Myocardium of mammals contains a wide range of isoforms of proteins that provides contractile function of the heart. These are two isoforms of ventricular and two of atrial myosin, α- and β-tropomyosin, and two isoforms of α-actin: cardiac and skeletal. We believe that the difference in the amino acid sequence of α-actin can affect the calcium regulation of the actin-myosin interaction. To test this hypothesis, we investigated effects of the isoforms of α-actin, cardiac and skeletal, and the isoforms of cardiac myosin on the calcium regulation of the actin-myosin interaction in an in vitro motility assay using reconstructed regulated thin filaments. The results show that isoforms of α-actin and the ratio of α/β-chains of Tpm differently affect the calcium regulation of the actin-myosin interaction in myocardium in dependence on cardiac myosin isoforms.
Keywords: Actin; Calcium regulation; Cardiac myosin; In vitro motility assay; Tropomyosin.
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