Figure 3.

Assembly and structure of NF proteins. NF is formed by the formation of NFL or α-internexin by binding to the conserved rod domain to form a coiled spiral dimer with other NFs, two dimers assembled in a contralateral parallel fashion to form a tetramer, and eight laterally bound tetramers to form a cylindrical structure, which is lengthened longitudinally and compressed to form a slender filamentous NF. The domains of all neurofilament proteins consist of an N-terminal domain, a helical core containing 1a, 1b and 2a/b, and a variable C-terminal tail domain.