Myosin light chains (MLCs) heterogeneity in mammalian smooth and cardiac muscle.

A comparative study of myosin light chains (MLCs) has been made in the aorta, uterine and cardiac muscles (auricle, ventricle) of mice, pig, sheep and goat. Analysis of myosin light chains by sodium dodecyl polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) has revealed that (a) aorta myosin from mice, goat and pig has identical myosin light chains profile but pig aorta myosin lacks LC-2f; (b) uterine smooth muscle myosin depicts absence of LC-1f in sheep. Whereas satellite bands of LC-1f and LC-2f fractions are absent in pig uterine myosin, mice shows duplets for both the myosin light chains; (c) the auricular myosin in pig and goat is identical to chicken gizzard myosin used as reference and exhibits ALC-2s and ALC-1s fractions only while sheep auricular myosin lacks in ALC-1f; (d) the mice ventricular myosin depicts two satellite MLCs associated with fast migrating VLC-1s.