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Calponin. Developmental isoforms and a low molecular weight variant.
A Draeger1, M Gimona, A Stuckert
1Institute of Molecular Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Salzburg.
FEBS Letters
|October 7, 1991
Summary
Calponin is a key marker for differentiated smooth muscle. A specific variant, L-calponin, is found in adult urogenital smooth muscle but is reduced in leiomyomas.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Calponin is a prominent marker of differentiated smooth muscle phenotype.
- Adult smooth muscle expresses up to four calponin isoforms.
- Three calponin isoforms appear sequentially during fetal development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify calponin as a marker of differentiated smooth muscle phenotype.
- To investigate the expression of calponin isoforms during smooth muscle development and modulation.
- To characterize a specific calponin variant (L-calponin) in adult smooth muscle and its expression in tumors.
Main Methods:
- Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of basic proteins.
- Developmental analysis of human and mouse smooth muscle.
- In vitro primary culture of adult myometrial cells.
- Monospecific polyclonal antibody production against calponin.
Main Results:
- Calponin is a prominent marker of differentiated human smooth muscle.
- Adult human and mouse tissues express up to four calponin isoforms.
- L-calponin is strongly and specifically expressed in adult human urogenital tract smooth muscle.
- L-calponin is down-regulated in benign smooth muscle tumors (leiomyoma) and absent in primary cultures of normal uterine tissue.
Conclusions:
- Calponin isoforms are sequential markers during smooth muscle development.
- L-calponin is a specific marker for adult human urogenital smooth muscle.
- Down-regulation of L-calponin in leiomyoma suggests its role in smooth muscle differentiation and pathology.