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DOI: 10.1369/jhc.3A6136.2004
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Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry
Volume 52 (7): 851-859, 2004
Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc.

Expression of Unique and Developmental Myosin Heavy Chain Isoforms in Adult Human Digastric Muscle

Jun Wang, Yingshi Han, Hungxi Su and Liancai Mu

Department of Otolaryngology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York

Correspondence to: Dr. Liancai Mu, Dept. of Otolaryngology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029. E-mail: lmu03{at}yahoo.com

Digastric muscle (DGM) is a powerful jaw-opening muscle that participates in chewing, swallowing, breathing, and speech. For better understanding of its contractile properties, five pairs of adult human DGMs were obtained from autopsies and processed with immunocytochemistry and/or immunoblotting. Monoclonal antibodies against {alpha}-cardiac, slow tonic, neonatal, and embryonic myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms were employed to determine whether the DGM fibers contain these MHC isoforms, which have previously been demonstrated in restricted specialized craniocervical skeletal muscles but have not been reported in normal adult human trunk and limb muscles. The results showed expression of all these MHC isoforms in adult human DGMs. About half of the fibers reacted positively to the antibody specific for the {alpha}-cardiac MHC isoform in DGMs, and the number of these fibers decreased with age. Slow tonic MHC isoform containing fibers accounted for 19% of the total fiber population. Both the {alpha}-cardiac and slow tonic MHC isoforms were found to coexist mainly with the slow twitch MHC isoform in a fiber. A few DGM fibers expressed the embryonic or neonatal MHC isoform. The findings suggest that human DGM fibers may be specialized to facilitate performance of complex motor behaviors in the upper airway and digestive tract. (J Histochem Cytochem 52:851–859, 2004)

Key Words: digastric muscle • {alpha}-cardiac • slow tonic • neonatal • embryonic • myosin heavy chain isoform • immunocytochemistry • immunoblotting


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L. Mu, J. Wang, H. Su, and I. Sanders
Adult Human Upper Esophageal Sphincter Contains Specialized Muscle Fibers Expressing Unusual Myosin Heavy Chain Isoforms
J. Histochem. Cytochem., March 1, 2007; 55(3): 199 - 207.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]



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