MULTISCALE ELASTICITY IN THE MUSCLE PROTEIN TITIN

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Titin is a mechanical protein (http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/Categories/MechBio/) that protects muscle from overstretching, which can occur following a powerful muscle contraction. Defects in the titin gene have been correlated to muscular distrophy. Titin produces a restoring force when a muscle fiber is extended beyond its normal length. Much of what is understood about titin today arose from single-molecule experiments [1[unreadable]7] and computer simulations [8[unreadable]13] which have shed light on how the structure of titin resist mechanical stretching forces.