Tropomyosin

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

   PDF

2. Introduction and Historical Perspective

   1. Introduction and Historical Perspective

      • Peter Gunning

      Pages 1-5

3. Genes and Their Expression

   1. Structure and Evolution of Tropomyosin Genes

      • Bernadette Vrhovski, Nadine Thézé, Pierre Thiébaud

      Pages 6-26

   2. Tropomyosin Exons as Models for Alternative Splicing

      • Clare Gooding, Christopher W. J. Smith

      Pages 27-42

   3. Tropomyosin Gene Expression in Vivo and in Vitro

      • Galina Schevzov, Geraldine O’Neill

      Pages 43-59

4. Protein Structure

   1. Tropomyosin: Function Follows Structure

      • Sarah E. Hitchcock-DeGregori

      Pages 60-72

   2. Dimerization of Tropomyosins

      • Mario Gimona

      Pages 73-84

5. Role in Muscle Function

   1. Cooperative Binding of Tropomyosin to Actin

      • Larry S. Tobacman

      Pages 85-94

   2. Tropomyosin and the Steric Mechanism of Muscle Regulation

      • William Lehman, Roger Craig

      Pages 95-109

   3. Role of Tropomyosin in the Regulation of Contraction in Smooth Muscle

      • Steve Marston, M. El-Mezgueldi

      Pages 110-123

6. Tropomyosin in Human Disease

   1. Tropomyosin as a Regulator of Cancer Cell Transformation

      • David M. Helfman, Patrick Flynn, Protiti Khan, Ali Saeed

      Pages 124-131

   2. The Role of Tropomyosin in Heart Disease

      • David F. Wieczorek, Ganapathy Jagatheesan, Sudarsan Rajan

      Pages 132-142

   3. Tropomyosins in Skeletal Muscle Diseases

      • Anthony J. Kee, Edna C. Hardeman

      Pages 143-157

   4. Tropomyosins in Human Diseases: Ulcerative Colitis

      • Kiron M. Das, Manisha Bajpai

      Pages 158-167

7. Tropomyosin Directed Regulation of the Cytoskeleton

   1. Tropomyosin Function in Yeast

      • David Pruyne

      Pages 168-186

   2. Isoform Sorting of Tropomyosins

      • Claire Martin, Peter Gunning

      Pages 187-200

   3. Human Tropomyosin Isoforms in the Regulation of Cytoskeleton Functions

      • Jim Jung-Ching Lin, Robbin D. Eppinga, Kerri S. Warren, Keith R. McCrae

      Pages 201-222

8. Mechanisms of Tropomyosin Function

   1. Tropomyosins Regulate the Impact of Actin Binding Proteins on Actin Filaments

      • Uno Lindberg, Clarence E. Schutt, Robert D. Goldman, Maria Nyåkern-Meazza, Louise Hillberg, Li-Sophie Zhao Rathje et al.

      Pages 223-231

   2. Tropomyosin and ADF/Cofilin as Collaborators and Competitors

      • Thomas B. Kuhn, James R. Bamburg

      Pages 232-249

   3. Caldesmon and the Regulation of Cytoskeletal Functions

      • C. -L. Albert Wang

      Pages 250-272

A recent review of one of my grant applications commented on the ‘rediscovery of tropomyosin’. I was tempted to write back in my rebuttal to the reviewer that I didn’t realise it had been lost. Uncharacteristic maturity prevailed and I resisted the temptation, but I was struck by the underlying observation that research on the str- ture and function of tropomyosin has been somewhat invisible, particularly in terms of the cytoskeleton isoforms. So, how can it be that one of the two major components of the actin filament has been so thoroughly overlooked? I suspect that the answer is disappointingly pedestrian. Whereas the biochemistry of the 1980s revealed the potential of tropomyosin isoforms to diversify the function of actin filaments, the subsequent disenchantment with isoform biology in general in the 1990s inhibited growth of this field. With the development of more sophisticated experimental - proaches we are now seeing a growing realisation of the importance of tropomyosin in regulating actin filaments beyond its pivotal role in muscle contraction. The opportunity to edit this book came at a time when we had written several reviews on different aspects of tropomyosin function and I had just finished the background reading for a comprehensive review of tropomyosin biology. I realised that the field was simply beyond the capacity of any one person to do the field j- tice.

• cancer
• cell differentiation
• dynamics
• gene expression
• protein
• protein structure
• proteins
• regulation

• Oncology Research Unit, Department of Pharmacology School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

  Peter Gunning

PETER GUNNING, PhD, is Head of the Oncology Research Unit, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medical Sciences, at the University of New South Wales located in Sydney, Australia. The primary focus of his research is the regulation of cell and tissue architecture and its modification in cancer. He is a member of numerous professional organisations and has served on the Boards of the NSW Cancer Council and Bio-Link Partners and as Chairman of the NSW Cancer Council and NSW Cancer Institute Research Committees. Peter received his academic degrees from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

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