Final answer:
Intermediate filament monomers are fibrous proteins such as keratin, lamins, and vimentin, crucial for maintaining cell shape and structure, resisting tensile forces, and forming cell-to-cell junctions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Examples of intermediate filament monomers predominantly include various fibrous proteins like keratin, which you may be most familiar with due to its presence in hair, nails, and the epidermis of the skin. These monomers also consist of other protein types, such as lamins, which form the nuclear lamina inside the nuclear envelope, and vimentin, which maintains the integrity of cells and tissues.
The structure of intermediate filaments involves a common structure where a pair of monomers has globular domains at their C- and N-terminal ends, separated by coiled rod regions that bestow the filaments with their elastic properties, reminiscent of the protein titin. Intermediate filaments are known for their tensile strength, resisting forces that pull apart cells and playing a crucial role in maintaining cell shape, anchoring organelles, and forming cell-to-cell junctions like desmosomes in animal tissues.