In cardiomyopathy, the heart becomes progressively enlarged and weak, and often arrhythmogenic, which can lead to heart failure. This common condition remains difficult to treat. The genetic contributors to cardiomyopathy are not fully recognized, although cell-cell junctions, which allow for cardiocyte communication and coordinate function, are often disrupted in the disease. Seeger et al. recently identified the protein myozap (myocardium-enriched zonula occludens-1-associated protein), which is highly expressed in the myocardium and localizes to intercalated discs at cell-cell junctions. Myozap links signaling at the intercalated disc to cardiac gene regulation by binding to a negative regulator of RhoA phosphatase, which modulates both intracellular cytoskeletal dynamics and nuclear gene transcription. Genetic knockdown of the myozap ortholog in zebrafish disrupts cardiac contractility and induces cardiomyopathy, suggesting a potential role for myozap in human heart disease.
Cardiomyopathy: myozap for the heart
Cardiomyopathy: myozap for the heart. Dis Model Mech 8 March 2010; 3 (3-4): 122. doi:
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Cited by
Special Issue: The RAS Pathway

Our latest special issue is now complete. It showcases RAS-driven mechanisms of disease progression, and highlights approaches to treat and modify the disease course in model systems.
Call for papers: Moving Heart Failure to Heart Success

Disease Models & Mechanisms is pleased to welcome submissions for consideration for an upcoming special issue, Moving Heart Failure to Heart Success: Mechanisms, Regeneration & Therapy. Submission deadline: 4 July 2022.
Propose a new Workshop

Our Workshops bring together leading experts and early-career researchers from a range of scientific backgrounds. Applications are now open to propose Workshops for 2024, one of which will be held in a Global South country. .
A focus on Drosophila

In a series of front section articles, DMM is highlighting the versatility, breadth, and scope of Drosophila research in human disease modelling and translational medicine.
Apply for a DMM Conference Travel Grant

Aimed at early-career researchers wanting to attend in-person and virtual meetings, the next application deadline for a DMM Conference Travel Grant is 6 June 2022. Find out more and hear from past recipients about their experience of the grant.
Other journals from
The Company of Biologists