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Stable polymers of the axonal cytoskeleton: the axoplasmic ghost

We have examined the monomer-polymer equilibria which form the cytoskeletal polymers in squid axoplasm by extracting protein at low concentrations of monomer. The solution conditions inside the axon were matched as closely as possible by the extraction buffer (buffer P) to preserve the types of prot...

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Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Rockefeller University Press 1982
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2112002/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7199050
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collection PubMed
description We have examined the monomer-polymer equilibria which form the cytoskeletal polymers in squid axoplasm by extracting protein at low concentrations of monomer. The solution conditions inside the axon were matched as closely as possible by the extraction buffer (buffer P) to preserve the types of protein associations that occur in axoplasm. Upon extraction in buffer P, all of the neurofilament proteins in axoplasm remain polymerized as part of the stable neurofilament network. In contrast, most of the polymerized tubulin and actin in axoplasm is soluble although a fraction of these proteins also exists as a stable polymer. Thus, the axoplasmic cytoskeleton contains both stable polymers and soluble polymers. We propose that stable polymers, such as neurofilaments, conserve cytoskeletal organization because they tend to remain polymerized, whereas soluble polymers increase the plasticity of the cytoskeleton because they permit rapid and reversible changes in cytoskeletal organization.
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spelling pubmed-21120022008-05-01 Stable polymers of the axonal cytoskeleton: the axoplasmic ghost J Cell Biol Articles We have examined the monomer-polymer equilibria which form the cytoskeletal polymers in squid axoplasm by extracting protein at low concentrations of monomer. The solution conditions inside the axon were matched as closely as possible by the extraction buffer (buffer P) to preserve the types of protein associations that occur in axoplasm. Upon extraction in buffer P, all of the neurofilament proteins in axoplasm remain polymerized as part of the stable neurofilament network. In contrast, most of the polymerized tubulin and actin in axoplasm is soluble although a fraction of these proteins also exists as a stable polymer. Thus, the axoplasmic cytoskeleton contains both stable polymers and soluble polymers. We propose that stable polymers, such as neurofilaments, conserve cytoskeletal organization because they tend to remain polymerized, whereas soluble polymers increase the plasticity of the cytoskeleton because they permit rapid and reversible changes in cytoskeletal organization. The Rockefeller University Press 1982-01-01 /pmc/articles/PMC2112002/ /pubmed/7199050 Text en This article is distributed under the terms of an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike–No Mirror Sites license for the first six months after the publication date (see http://www.rupress.org/terms). After six months it is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 4.0 Unported license, as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).
spellingShingle Articles
Stable polymers of the axonal cytoskeleton: the axoplasmic ghost
title Stable polymers of the axonal cytoskeleton: the axoplasmic ghost
title_full Stable polymers of the axonal cytoskeleton: the axoplasmic ghost
title_fullStr Stable polymers of the axonal cytoskeleton: the axoplasmic ghost
title_full_unstemmed Stable polymers of the axonal cytoskeleton: the axoplasmic ghost
title_short Stable polymers of the axonal cytoskeleton: the axoplasmic ghost
title_sort stable polymers of the axonal cytoskeleton: the axoplasmic ghost
topic Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2112002/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7199050