Event
Bioengineering Seminar Series: Robert Bloch
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
11:00 a.m.
2108 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building
Sameer Shah
(301) 405-9958
sameer@umd.edu
Intermediate Filaments: Structure and Function in Striated Muscle
Presented by Robert Bloch
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Intermediate filaments are structures that stabilize cells and tissues. They are especially important in striated muscle, where they help to maintain the organization of the cytoplasm and may also provide pathways for force transmission from the contractile apparatus to the cell surface. We have been studying the role of intermediate filaments with a special emphasis on their role in linking the contractile apparatus to the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex at the sarcolemma. We have generated mice in the same genetic background that lack desmin, keratin 19, or both intermediate filament proteins. We are now applying a combination of physiological, morphological and biochemical methods to dissect the role of these proteins in healthy muscle, and to understand how defects in their assembly can lead to muscular dystrophy or myopathy.
