Influenza Virus
Kinetochore
Bacteriophage T4 Infection
JCVI-syn3A Minimal Cell
Insulin Release
HIV Vaccine
Caulobacter Polar Microdomain
HIV-Infected Cell
Collagen and Extracellular Matrix
Escherichia coli Bacterium
Myoglobin in a Whale Muscle Cell
Cellulose Synthase
CytoSkeleton
Transfer RNA and Gag Protein
RecA and DNA
Casein Micelle and Fat Globule in Milk
Model of a Mycoplasma Cell
Phage-based COVID-19 Vaccine
Myelin
Immunological Synapse
SARS-CoV-2 Fusion
Red Blood Cell Cytoskeleton
SARS-CoV-2 and Neutralizing Antibodies
Respiratory Droplet
Coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine
Coronavirus Life Cycle
Influenza Vaccine
Measles Virus Proteins
Lipid Droplets
Poliovirus Neutralization
Excitatory and Inhibitory Synapses
Abiogenesis
Last Universal Common Ancestor
Zika Virus
Insulin Action
Ebola Virus
Mycoplasma mycoides
Chloroplast
Autophagy
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VegF) Signaling
Biosites: Muscle
Biosites: Basement Membrane
Biosites: Red Blood Cell
Biosites: Nucleus
Biosites: Blood Plasma
Biosites: Cytoplasm
Blood
Escherichia coli
HIV in Blood Plasma

Molecular Landscapes by David S. Goodsell

Red Blood Cell Cytoskeleton, 2020

Acknowledgement: Illustration by David S. Goodsell, RCSB Protein Data Bank. doi: 10.2210/rcsb_pdb/goodsell-gallery-031

A cross section through a red blood cell is shown at the bottom, with hemoglobin in red and the cell membrane in purple. A distinctive cytoskeleton forms a structural network bracing the membrane, with several large membrane-bound protein assemblies and short actin filaments, all linked by long, flexible spectrin proteins. Blood plasma is shown at the top.

Selected References

  • Lux SE (2016) Anatomy of the red cell membrane skeleton: unanswered questions. Blood 127, 187-199.
  • Burton NM & Bruce LJ (2011) Modelling the structure of the red cell membrane. Biochem. Cell Biol. 89, 200-215.
  • Nans A, Mohandas N & Stokes DL (2011) Native ultrastructure of the red cell cytoskeleton by cryo-electron tomography. Biophys. J. 101, 2341-2350.
  • Baines AJ (2010) The spectrin-ankyrin-4.1-adducin membrane skeleton: adapting eukaryotic cells to the demands of life. Protoplasma 244, 99-131.