{"id":24986,"date":"2012-02-14T12:24:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-14T11:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?p=24986"},"modified":"2024-11-14T16:29:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T15:29:11","slug":"stretching-helices-help-keep-muscles-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/stretching-helices-help-keep-muscles-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Stretching helices help keep muscles together"},"content":{"rendered":"<div\n  class=\"vf-embed vf-embed--custom-ratio\"\n\n  style=\"--vf-embed-max-width: 100%;\n    --vf-embed-custom-ratio-x: 640;\n    --vf-embed-custom-ratio-y: 360;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hkkahEONoxQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"vf-u-text-color--grey vf-text--body vf-text-body--3\"><em>Myomesin stretching to 2.5 times its length. Credit: EMBL\/Wilmanns.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this video, a protein called myomesin does its impression of Mr. Fantastic, the leader of the Fantastic Four of comic book fame, who performed incredible feats by stretching his body. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Hamburg, Germany, have discovered that the elastic part of this protein can stretch to two and a half times its original length, unfolding in a way that was hitherto unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In muscle, the stretchy tails of two myomesin molecules come together, forming an elastic bridge that keeps a bundle of muscle fibres together. Each tail looks like a set of pearls \u2013 called immunoglobulin-like domains (pink, blue) \u2013 spaced out along an elastic band of structures known as alpha helices (green). When the protein is pulled, as it is when muscles contract and extend, the helices unfold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To obtain this unprecedentedly detailed view of myomesin\u2019s three-dimensional structure and discover the secret behind its stretchiness, the scientists combined an array of techniques: X-ray crystallography, small angle X-ray scattering, electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNext, we would like to determine the structure of the complete myomesin filament,\u201d says\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/embl.org\/groups\/wilmanns\/\">Matthias Wilmanns<\/a>, Head of EMBL Hamburg, who led the work, \u201cand to find out about the protein\u2019s function in living organisms, starting with animal models.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The work, published today in&nbsp;<em>PLoS Biology<\/em>, was conducted in collaboration with scientists from the Technical University of Munich, in Germany, and The Institute of Cancer Research, in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The video is also available on the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/hkkahEONoxQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">EMBL YouTube Channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on myomesin and muscle elasticity:<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.plosbiology.org\/article\/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001264\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PLoS primer \u2013 &#8220;Making Muscle Elastic: The Structural Basis of Myomesin Stretching&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"vf-box vf-box--inlay\">\n\n  <h3 class=\"vf-box__heading\">Source article<\/h3>\n  <p class=\"vf-box__text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pbio.1001261\">Pinotsis, N., Chatziefthimiou, S.D., Berkemeier, F., Beuron, F., Mavridis, I.M, Konarev, P.V., Svergun, D.I, Morris, E., Rief, M. &amp; Wilmanns, M. Superhelical architecture of the myosin filament-linking protein myomesin with unusual elastic properties.\u00a0<em>PLoS Biology<\/em>, 14 February 2012. <br \/>DOI:10.1371\/journal.pbio.1001261.<\/a><br \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Myomesin stretching to 2.5 times its length. Credit: EMBL\/Wilmanns. In this video, a protein called myomesin does its impression of Mr. Fantastic, the leader of the Fantastic Four of comic book fame, who performed incredible feats by stretching his body. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17591],"tags":[839,1780,616],"embl_taxonomy":[9596],"class_list":["post-24986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","category-science-technology","tag-muscle","tag-myomesin","tag-protein","embl_taxonomy-embl-hamburg"],"acf":{"show_featured_image":false,"vf_locked":false,"featured":false,"article_intro":"<p>Muscle protein stretches in novel way<\/p>\n","article_sources":false,"related_links":false,"in_this_article":false,"color":"#007B53","youtube_url":"","mp4_url":"","video_caption":"","press_contact":"None","field_target_display":"embl","source_article":false},"embl_taxonomy_terms":[{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"b14d3f13-5670-44fb-8970-e54dfd9c921a\";i:1;s:36:\"89e00fee-87f4-482e-a801-4c3548bb6a58\";i:2;s:36:\"613c4de5-1775-447f-af71-4b07085318e9\";}","parents":[],"name":["EMBL Hamburg"],"slug":"embl-hamburg","description":"Where &gt; All EMBL sites &gt; EMBL Hamburg"}],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Stretching helices help keep muscles together | EMBL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/stretching-helices-help-keep-muscles-together\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stretching helices help keep muscles together | EMBL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Myomesin stretching to 2.5 times its length. Credit: EMBL\/Wilmanns. In this video, a protein called myomesin does its impression of Mr. Fantastic, the leader of the Fantastic Four of comic book fame, who performed incredible feats by stretching his body. 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