Spectrin is a cytoskeletal protein that lines the intracellular side of the plasma membrane in eukaryotic cells. Spectrin forms pentagonal or hexagonal arrangements, forming a scaffold and playing an important role in maintenance of plasma membrane integrity and …

Spectrin is a large, cytoskeletal, and heterodimeric protein composed of modular structure of α and β subunits, it typically contains 106 contiguous amino acid sequence motifs called "spectrin repeats".

May 24, 2021 · Spectrin subunits are mainly composed of spectrin repeats, which form a triple-helix supercoil that functions much like a spring to allow spectrin tetramers to expand and contract; this molecular structure permits the spectrin-based cytoskeleton to bend and flex.

Spectrin is an abundant protein in the nervous system, comprising 2.4% of total protein in mammalian brain homogenates. Spectrin is an unusually large protein with a native molecular weight greater than 1 million. The contour length of the purified protein when viewed by electron microscopy is ∼200 nm. Spectrin is intimately associated with ...

Spectrins are proteins that are responsible for many aspects of cell function and adaptation to changing environments. Primarily the spectrin-based membrane skeleton maintains cell membrane integrity and its mechanical properties, together with the ...

Feb 1, 2014 · βIV-spectrin acts as a multifunctional regulatory platform for sodium channels, and has important roles in maintaining the structure and stability of excitable membranes in heart and brain, targeting critical structural and regulatory proteins.

This review discusses the spectrin superfamily of proteins that function to connect cytoskeletal elements to each other, the cell membrane, and the nucleus. The signature domain is the spectrin repeat, a 106–122-amino-acid segment comprising three ...

βII spectrin, the most common isoform of non-erythrocyte spectrin, is a cytoskeleton protein present in all nucleated cells. Interestingly, βII spectrin is essential for the development of various organs such as nerve, epithelium, inner ear, liver ...

Spectrin is an actin crosslinking and molecular scaffold protein that links the plasma membrane to the actin cytoskeleton, and functions in the determination of cell shape, arrangement of transmembrane proteins, and organization of organelles.

Jan 25, 2023 · Together with actin, spectrin forms a submembrane cytoskeleton thought to impart mechanical resilience to neuronal processes and mediate signalling events 4.