Vimentin: an intracellular armor?

An study performed at CIB by the group of Dra. Dolores Pérez-Sala and published in Nat. Comm. shows that  the protein of intermediate filaments, vimentin, binds zinc very efficiently and this interaction can contribute to the estabilization and reinforcement of the vimentin cytoskeleton. The network of vimentin filaments is very dynamic and give the cells structural support and resistance to the mechanical tension. It also plays a crucial role in cellular migration and in the transition epitelium-mesenchyme, process involved in tumoral methastasis. The discovery of the regulation by filaments of vimentin by zinc offers new perspectives for the study of processes mediated by vimentin and of the molecular basis of pathologies which are associated with the widespread nutritional deficiency of zinc.