Vimentin
| Vimentin | ||
|---|---|---|
| Properties of human protein | ||
| Mass / length primary structure | 465 amino acids | |
| Secondary to quaternary structure | Homopolymer | |
| Identifier | ||
| Gene name | VIM | |
| External IDs | ||
| Occurrence | ||
| Parent taxon | Vertebrates | |
Vimentin (VIM) is a type 3 intermediate filament from the desmine group and thus an element of the cytoskeleton of vertebrates . The molecular mass of human vimentins is 53,689 Daltons . It occurs in the cytoplasm (partly also in the nucleolus ) of all cells of mesenchymal origin (e.g. fibroblasts , endothelial cells , smooth muscle cells ).
Little is known about the exact function of vimentin. Knock-out mice from which the gene for the production of vimentin had been removed, for example, showed no phenotypic changes in muscle development . However, a number of muscle cell abnormalities have been observed in adult animals, such as misaligned muscle fibers.
In pathology , vimentin is used as a general marker for soft tissue tumors.
Individual evidence
Web links
- Vimentin in the Human Protein Reference Database