ABSTRACT
Desmin is a cytoplasmic protein that is characteristically found in muscle cells and their neoplasms [1-27]. It belongs to the class of "intermediate" (10 nm) filaments, which may be observed in many cell types by electron microscopy [28 -31]. In smooth muscle cells, these structures are associated with cytoplasmic dense bodies and subplasmalemmal dense plaques [29 -31] ; in striated muscle, they are linked to sarcomeric Z disks [28,32-35].
