All intermediate filament proteins consist of an alpha-helical rod domain flanked by non-helical N-terminal head and C-terminal tail domains. The roles of the non-helical domains of various intermediate filament proteins in the assembly and co-assembly of higher-order filamentous structures have been studied by many groups but with quite contradictory results. Type III intermediate filaments ar...

Serum-free mouse embryo (SFME) cells, derived in medium in which serum is replaced with growth factors and other supplements, display distinctive properties: (i) SFME cells do not lose proliferative potential or show gross chromosomal aberration upon extended culture, (ii) these cells depend on epidermal growth factor for survival; and (iii) SFME cell proliferation is reversibly inhibited by se...

Reactive astrocytes in neurotrauma, stroke, or neurodegeneration are thought to undergo cellular hypertrophy, based on their morphological appearance revealed by immunohistochemical detection of glial fibrillary acidic protein, vimentin, or nestin, all of them forming intermediate filaments, a part of the cytoskeleton. Here, we used a recently established dye-filling method to reveal the full t...

PURPOSE The aim of this study is to demonstrate the early changes of the sensory retina induced by hypercholesterolemia in an experimental model. METHODS New Zealand rabbits were divided into two groups: CG (Control Group) was fed a normal diet for 6 weeks. G1 was initially fed a 1% cholesterol diet for two weeks and from the 14th day on a 0.5% cholesterol diet until the 42nd day. The eyes un...

Manfred Herrmann, Pieter Vos, Michael T. Wunderlich, Chris H. M. M. de Bruijn and Karl J. B. Serum Concentrations of Protein S-100B and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Specific Proteins After Acute Stroke : A Comparative Analysis of − Release of Glial Tissue Print ISSN: 0039-2499. Online ISSN: 1524-4628 Copyright © 2000 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. is published by the A...

Astrocytomas are the most common malignant brain tumours and are to date incurable. It is unclear how astrocytomas progress into higher malignant grades. The intermediate filament cytoskeleton is emerging as an important regulator of malignancy in several tumours. The majority of the astrocytomas express the intermediate filament protein Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP). Several GFAP spli...

In a previous study, we found that human neural stem cells (HNSCs) exposed to high concentrations of secreted amyloid-precursor protein (sAPP) in vitro differentiated into mainly astrocytes, suggesting that pathological alterations in APP processing during neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) may prevent neuronal differentiation of HNSCs. Thus, successful neuroplacement...