Desmin is a muscle-specific intermediate filament protein type III and is found in the dense bodies of smooth muscle cells and in the Z-disk of striated muscles. Desmin connects the contractile apparatus to the subsarcolemmal cytoskeleton and organelles like nuclei. It also forms a scaffold around the myofibrillar Z-disk. It is useful in the detection of tumors with myoid origin and to differentiate mesothelioma from carcinoma.

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