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The M-Band: Not Just Inert Glue but Playing an Active Role in the Middle of the Sarcomere

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Cardiac Cytoarchitecture

Abstract

The M-band is the region in the middle of the sarcomere that holds the thick (myosin) filaments in place by linking them to the elastic filament system made up of titin. It was recently suggested to play an important role by averaging the lateral misbalances of thick filament forces in the activated sarcomere and to actively support titin to restore the lateral order in the sarcomere. Its marker constituent in vertebrates is myomesin, but the rest of its molecular composition depends on the developmental stage and type of striated muscle and eventually results in a more rigid or a more elastic phenotype. The studies of myomesin domain interactions suggest that thick filaments might be cross-linked in their central “bare” zone by antiparallel myomesin dimers that bind myosin with their N-terminal domain and interact end to end with their C-terminal domains. In addition to its role in buffering active contractile force, the M-band is the origin of signalling processes that can go all the way to the nucleus to affect gene transcription. The mechanical deformations of the M-band filaments during muscle contraction allow the integration of smart molecular sensors to monitor the activity of the sarcomere and initiate physiological adaptations. While it is known that the composition of the M-band is altered in cardiomyopathy, only few mutations in M-band components were characterised so far that lead to hereditary cardiomyopathy, but results obtained from next-generation sequencing are bound to expand on this.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Insphero, Schlieren, Switzerland

    Irina Agarkova

  2. Cardiovascular Division, BHF Centre of Research Excellence at King’s College London, London, UK

    Elisabeth Ehler

  3. Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, New Hunt’s House, Guy’s Campus, Room 3.26A, London, SE1 1UL, UK

    Elisabeth Ehler

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  1. Irina Agarkova
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  2. Elisabeth Ehler
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Correspondence to Elisabeth Ehler .

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  1. Randall Div. of Cell and Mol. Biophysics and Cardiovascular Division Guy’s Campus, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

    Elisabeth Ehler

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Agarkova, I., Ehler, E. (2015). The M-Band: Not Just Inert Glue but Playing an Active Role in the Middle of the Sarcomere. In: Ehler, E. (eds) Cardiac Cytoarchitecture. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15263-9_7

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