title: Myosin light chains: Teaching old dogs new tricks.
abstract: The myosin holoenzyme is a multimeric protein complex consisting of heavy chains and light chains. Myosin light chains are calmodulin family members which are crucially involved in the mechanoenzymatic function of the myosin holoenzyme. This review examines the diversity of light chains within the myosin superfamily, discusses interactions between the light chain and the myosin heavy chain as well as regulatory and structural functions of the light chain as a subunit of the myosin holoenzyme. It covers aspects of the myosin light chain in the localization of the myosin holoenzyme, protein-protein interactions and light chain binding to non-myosin binding partners. Finally, this review challenges the dogma that myosin regulatory and essential light chain exclusively associate with conventional myosin heavy chains while unconventional myosin heavy chains usually associate with calmodulin.
authors.affiliation: a Laboratory of Molecular Physiology; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institutes of Health ; Bethesda , MD USA.
authors.forename: Sarah M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Heissler
authors.affiliation: a Laboratory of Molecular Physiology; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institutes of Health ; Bethesda , MD USA.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sellers
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism*; D018994:Myosin Light Chains / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D018994:Myosin Light Chains; D020033:Protein Isoforms
keywords: actin; calmodulin; cytoskeleton; essential light chain; live cell imaging; myosin; regulatory light chain