M., and Stromer, M. H., 1976, Localization of contractile proteins in smooth muscle cells and in normal and transformed fibroblast, in: Cell Motility, Book A ( R. D. Goldman, T. D. Pollard, and J. Rosenbaum, eds.), p. 364. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York.
Sharov, V. G., Saks, V. A., Smirnov, U. S., and Chazov, E. I., 1977, An electron microscopic histochemical investigation of the localization of creatine phosphokinase in heart cells, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 468: 495.
Shelanski, M. L., and Liem, R. K. H., 1979, Neurofilaments, J. Neurochem. 33: 5.
Small, J. V., 1977, Contractile units in vertebrate smooth muscle cells, Nature (London) 249: 324.
Small, J. V., and Sobieszek, A., 1977, Studies on the function and composition of the 10 mm (100-A) filaments of vertebrate smooth muscle, J. Cell Sci. 23: 243.
Somlyo, A. P., Devine, C. E., Somlyo, A. V., and Rice, R. V., 1973, Filament organization in vertebrate smooth muscle, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London Ser. B 265: 223.
Stephens, R. E., 1975, High resolution SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis: Fluorescent visualization and electrophoretic elution-concentration of protein bands, Anal. Biochem. 65: 369.
Stephens, R. E., and Edds, K. T., 1976, Microtubules: Structure, chemistry, and function, Physiol. Rev. 56: 709.
Stossel, T. P., 1978, Contractile proteins in cell structure and function, Annu. Rev. Med. 29: 427.
Strehler, E. E., Pilloni, G., Heizman, C. W., and Eppenberger, H. M., 1979, M-protein in chicken cardiac muscle, Exp. Cell Res. 124: 39.
Sun, T.-T., Shih, C., and Green, H., 1979, Keratin cytoskeletons in epithelial cells of internal organs, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76: 2813.
Thornell, L.-E., 1973, Evidence of an imbalance in the synthesis and degradation of myofibrillar proteins in rabbit Purkinje fibers: An electron microscope study, J. Ultrastruct. Res. 44: 85.
Thornell, L.-E., 1974, An ultrahistochemical study on glycogen in cow Purkinje fibers, J. Mol. Cell. Cardiol. 6: 439.
Turner, D. C., and Eppenberger, H. M., 1973, Developmental changes in creatine kinase and aldolase isoenzymes and their possible association with contractile elements, Enzyme (Basel) 15: 224.
Tuszynski, B. P., Frank, E. D., Damsky, C. H., Buck, C., and Warren, L., 1979, The detection of smooth musde desmin-like protein in BHK21/C13 fibroblasts, J. Biol. Chem. 254: 6138.
Uehara, Y., Campbell, G. R., and Burnstock, G., 1971, Cytoplasmic filaments in developing and adult vertbrate smooth muscle, J. Cell Biol. 50: 484.
Ullrick, W. C., Toselli, P. A., Saide J., and Phear, W. P. C., 1977, Fine structure of the Z-disc, J. Mol. Biol. 115: 61.
Viraǵh, S., and Chalice, C. E., 1969, Variations in filamentous and fibrillar organization, and associated sarcolemmal structures, in cells of the normal mammalian heart, J. Ultrastruct. Res. 28: 321.
Wallimann, I., Turner, D. C., and Eppenberger, H. M.. 1978a, Localization of creatine kinase isoenzyme in myofibrils. I. Chicken skeletal muscle, J. Cell Biol. 75: 297.
Wallimann, T. H., Kuhn, J., Pelloni, G., Turner, D. C., and Eppenberger, H. M., 1978b, Localization of creatine kinase isoenzyme in myofibrils. II. Chicken heart muscle, J. Cell Biol. 75: 318.
Wallimann, T., Pelloni, G., Turner, D. C., and Eppenberger, H. M., 1978c, Monovalent antibodies against MM-creatine kinase remove the M-line from myofibrils, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75: 4296.
Weiss, P. A., 1972a, Neuronal dynamics and axonal flow. V. The semisolid state of the moving axonal column, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 69: 620.
Weiss, P. A., 1972b, Neuronal dynamics and axonal flow: Axonal peristalsis, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 69: 1309.
Weiss, P. A., and Mayr, R., 1971, Organelles in neuroplasmic (“axonal”) flow: Neurofilaments, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 68: 846.
Wesniewski, H., Shelanski, M. L., and Terry, R. D., 1968, Effect of mitotic spindle inhibitors on neurotubules and neurofilaments in anterior horn cells, J. Cell Biol. 38: 224.
Zackroff, R. V., and Goldman, R. D., 1979, In vitro assembly of intermediate filaments from baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cells, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76: 6226.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1981 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fuseler, J.W., Shay, J.W., Feit, H. (1981). The Role of Intermediate (10-nm) Filaments in the Development and Integration of the Myofibrillar Contractile Apparatus in the Embryonic Mammalian Heart. In: Dowben, R.M., Shay, J.W. (eds) Cell and Muscle Motility. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8196-9_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8196-9_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-8198-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-8196-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive