Striated muscle cells display an extremely regular assembly of their actin cytoskeleton that contributes to the contractile elements, the myofibrils. How this assembly is initiated and how these structures are maintained is still unclear. We have recently shown that striated muscle expresses a specific isoform of the formin protein family member FHOD3, which is characterised by the presence of a CK2 phosphorylation site at the C-terminal end of the formin homology domain 2 (FH2). Phosphorylated muscle FHOD3 displays a different subcellular localisation, namely to the myofibrils, and also has increased stability compared to un-phosphorylated or non muscle FHOD3. In addition, we could show that muscle FHOD3 is involved in myofibril maintenance in cultured cardiomyocytes and that its presence dramatically enhances the reconstitution of cardiac actin filaments after depolymerisation. Since FHOD3 expression levels and in particular that of the muscle isoform are also decreased in different types of cardiomyopathy, we postulate a crucial role for this protein in the maintenance of a fully functional cardiac cytoarchitecture.

Mice deficient in the glycosyltransferase Large are characterized by severe muscle and central nervous system abnormalities. In this study, we show that the formation and maintenance of neuromuscular junctions in Large(myd) mice are greatly compromised. Neuromuscular junctions are not confined to the muscle endplate zone but are widely spread and are frequently accompanied by exuberant nerve sprouting. Nerve terminals are highly fragmented and binding of alpha-bungarotoxin to postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) is greatly reduced. In vitro, Large(myd) myotubes are responsive to agrin but produce aberrant AChR clusters, which are larger in area and less densely packed with AChRs. In addition, AChR expression on the cell surface is diminished suggesting that AChR assembly or transport is defective. These results together with the finding that O-linked glycosylation at neuromuscular junctions of Large(myd) mice is compromised indicate that the action of Large is necessary for proper neuromuscular junction development.

Due to their ability to bind specifically to certain carbohydrate sequences, lectins are a frequently used tool in cytology, histology, and glycan analysis but also offer new options for drug targeting and drug delivery systems. For these and other potential applications, it is necessary to be certain as to the carbohydrate structures interacting with the lectin. Therefore, we used glycoproteins remodeled with glycosyltransferases and glycosidases for testing specificities of lectins from Aleuria aurantia (AAL), Erythrina cristagalli (ECL), Griffonia simplicifolia (GSL I-B(4)), Helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA), Lens culinaris (LCA), Lotus tetragonolobus (LTA), peanut (Arachis hypogaeae)(PNA), Ricinus communis (RCA I), Sambucus nigra (SNA), Vicia villosa (VVA), and wheat germ (Triticum vulgaris)(WGA) as well as reactivities of anti-carbohydrate antibodies (anti-bee venom, anti-horseradish peroxidase [anti-HRP], and anti-Lewis(x)). After enzymatic remodeling, the resulting neoglycoforms display defined carbohydrate sequences and can be used, when spotted on nitrocellulose or in enzyme-linked lectinosorbent assays, to identify the sugar moieties bound by the lectins. Transferrin with its two biantennary complex N-glycans was used as scaffold for gaining diverse N-glycosidic structures, whereas fetuin was modified using glycosidases to test the specificities of lectins toward both N- and O-glycans. In addition, alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein and Schistosoma mansoni egg extract were chosen as controls for lectin interactions with fucosylated glycans (Lewis(x) and core alpha1,3-fucose). Our data complement and expand the existing knowledge about the binding specificity of a range of commercially available lectins.

Some thirty years ago, work on mammalian tissues suggested the presence of two cytosolic hexosaminidases in mammalian cells; one of these has been more recently characterised in recombinant form and has an important role in cellular function due to its ability to cleave beta-N-acetylglucosamine residues from a variety of nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. However, the molecular nature of the second cytosolic hexosaminidase, named hexosaminidase D, has remained obscure. In the present study, we molecularly characterise for the first time the human and murine recombinant forms of enzymes, encoded by HEXDC genes, which appear to correspond to hexosaminidase D in terms of substrate specificity, pH dependency and temperature stability; furthermore, a myc-tagged form of this novel hexosaminidase displays a nucleocytoplasmic localisation. Transcripts of the corresponding gene are expressed in a number of murine tissues. Based on its sequence, this enzyme represents, along with the lysosomal hexosaminidase subunits encoded by the HEXA and HEXB genes, the third class 20 glycosidase to be found from mammalian sources.