Identification, characterization, and expression of a novel α‐tropomyosin isoform in cardiac tissues in developing chicken

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Tropomyosins are present in various muscle (skeletal, cardiac, and smooth) and non‐muscle cells with different isoforms characteristic of specific cell types. We describe here a novel smooth/striated chimeric isoform that was expressed in developing chick heart in addition to the classically described TM‐4 type. This novel α‐Tm tropomyosin isoform, designated as α‐Tm‐2, contains exon 2a (in place of exon 2b). The known striated muscle isoform (α‐Tm‐1) was also expressed in embryonic hearts along with the striated muscle isoform of TM‐4. In adult heart, TM‐4 was expressed, however, expression of both α‐Tm‐1 and α‐Tm‐2 isoforms was drastically reduced or downregulated. Interestingly, we were unable to detect the expression of α‐Tm‐2 in embryonic and adult skeletal muscle, however, the α‐Tm‐1 isoform is expressed in embryonic and adult skeletal muscle. Examination of other possible isoforms of the α‐TM gene, i.e., α‐smooth muscle tropomyosin (α‐Sm), α‐Fibroblast‐1 (α‐F1), and α‐Fibroblast‐2 (α‐F2) revealed expression in embryonic hearts and a significant reduction of each of these isoforms in adult heart. In order to elucidate the role of the newly discovered tropomyosin isoform in chicken, we ectopically expressed the GFP fusion protein of α‐Tm‐1 and α‐Tm‐2 separately into cardiomyocytes isolated from neonatal rats. Each isoform was incorporated into organized myofibrils. Our results suggest that the α‐TM gene may undergo both positive and negative transcriptional control in chicken hearts during development.