Molecular Genetic Characterization of a Developmentally Regulated Human Perinatal Myosin Heavy Chain

• Published in: The Journal of cell biology Vol. 108; no. 5; pp. 1791 - 1797
• Main Authors: Feghali, Rebecca, Leinwand, Leslie A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Rockefeller University Press 01.05.1989; The Rockefeller University Press
• Subjects: Adults; Aging; Amino Acid Sequence; Amino acids; Analytical, structural and metabolic biochemistry; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Complementary DNA; Contractile proteins; DNA; DNA - genetics; DNA - isolation & purification; DNA probes; Embryo, Mammalian; Fetus; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genes; Heart - embryology; Heart - growth & development; Holoproteins; Humans; Major Histocompatibility Complex; Molecular Sequence Data; Muscle Development; Muscles - embryology; Myosin Subfragments; Myosins - genetics; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Peptide Fragments - genetics; Protein isoforms; Proteins; Rats; RNA; RNA probes; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; Untranslated regions; Human; Molecular hybridization; Rat; Nucleotide sequence; Gene product; heavy-Peptide chain; Rodentia; Contractile protein; Homology; Characterization; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Complementary DNA; Gene; Myosin; Genetic engineering; Nucleic acid; Comparative study; Aminoacid sequence
• ISSN: 0021-9525; 1540-8140
• DOI: 10.1083/jcb.108.5.1791

We have isolated a human cDNA which corresponds to a developmentally regulated sarcomeric myosin heavy chain. RNA hybridization and DNA sequence analysis indicate that this cDNA, called SMHCP, encodes a perinatal myosin heavy chain isoform. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the 3.4-kb cDNA insert show strong homology with other sarcomeric myosin heavy chains. The strongest homology is to a previously described 970-bp cDNA encoding a rat perinatal isoform. The homology between the analogous human and rat perinatal myosin heavy chain cDNAs is maintained through the highly isoform-specific final 20 carboxyl-terminal amino acids, as well as the 3′ untranslated region. Ribonuclease protection studies show that the mRNA encoding this isoform is expressed at high levels in 21-wk fetal skeletal tissue and not in fetal cardiac muscle. In contrast to the rat perinatal isoform, which was not found to be expressed in adult hind-leg tissue, the gene encoding SMHCP continues to be expressed in adult human skeletal tissue, but at lower levels relative to fetal skeletal tissue.