PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Pallari, Hanna-Mari
AU  - Eriksson, John E.
TI  - Intermediate Filaments as Signaling Platforms
AID  - 10.1126/stke.3662006pe53
DP  - 2006 Dec 19
TA  - Science's STKE
PG  - pe53--pe53
VI  - 2006
IP  - 366
4099  - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/2006/366/pe53.short
4100  - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/2006/366/pe53.full
SO  - Sci. STKE2006 Dec 19; 2006
AB  - Intermediate filaments (IFs) are cytoskeletal structures that are crucial for maintaining the structural and mechanical integrity of cells and tissues. Intriguingly, a wide range of previously unknown nonmechanical roles for the IF cytoskeleton are emerging: Recent studies have linked IFs to the integration of signals related to the determination of cell size, the regulation of cell migration and cell survival, and the buffering of the effects of stress-activated kinases. The characteristic structural features and expression patterns of the different members of this diverse family of highly abundant proteins make them well suited to act as cell- and tissue-specific modifiers and organizers of signaling.