Caldesmon tethers myosin V to actin and facilitates in vitro motility

Avian synaptopodin 2 (fesselin) stabilizes myosin filaments and actomyosin in the presence of ATP

Smooth muscle cells maintain filaments of actin and myosin in the presence of ATP, although dephosphorylated myosin filaments and actin-myosin interactions are unstable under those conditions in vitro. Several proteins that stabilize myosin filaments and that stabilize actin-myosin interactions have been identified. Fesselin or synaptopodin 2 appears to be another such protein. Rapid kinetic measurements and electron microscopy demonstrated that fesselin, isolated from turkey gizzard muscle, reduced the rate of dissociation of myosin filaments. Addition of fesselin increased both the length and thickness of myosin filaments. The rate of detachment of myosin, but not heavy meromyosin, from actin was also greatly reduced by fesselin. Data from this study suggest that fesselin stabilizes myosin filaments and tethers myosin to actin. These results support the view that one role of fesselin is to organize contractile units of myosin and actin.

Unconventional myosins in muscle

Myosins, actin-based molecular motors originally isolated from muscle tissues, are ubiquitously expressed in all eukaryotic cells. They are involved in a panoply of cellular functions, including cell migration, intracellular trafficking, adhesion, and cytokinesis. Several unconventional myosins belonging to classes I, V, VI, VII, IX, and XVIII have been detected in myogenic cells and/or adult muscle where they seem to play important roles in muscle functioning and/or differentiation. For example, a point mutation within the myosin VI gene leads to a cardiac dysfunction, and myosin XVIIIB (expressed predominantly in striated muscle) may be involved in muscle gene transcription. This review summarizes data addressing the functioning of these unconventional myosins in muscle and/or myogenic cells.