Fetal cardiomyocytes actively proliferate to form the primitive heart in utero in mammals, but
they stop dividing shortly after birth. The identification of essential molecules maintaining this …

Identification of a large molecule in muscle is important but difficult to approach by protein
chemistry. In this study we isolated nebulin cDNA from the striated muscle of amphioxus, and …

Removal of ubiquitinated targets by autophagosomes can be mediated by receptor molecules,
like SQSTM1, in a mechanism referred to as selective autophagy. While cytoplasmic …

Muscle atrophy is a process of muscle wasting induced under a series of catabolic stress
conditions, such as denervation, disuse, cancer cachexia, heart and renal failure, AIDS, and …

Loss of cardiomyocyte proliferative capacity after birth is a major obstacle for therapeutic
heart regeneration in adult mammals. We and others have recently shown the importance of …

MuRF1 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase central to muscle catabolism. It belongs to the TRIM protein
family characterized by a tripartite fold of RING, B-box and coiled-coil (CC) motifs, followed …

Nebulin is about 800 kDa filamentous protein that binds the entire thin filament of vertebrate
skeletal muscle sarcomeres. Nebulin cannot be isolated from muscle except in a completely …

The eye lens is responsible for focusing objects at various distances onto the retina and its
refractive power is determined by its surface curvature as well as its internal gradient …

There is growing evidence that ventricular diastolic dysfunction is a major pathological factor
in heart failure. Although many basic and clinical studies have been reported, there is little …

CapZ (β-actinin) and tropomodulin (Tmod) are capping proteins involved in the maintenance
of thin filaments in vertebrate skeletal muscles. In this study, we focused on amphioxus, the …