title: The sarcomeric cytoskeleton: from molecules to motion.
abstract: Highly ordered organisation of striated muscle is the prerequisite for the fast and unidirectional development of force and motion during heart and skeletal muscle contraction. A group of proteins, summarised as the sarcomeric cytoskeleton, is essential for the ordered assembly of actin and myosin filaments into sarcomeres, by combining architectural, mechanical and signalling functions. This review discusses recent cell biological, biophysical and structural insight into the regulated assembly of sarcomeric cytoskeleton proteins and their roles in dissipating mechanical forces in order to maintain sarcomere integrity during passive extension and active contraction. α-Actinin crosslinks in the Z-disk show a pivot-and-rod structure that anchors both titin and actin filaments. In contrast, the myosin crosslinks formed by myomesin in the M-band are of a ball-and-spring type and may be crucial in providing stable yet elastic connections during active contractions, especially eccentric exercise.
authors.affiliation: King's College London BHF Centre of Research Excellence, Randall Division for Cell and Molecular Biophysics, and Cardiovascular Division, New Hunt's House, London SE1 1UL, UK mathias.gautel@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gautel
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural and Computational Biology, Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University of Vienna, Campus Vienna Biocenter 5, Vienna A-1030, Austria Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 5, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Djinović-Carugo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009038:Motion; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012518:Sarcomeres / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009124:Muscle Proteins
keywords: Cytoskeleton; M-band; Myomesin; Obscurin; Sarcomere; Striated muscle; Titin; Z-disk; α-Actinin