TY - JOUR A1 - Vorgerd, M. A1 - vanderVen, Peter F. M. A1 - Bruchertseifer, V. A1 - Lowe, T. A1 - Kley, R. A. A1 - Schröder, Rolf A1 - Lochmuller, H. A1 - Himmel, Mirko A1 - Koehler, K. A1 - Fürst, Dieter Oswald A1 - Huebner, A. T1 - A mutation in the dimerization domain of filamin C causes a novel type of autosomal dominant myofibrillar myopathy N2 - Myofibrillar myopathy (MFM) is a human disease that is characterized by focal myofibrillar destruction and pathological cytoplasmic protein aggregations. In an extended German pedigree with a novel form of MFM characterized by clinical features of a limb-girdle myopathy and morphological features of MFM, we identified a cosegregating, heterozygous nonsense mutation (8130G -> A; W2710X) in the filamin c gene ( FLNC) on chromosome 7q32.1. The mutation is the first found in FLNC and is localized in the dimerization domain of filamin c. Functional studies showed that, in the truncated mutant protein, this domain has a disturbed secondary structure that leads to the inability to dimerize properly. As a consequence of this malfunction, the muscle fibers of our patients display massive cytoplasmic aggregates containing filamin c and several Z-disk-associated and sarcolemmal proteins Y1 - 2005 SN - 0002-9297 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lange, Stephan A1 - Himmel, Mirko A1 - Auerbach, Daniel A1 - Agarkova, Irina A1 - Hayess, Katrin A1 - Fürst, Dieter Oswald A1 - Perriard, Jean-Claude A1 - Ehler, Elisabeth T1 - Dimerisation of myomesin : implications for the structure of the sarcomeric M-band N2 - The sarcomeric M-band is thought to provide a link between the thick and the elastic, filament systems. So far, relatively little is known about its structural components and their three-dimensional organisation. Myomesin seems to be an essential component of the M-band, since it is expressed in all types of vertebrate striated muscle fibres investigated and can be found in its mature localisation pattern as soon as the first myofibrils are assembled. Previous work has shown that the N-terminal and central part of myomesin harbour binding sites for myosin, titin and muscle creatine kinase. Intrigued by the highly conserved domain layout of the C-terminal half, we screened for new interaction partners by yeast two-hybrid analysis. This revealed a strong interaction of myomesin with itself. This finding was confirmed by several biochemical assays. Our data suggest that myomesin can form antiparallel dimers via a binding site residing in its C-terminal domain 13. We suggest that, similar to alpha-actinin in the Z-disc, the myomesin dimers cross- link the contractile filaments in the M-band. The new and the already previously identified myomesin interaction sites are integrated into the first three-dimensional model of the sarcomeric M-band on a molecular basis. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved Y1 - 2005 SN - 0022-2836 ER -