Beef muscle troponin: evidence for multiple forms of troponin-T

A method is described for the purification of troponin from beef skeletal muscle. The resultant preparation differs from the troponin of rabbit skeletal muscle in that it contains at least two forms of the tropomyosin-binding component, Troponin-T: these are designated as the 37 000 and 40 000 dalton forms of Troponin-T on the basis of sodium dodecyl sulphate gel electrophoresis. Either of these Troponin-T forms may be used to reconstitute troponin by mixing with the appropriate amounts of the calcium-binding (Troponin-C) and and actomyosin ATPase-inhibitory (Troponin-I) components. These reconstituted troponins are shown to interact with tropomyosin and also to confer full calcium sensitivity on actomyosin ATPase. Despite the existence of proteolysis in troponin preparations, the experimental evidence indicates that the smaller form of Troponin-T is not derived from the 40 000 dalton species by limited degradation. Although both species of Troponin-T have been found routinely in troponin from beef skeletal muscle, only the larger form is detected in troponin preparations from beef cardiac muscle. Further studies are required in order to clarify the functional significance and differential distribution of these multiple forms of Troponin-T.