title: Increased serum myosin light chain 3 level in neuromuscular diseases.
abstract: A radioimmunoassay for human skeletal muscle myosin light chain 3 (MLC-3) was developed. The serum level of MLC-3 was evaluated in 143 patients suffering from neuromuscular diseases. Increased MLC-3 level was observed in muscular dystrophies. There were significant positive correlations between serum levels of MLC-3 and creatine kinase (CK) in Duchenne and limb-girdle type muscular dystrophy, but the regression lines were different. Patients with neurogenic amyotrophy, especially amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also showed elevated MLC-3 levels with or without high CK, and the frequency of increase in MLC-3 was greater than that of CK. The results of the present study suggest that circulating MLC might be a useful marker for muscle breakdown not merely in myopathies but in neurogenic disorders.
mesh_terms: D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D005779:Immunodiffusion; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009136:Muscular Dystrophies / Q000097:blood; D015879:Myosin Subfragments; D009218:Myosins / Q000097:blood*; D009468:Neuromuscular Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay
chemical_list: D015879:Myosin Subfragments; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D003402:Creatine Kinase; D009218:Myosins