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. 1990 Jul 1;269(1):31–34. doi: 10.1042/bj2690031

Intermediate filaments in smooth muscle from pregnant and non-pregnant human uterus.

P Leoni 1, F Carli 1, D Halliday 1
PMCID: PMC1131526  PMID: 2198025

Abstract

The intermediate filament proteins desmin and vimentin from pregnant and non-pregnant uterine muscle and smooth-muscle cells in culture were analysed using SDS/PAGE. The desmin content in uterine muscle increases dramatically during pregnancy, whereas vimentin remains unchanged or changes very little. When muscle cells are kept in culture, a considerable increase in vimentin content is observed as compared with vimentin in freshly isolated non-pregnant uterine tissue. Our results strengthen the view that vimentin and desmin filaments have independent function and turnover, and point to a predominantly structural role for desmin filaments.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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