Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Myosin from fetal hearts contains the skeletal muscle embryonic light chain

Nature volume 286, pages 731–733 (1980)Cite this article

Abstract

The contractile proteins of adult skeletal and cardiac muscle tissue are very similar. Some of these proteins are identical in amino acid sequence1,2 or differ only slightly3. Various structural studies have shown that the heavy and light chains of myosin are also homologous in skeletal and cardiac muscles4–11. In developing skeletal muscles, certain myosin subunits are present which are not found in the corresponding adult muscle7,10–13. Whether fetal cardiac muscle also contains myosin subunits homologous to these early forms is not known. We now report that ventricular myosin of fetal rats has a light chain polypeptide corresponding to the skeletal muscle embryonic light chain11. This result provides further evidence that a form of myosin light chain, not detectable in adult skeletal or ventricular myosin, is characteristic of the early stages of striated muscle development14.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Mak, A. S., Lewis, W. G. & Smillie, L. B. FEBS Lett. 105, 232–234 (1979).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Wilkinson, J. M. Eur. J. Biochem. 103, 179–188 (1980).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Vandekerckhove, J. & Weber, K. Differentiation 14, 123–133 (1979).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Streter, F. A., Balint, M. & Gergely, J. Devl Biol. 46, 317–325 (1975).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Brevet, A. & Whalen, R. G. Biochimie 60, 459–466 (1978).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Flink, I. L., Rader, J. H. & Morkin, E. J. biol. Chem. 254, 3105–3110 (1979).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Whalen, R. G., Schwartz, K., Bouveret, P., Sell, S. M. & Gros, F. Proc natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76, 5197–5201 (1979).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Weeds, A. G. FEBS Lett. 59, 203–208 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Weeds, A. G. Eur. J. Biochem. 66, 157–173 (1976).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Huszar, G. Nature new Biol. 240, 260–264 (1972).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Whalen, R. G., Butler-Browne, G. S. & Gros, F. J. molec. Biol. 126, 415–431 (1978).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Hoh, J. F. Y. & Yeoh, G. P. S. Nature 280, 321–322 (1979).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Rushbrook, J. I. & Stracher, A. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76, 4331–4334 (1979).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Whalen, R. G. in Plasticity of Muscle (ed. Pette, D.) 177–191 (Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 1980).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Pelloni–Mueller, G., Ermini, M. & Jenny, E. FEBS Lett. 67, 68–74 (1976).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Dabrowska, R., Sosinski, J. & Drabikowski, W. FEBS Lett. 79, 295–300 (1978).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Pette, D., Vrbova, G. & Whalen, R. G. Pflügers Arch. ges Physiol. 369, 85–89 (1979).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Cleveland, D. W., Fischer, S. G., Kirschner, M. W. & Laemmli, U. K. J. biol. Chem. 252, 1102–1106 (1977).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Hoh, J. F. Y., McGrath, P. A. & Hale, P. T. J. molec. cell. Cardiol. 10, 1053–1076 (1978).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Lompré, A.-M. et al. Nature 282, 105–107 (1979).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Claycomb, W. C. Expl Cell Res. 118, 111–114 (1979).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Whalen, R. G., Butler-Browne, G. S., Sell, S. & Gros, F. Biochimie 61, 625–632 (1979).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Biologie Moléculaire, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Dr Roux, 75724, Paris, France

    Robert G. Whalen & Susan M. Sell

Authors
  1. Robert G. Whalen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Susan M. Sell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Whalen, R., Sell, S. Myosin from fetal hearts contains the skeletal muscle embryonic light chain. Nature 286, 731–733 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/286731a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/286731a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing