PUBLICATION
The zebrafish runzel muscular dystrophy is linked to the titin gene
- Authors
- Steffen, L.S., Guyon, J.R., Vogel, E.D., Howell, M.H., Zhou, Y., Weber, G.J., Zon, L.I., and Kunkel, L.M.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-070813-8
- Date
- 2007
- Source
- Developmental Biology 309(2): 180-192 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Guyon, Jeff, Kunkel, Louis M., Steffen, Leta Suzanne, Weber, Gerhard, Zhou, Yi, Zon, Leonard I.
- Keywords
- Titin, Muscular dystrophy, Titinopathy, Birefringence, Zebrafish, Zebrafish muscle, Sarcomere
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Connectin
- Fish Diseases/genetics*
- Fish Diseases/metabolism
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
- Genetic Linkage
- Muscle Proteins/genetics
- Muscle Proteins/metabolism*
- Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism
- Muscle, Skeletal/pathology
- Muscle, Skeletal/ultrastructure
- Muscular Dystrophy, Animal/genetics*
- Muscular Dystrophy, Animal/metabolism
- Mutation
- Protein Isoforms/genetics
- Protein Isoforms/metabolism
- Protein Kinases/genetics
- Protein Kinases/metabolism*
- Sarcomeres/metabolism
- Sarcomeres/ultrastructure
- Zebrafish*
- Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
- Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
- PubMed
- 17678642 Full text @ Dev. Biol.
Citation
Steffen, L.S., Guyon, J.R., Vogel, E.D., Howell, M.H., Zhou, Y., Weber, G.J., Zon, L.I., and Kunkel, L.M. (2007) The zebrafish runzel muscular dystrophy is linked to the titin gene. Developmental Biology. 309(2):180-192.
Abstract
Titin (also called connectin) acts as a scaffold for signaling proteins in muscle and is responsible for establishing and maintaining the structure and elasticity of sarcomeres in striated muscle. Several human muscular dystrophies and cardiomyopathies have previously been linked to mutations in the titin gene. This study reports linkage of the runzel homozygous lethal muscular dystrophy in the zebrafish Danio rerio to a genomic interval containing the titin gene. Analysis of the genomic sequence suggests that zebrafish contain two adjacent titin loci. One titin locus lies within the genetic linkage interval and its expression is significantly reduced in runzel mutants by both immunofluorescence and protein electrophoresis. Morpholino downregulation of this same titin locus in wild-type embryos results in decreased muscle organization and mobility, phenocopying runzel mutants. Additional protein analysis demonstrates that, in wild-type zebrafish, titin isoform sizes are rapidly altered during the development of striated muscle, likely requiring a previously unrecognized need for vertebrate sarcomere remodeling to incorporate developmentally regulated titin isoforms. Decreases of affected titin isoforms in runzel mutants during this time correlate with a progressive loss of sarcomeric organization and suggest that the unaffected titin proteins are capable of sarcomerogenesis but not sarcomere maintenance. In addition, microarray analysis of the ruz transcriptome suggests a novel mechanism of dystrophy pathogenesis, involving mild increases in calpain-3 expression and upregulation of heat shock proteins. These studies should lead to a better understanding of titin's role in normal and diseased muscle.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping