LIM-only protein, CRP2, switched on smooth muscle gene activity in adult cardiac myocytes. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Smooth muscle alpha-actin gene activity appears in promyocardial cells well before cardiac myocyte differentiation and is down-regulated during the onset of rhythmic contractility and cardiac morphogenesis. The levels of LIM-only CRP2 correlated well with smooth muscle gene activity. Cardiomyocyte-specific expression of CRP2 in transgenic mice showed robust expression of smooth muscle cell-specific transcripts and protein filaments in the adult heart. Protein transduction of a recombinant CRP2 protein, fused to the protein transduction domain of HIV, into neonatal heart cells induced de novo synthesis of smooth muscle cell-specific transcripts and proteins. The LIM zinc fingers in CRP2 were found to collaborate with Brg1 of the SNF/SWI complexes, recruited serum response factor, and remodeled smooth muscle target gene chromatin through histone acetylation. CRP2 may have a cytoskeletal role, but as a nuclear protein, CRP2 acted as a potent transcription coadaptor that remodeled silent cardiac myocyte chromatin and directed serum response factor-dependent smooth muscle gene activity.

published proceedings

  • Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

altmetric score

  • 3

author list (cited authors)

  • Chang, D. F., Belaguli, N. S., Chang, J., & Schwartz, R. J.

citation count

  • 33

complete list of authors

  • Chang, David F||Belaguli, Narasimhaswamy S||Chang, Jiang||Schwartz, Robert J

publication date

  • January 2007