The effects of m-calpain isolated from the skeletal muscle of sea bass on sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins isolated from the same tissue were examined in vitro. Incubation of sarcoplasmic proteins with m-calpain resulted in only a slight decrease (0.7 kDa) in the molecular weight (MW) of a 26.5 kDa protein. Degradation of myofibrils, monitored by quantification of TCA-soluble peptides generated, resulted in the maximum amount of peptides being generated after 1 h of incubation at 25°C. Noticeable modifications in the SDS-PAGE profile of digested myofibrils were observed, including partial denaturation of myosin heavy chain and the release of tropomyosin, $69 and $27 kDa doublet bands and a few polypeptides of MW lower than 20 kDa in the soluble fraction. Examination of the degradation patterns of myofibrillar proteins using Western blotting showed that a-actinin was partially degraded, with release of native a-actinin and its fragments from myofibrils, whereas desmin was highly degraded after 2 h of digestion.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.