Dynamics of intermediate filaments

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Abstract
Intermediate filaments (IFs) have always been considered as the most static and ‘skeletal’ cellular elements. This view is now changing: new information reveals that IFs exchange subunits at steady‐state, that IF networks can be assembled de novo, and that IF proteins are subject to elaborate chemical modification and de‐modification during mitosis. I describe below some of the key observations which have made us realize that IFs are dynamic structures. I also discuss some of the remaining questions pertinent to the pathways of IF assembly under in vivo conditions.