title: Intranuclear paracrystals observed in striated muscle specific LIM protein-deficient mouse cardiomyocytes.
abstract: A paracrystalline structure was observed within left ventricular cardiomyocyte nuclei of MLP(-/-) mice. The paracrystal possessed cross lines, approximately 8.0 micro m long and 0.3 micro m wide, with a slender spindle shape and a periodicity of 13 nm. Paracrystals were best observed along the longitudinal orientation of myofibrils and were detected in less than 10% of the nuclei observed. One dimension of the protein unit forming the paracrystal was 8.5 nm long. The electron density of the paracrystal appeared to be slightly higher than that of heterochromatin, suggesting that RNA-associated proteins are constituents of the paracrystal. This is the first report of intranuclear paracrystals in cardiomyocytes, which appear to be unique to MLP(-/-) mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery, Azabu University, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sargeant
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tangkawattana
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takeyasu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishijima
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bonagura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoshijima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakade
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hosaka
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Faulkner
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tomono
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000473:pathology*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003460:Crystallization; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000473:pathology; D060588:LIM Domain Proteins; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D060588:LIM Domain Proteins; D009124:Muscle Proteins; C090114:cysteine and glycine-rich protein 3