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Publication Abstract from PubMed

The regulation of cardiac muscle contraction must differ from that of skeletal muscles to effect different physiological and contractile properties. Cardiac troponin C (TnC), the key regulator of cardiac muscle contraction, possesses different functional and Ca2+-binding properties compared with skeletal TnC and features a Ca2+-binding site I, which is naturally inactive. The structure of cardiac TnC in the Ca2+-saturated state has been determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The regulatory domain exists in a "closed" conformation even in the Ca2+-bound (the "on") state, in contrast to all predicted models and differing significantly from the calcium-induced structure observed in skeletal TnC. This structure in the Ca2+-bound state, and its subsequent interaction with troponin I (TnI), are crucial in determining the specific regulatory mechanism for cardiac muscle contraction. Further, it will allow for an understanding of the action of calcium-sensitizing drugs, which bind to cardiac TnC and are known to enhance the ability of cardiac TnC to activate cardiac muscle contraction.

Structure of cardiac muscle troponin C unexpectedly reveals a closed regulatory domain.,Sia SK, Li MX, Spyracopoulos L, Gagne SM, Liu W, Putkey JA, Sykes BD J Biol Chem. 1997 Jul 18;272(29):18216-21. PMID:9218458^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.