Tropomyosin

1. Introduction and Historical Perspective............................ 1 Peter Gunning Abstract................................................................................. 1 Introduction........................................................................... 1 Discovery and Context of Tropomyosin Research................ 1 Genes and their Expression (Chapters 2-4).......................... 2 Protein Structure (Chapters 5, 6)........................................... 3 Role in Muscle Function (Chapters 7-9)............................... 3 Tropomyosin in Human Disease (Chapters 10-13).............. 3 Tropomyosin Directed Regulation of the Cytoskeleton (Chapters 14-16)............... 4 Mechanisms of Tropomyosin Function (Chapters 17-21)........................................ 4 Section I. Genes and Their Expression 2. Structure and Evolution of Tropomyosin Genes............. 6 Bernadette Vrhovski, Nadine Thézé and Pierre Thiébaud Abstract.............................................................................. 6 Introduction........................................................................ 6 Structure of Tropomyosin Genes........................................ 7 Evolution of the Tropomyosin Genes................................. 18 Concluding Remarks.......................................................... 23 3. Tropomyosin Exons as Models for Alternative Splicing......................................................... 27 Clare Gooding and Christopher W.J. Smith Abstract............................................................................ 27 Introduction...................................................................... 27 Splicing Mechanism......................................................... 30 Analysis of Alternative SplicingMechanisms................. 30 ß-Tropomyosin-Tpm2................................................... 32 a-Tropomyosin Exons 2a and 2b..................................... 36 Other Tm Splicing

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.