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First published online January 3, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 227-237 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01987

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Parvalbumin correlates with relaxation rate in the swimming muscle of sheepshead and kingfish

Jennifer L. Wilwert, Nisreen M. Madhoun and David J. Coughlin^*

Widener University, Department of Biology, One University Place, Chester, PA 19013, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: djcoughlin{at}mail.widener.edu)

Accepted 15 November 2005

Parvalbumin is a muscle protein that aids in relaxation from contraction. Parvalbumin binds myoplasmic Ca²⁺ during contractions, reducing calcium concentration and enhancing relaxation. Different isoforms of parvalbumin have varying affinities for calcium, and relaxation rates in skeletal muscle may be affected by variations in the isoforms of parvalbumin expressed. This study examines the effect of expression levels of parvalbumin isoforms on relaxation rate in the sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus (Pisces, F. Sparidae). We measured relaxation rate of each of the three fiber types, white (fast-twitch), red (slow-twitch) and pink (intermediate), from three longitudinal body positions. Sheepshead show a significant longitudinal shift in relaxation rate in red muscle, with anterior muscle displaying faster rates of relaxation than posterior, but this pattern was not significant in the pink and white muscle. We hypothesized that patterns of parvalbumin expression determine relaxation rate along the length of the fish. The prediction is that total parvalbumin content and the relative expression of parvalbumin isoforms will differ between the anterior and posterior red muscle, but little longitudinal variation will be observed in parvalbumin expression in white and pink muscle. We successfully employed protein electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) with western blots to identify two parvalbumin isoforms in each muscle fiber type. SDS–PAGE and densitometry were used to determine the relative expression levels of the two parvalbumin isoforms and total parvalbumin expression. Red muscle displays a significant shift, from anterior to posterior, in the relative expression of the two isoforms, both in their relative contribution and in total parvalbumin content, but white and pink muscle did not. The red muscle of southern kingfish, Menticirrhus americanus (Pisces, F. Scianidae) showed a pattern similar to the red muscle of sheepshead.

Key words: parvalbumin, sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus, southern kingfish, Menticirrhus americanus, SDS–PAGE, protein analysis

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