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How the projection domains of NF-L and α-internexin determine the conformations of NF-M and NF-H in neurofilaments

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An Erratum to this article was published on 20 April 2010

Abstract

Making use of a numerical self-consistent field method and polymer brush concepts, we model the solvated corona of neurofilaments (NF) composed of projection domains (unstructured tails) of constituent proteins. Projections are modeled with amino acid resolution. We focus on the importance of the two shortest ones (α-internexin and NF-L) in regulating the conformations of the two longer ones (NF-M and NF-H) in an isolated NF. We take the wild-type NF with no α-internexin as the reference, for which the phosphorylation-induced translocation of M- and H-tails has been examined previously. We demonstrate that a subbrush of L-tails creates an electrostatic potential profile with an approximately parabolic shape. An experimentally relevant (2:1) ratio of L- to α-projections reduces the charge density of the L subbrush and shifts the translocation transition of the H-tails to slightly higher degrees of phosphorylation. Replacing all L-tails by α-projections destroys the substructure of the NF corona and this alters the NF response to the phosphorylation of long tails.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Dutch National Science Foundation (NWO) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) through a joint project 047.017.026 “Polymers in nanomedicine: design, synthesis and study of inter-polymer and polymer-virus complexes in search of novel pharmaceutical strategies”. E.B.Z. acknowledges partial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR grant 08-03-00336).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Colloid Science, Wageningen University, Dreijenplein 6, 6307 HB, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    F. A. M. Leermakers

  2. Institute of Macromolecular Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 199004, St. Petersburg, Russia

    E. B. Zhulina

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  1. F. A. M. Leermakers
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  2. E. B. Zhulina
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Correspondence to F. A. M. Leermakers.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00249-010-0605-z

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00249-010-0605-z.

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Leermakers, F.A.M., Zhulina, E.B. How the projection domains of NF-L and α-internexin determine the conformations of NF-M and NF-H in neurofilaments. Eur Biophys J 39, 1323–1334 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00249-010-0585-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00249-010-0585-z

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