Biomaterial Database

The shape of the fibrinogen molecule: sausage or banana? 1979

K Lederer

The experimental results and the interpretation of small angle X-ray scattering measurements by the author and Hammel (1975) and of small angle neutron scattering measurements by Marguerie and Stuhrmann (1976) on dilute solutions of bovine fibrinogen are compared. The potential of both methods to discern straight and bent cylindrical structures is demonstrated. The study arrives at the conclusion that the question whether the fibrinogen molecule resembles more a banana or a straight sausage cannot be safely decided by the available data. This justifies the previous suggestion of the author to imagine the fibrinogen molecule as a swollen sausage 450 A long and 90 A thick with conceivable flexibility, a molecular model of sufficient universality to include the banana-shaped model of Marguerie and Stuhrmann (1976) as a special case.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009502	Neutrons	Electrically neutral elementary particles found in all atomic nuclei except light hydrogen; the mass is equal to that of the proton and electron combined and they are unstable when isolated from the nucleus, undergoing beta decay. Slow, thermal, epithermal, and fast neutrons refer to the energy levels with which the neutrons are ejected from heavier nuclei during their decay.	Neutron
D011487	Protein Conformation	The characteristic 3-dimensional shape of a protein, including the secondary, supersecondary (motifs), tertiary (domains) and quaternary structure of the peptide chain. PROTEIN STRUCTURE, QUATERNARY describes the conformation assumed by multimeric proteins (aggregates of more than one polypeptide chain).	Conformation, Protein,Conformations, Protein,Protein Conformations
D005340	Fibrinogen	Plasma glycoprotein clotted by thrombin, composed of a dimer of three non-identical pairs of polypeptide chains (alpha, beta, gamma) held together by disulfide bonds. Fibrinogen clotting is a sol-gel change involving complex molecular arrangements: whereas fibrinogen is cleaved by thrombin to form polypeptides A and B, the proteolytic action of other enzymes yields different fibrinogen degradation products.	Coagulation Factor I,Factor I,Blood Coagulation Factor I,gamma-Fibrinogen,Factor I, Coagulation,gamma Fibrinogen
D014961	X-Ray Diffraction	The scattering of x-rays by matter, especially crystals, with accompanying variation in intensity due to interference effects. Analysis of the crystal structure of materials is performed by passing x-rays through them and registering the diffraction image of the rays (CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, X-RAY). (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)	Xray Diffraction,Diffraction, X-Ray,Diffraction, Xray,Diffractions, X-Ray,Diffractions, Xray,X Ray Diffraction,X-Ray Diffractions,Xray Diffractions