Abstract
Of the several proteins located within sarcomeric A-bands, C-protein, a myosin binding protein (MyBP) is thought to regulate and stabilize thick filaments during assembly. This paper reports the characterization of C-protein isoforms in juvenile and adult axolotls, Ambystoma mexicanum, by means of immunofluorescent microscopy and Western blot analyses. C-protein and myosin are found specifically within the A-bands, whereas tropomyosin and α-actin are detected in the I-bands of axolotl myofibrils. The MF1 antibody prepared against the fast skeletal muscle isoform of chicken C-protein specifically recognizes a cardiac isoform (Axcard1) in juvenile and adult axolotls but does not label axolotl skeletal muscle. The ALD66 antibody, which reacts with the C-protein slow isoform in chicken, localizes only in skeletal muscle of the axolotl. This slow axolotl isoform (Axslow) displays a heterogeneous distribution in fibers of dorsalis trunci skeletal muscle. The C315 antibody against the chicken C-protein cardiac isoform identifies a second axolotl cardiac isoform (Axcard2), which is present also in axolotl skeletal muscle. No C-protein was detected in smooth muscle of the juvenile and adult axolotl with these antibodies.
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This work was supported by NIH grants HL-32184 and HL-37702 and a grant-in-aid from the American Heart Association to L.F.L.
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Ward, S.M., Fransen, M.E., Dube, D.K. et al. Immunohistochemical analysis of C-protein isoforms in cardiac and skeletal muscle of the axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum . Cell Tissue Res 282, 399–406 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00318872
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00318872