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Molecular packing structure of fibrin fibers resolved by X-ray scattering and molecular modeling
- Source :
- Soft Matter, 16(35), 'Soft Matter ', vol: 16, pages: 8272-8283 (2020), Soft Matter, Soft Matter, 16(35), 8272-8283. ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY, Soft Matter, 16(35), 8272-8283. Royal Society of Chemistry
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Fibrin is the major extracellular component of blood clots and a proteinaceous hydrogel used as a versatile biomaterial. Fibrin forms branched networks of polymeric fibers, built of laterally associated double-stranded protofibrils. This multiscale hierarchical structure is crucial for the extraordinary mechanical resilience of blood clots. Yet, the structural basis of clot mechanical properties remains largely unclear due, in part, to the unresolved molecular packing structure of fibrin fibers. Here we quantitatively assess the packing structure of fibrin fibers by combining Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) measurements of fibrin networks reconstituted under a wide range of conditions with computational molecular modeling of fibrin oligomers. The number, positions, and intensities of the Bragg peaks observed in the SAXS experiments were reproduced computationally based on the all-atom molecular structure of reconstructed fibrin protofibrils. Specifically, the model correctly predicts the intensities of the reflections of the 22.5 nm axial repeat, corresponding to the half-staggered longitudinal arrangement of fibrin molecules. In addition, the SAXS measurements showed that protofibrils within fibrin fibers have a partially ordered lateral arrangement with a characteristic transverse repeat distance of 13 nm, irrespective of the fiber thickness. These findings provide fundamental insights into the molecular structure of fibrin clots that underlies their biological and physical properties.
- Subjects :
- Materials science
Molecular model
FLEXIBILITY
02 engineering and technology
THROMBIN
Fibrin
03 medical and health sciences
Thrombin
X-Ray Diffraction
Scattering, Small Angle
medicine
Molecule
Fiber
PROTOFIBRILS
030304 developmental biology
0303 health sciences
STABILITY
Molecular Structure
biology
Small-angle X-ray scattering
Scattering
X-Rays
X-ray
Fibrinogen
Biomaterial
General Chemistry
Condensed Matter Physics
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
SIMULATIONS
NETWORKS
POLYMERIZATION
SIZE
DENSITY
X-ray crystallography
biology.protein
Biophysics
VISUALIZATION
0210 nano-technology
medicine.drug
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1744683X
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Soft Matter, 16(35), 'Soft Matter ', vol: 16, pages: 8272-8283 (2020), Soft Matter, Soft Matter, 16(35), 8272-8283. ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY, Soft Matter, 16(35), 8272-8283. Royal Society of Chemistry
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....07629d07af3df33fc3df9ae0e38b8809