[Myosin isoforms of skeletal muscles in development]

The latest data are reviewed concerning identification of myosin from the skeletal muscle during embryonic and postnatal development in vertebrates. The data are given on the composition of light subunits and specificity of heavy chains of the early isoforms obtained by electrophoresis, peptide mapping, DNA-RNA hybridization, as well as immunological methods with poly-and monoclonals. The substitution of embryonic heavy chains by neonatal and definitive ones is discussed. The following items are also considered: early isoforms of the fast and slow myosin types and, in particular, endogenous program directing the muscle development and protein synthesis towards the "fast phenotype", which is modulated by neurostimulation and other physiological factors inducing slow myosin type. The enzymatic activity of the early isoforms and its physiological importance in embryogenesis are discussed.