Selective synthesis and degradation of slow skeletal myosin heavy chains in developing muscle fibers.

During fetal development of fast skeletal muscles in the rat, three types of cells could be identified using a monoclonal antibody to slow skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain. Presumptive type I cells stained positive for slow forms of skeletal myosin heavy chain and a previously described protein of an apparent molecular weight of 100 KD, whereas presumptive type 2B cells did not stain for either of these peptides. Presumptive type 2A cells, on the other hand, did not stain for slow isoform of 100-K protein, but did stain positive for slow skeletal myosin heavy chain. There was a progressive suppression or degradation of slow skeletal myosin heavy chain in presumptive type 2A cells during subsequent fetal development, so that it was almost undetectable in most animals at birth. Soleus, a slow muscle, however, did not show clear differentiation into presumptive type I and type 2 cells until 4 days after birth.