Abstract
SINCE Lowry et al.1 found X-ray evidence for the presence of longitudinally ordered myosin in vertebrate smooth muscle there has been much debate on the precise form in which it is present. Small et al.2,3 have found well ordered and well preserved broad ribbon-shaped elements (80 Å wide and 200–1100 Å broad) in micrographs of vertebrate smooth muscle fixed after relaxation in isotonic and hypertonic salines. They believe that these ribbons are the myosin contractile elements and support this view with the observation that the meridional X-ray reflection of 143 Å (indicative of an ordered myosin structure) could arise from such ribbons.
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SHOENBERG, C., HASELGROVE, J. Filaments and ribbons in vertebrate smooth muscle. Nature 249, 152–154 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/249152a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/249152a0
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