title: Muscular myosin isoforms of Taenia solium (Cestoda).
abstract: Type II myosin, the primary component of the thick filament of muscle fibers, is organized as a dimeric high molecular weight protein, and is composed of a pair of heavy chains (MHC) and two pairs of light chains. Myosin II transforms ATP energy into mechanical force. All type II myosins are conserved proteins but they have two variable regions that are located in different places of the molecule. Myosin molecules are encoded by a multigene family and many isoforms are generated. The expression of myosins depends on the developmental stage and on the type and degree of contractile activity and tissue, therefore several myosin isoforms are found in the same organism. Here we describe the use of different techniques that allowed demonstrating the presence of isoforms of the heavy chain type II myosin of Taenia solium cysticerci (larvae) and tapeworms (adults), a cestode parasite of importance in public health in many developing countries. Myosin was purified and used in comparative proteolytic fragmentation, ATPase activity, detection of antigenic differences and electrophoretic separation. The results obtained showed biochemical and immunochemical differences among cysticerci and tapeworms, and demonstrate the presence of myosin isoforms in T. solium that are probably associated to physiological requirements of each developmental stage.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia y Parasitologia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito Interior, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico DF 04510, Mexico.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Malerva
authors.forename: Mayra
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cruz-Rivera
authors.forename: Olivia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Reynoso-Ducoing
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Retamal
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flisser
authors.forename: Javier R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ambrosio
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D007814:Larva / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D009132:Muscles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D018995:Myosin Heavy Chains / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D024462:Myosin Type II / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000737:chemistry; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D013552:Swine; D041201:Taenia solium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D000939:Epitopes; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D024462:Myosin Type II; D018995:Myosin Heavy Chains