What are vimentin intermediate filaments?

What are vimentin intermediate filaments?

Vimentin, also known as fibroblast intermediate filament, is the major intermediate filament found in nonmuscle cells (Colvin et al., 1995). These cell types include fibroblast, endothelial cells, macrophages, melanocytes, Schwann cells, and lymphocytes.

Is vimentin a nuclear intermediate filament?

Vimentin is a type III intermediate filament (IF) protein that is expressed in mesenchymal cells. IF proteins are found in all animal cells as well as bacteria. Intermediate filaments, along with tubulin-based microtubules and actin-based microfilaments, comprises the cytoskeleton.

Is melanoma positive for vimentin?

The data showed that high expression of vimentin was significantly associated with melanoma hematogenous metastasis.

What is vimentin a marker for?

In recent years, vimentin has been recognized as a marker for epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Although EMT is associated with several tumorigenic events, vimentin’s role in the underlying events mediating these processes remains unknown.

Where is vimentin expressed?

Vimentin, a major constituent of the intermediate filament family of proteins, is ubiquitously expressed in normal mesenchymal cells and is known to maintain cellular integrity and provide resistance against stress.

What is vimentin made of?

Vimentin, is a 57kDa class III intermediate filament protein and often found in mesenchymal cells in eukaryotes, or cells that contain a distinct nucleus, and predominately expressed in developing embryo and in cells. Vimentin intermediate filaments are generally present in mesenchymal cells.

Is vimentin a mesenchymal marker?

Vimentin is one type of EMT protein marker, which is present in mesenchymal cells and involved in cancer progression [4, 7, 11, 15].

What is the function of vimentin filaments?

The primary function of Vimentin is to maintain cellular integrity, stabilize cytoskeleton interactions and provide resistance to avoid cell damage. Vimentin also has an important clinical significance as a tumor marker.