Reguration of intermediate filament function by phosphorylation of their subunit proteins.

Intermediate filaments are a major component of the cytoskeleton of eukaryotic cells. We report here evidence that site/domain-specific phosphorylation of intermediate filament proteins induces disassembly of the filament structure. These evidence connect the previous view of intermediate filament structure with the notion that phosphorylation could influence intracellular organization of intermediate filaments.