ULTIMATE COMPUTING - Quantum Consciousness Studies

Cytoskeleton/Cytocomputer 103
Figure 5.17: MAP attachment patterns as part of Koruga (1986) microtubule
information code (Chapter 8). With permission from Djuro Koruga.
5.3 Intermediate Filaments
The major filamentous components of the cytoskeleton are MT, actin
filaments, intermediate filaments (IF), and a class of delicate interconnecting
fibrils called the microtrabecular lattice (MTL) which will be described later in
this chapter. Here the “unknown” members of the cytoskeleton, intermediate
filaments are reviewed (Lazarides, 1980). Intermediate filaments represent the
most nebulous and chemically variable subgroup among the cytoskeleton. Five
classes of IF have been distinguished which are built from polypeptides
containing mostly alpha helix rod domains (Chapter 6). Under the electron
microscope, IF appear as relatively featureless, 8–12 nanometer wide unbranched
filaments. Treatment with certain fixative agents can cause IF to unravel into
several 2–3 nanometer protofilaments, or 4–5 nanometer protofibrils whose
number may vary from filament to filament, and even along the same filament. IF
may form from parallel coiling of the alpha helix domains and under some
circumstances, can form a polygonal meshwork with a 52 nanometer repeat of 8–
10 nanometer wide filaments. These can also aggregate into crystal-like arrays
with 24 nanometer spaced transverse bands. As such, IF may be involved in
structures otherwise described as microtrabecular lattice, or cytomatrix.