Dr. Marilyn C. Hart
Minnesota State University
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
 

Contact Information:
Office: TS335
Lab: TS382
phone: 507-389-5732
fax: 507-389-2788
Email: marilyn.hart@mnsu.edu

In striated muscle, the barbed ends of thin filaments are attached to Z lines. To mediate this attachment, biochemical and cell biological studies suggest that actin capping protein (CP) binds the barbed ends of actin filaments and alpha-actinin crosslinks overlapping filaments from adjacent sarcomeres. My previous studies in transgenic mouse hearts support the hypothesis that CP attaches actin filaments to the Z line. Defective interaction between CP and the actin thin filaments causes major structural defects in sarcomere organization and leads to cardiac hypertrophy and lethality. The goal of my research is to understand how thin filaments are attached to Z-lines and how defects in this attachment can affect the structure and function of the heart. In my lab, we are characterizing an existing mouse model for human cardiomyopathy which is caused by a defect in a sarcomere component. In addition, we are identifying interacting proteins of the Z-line, and defining the function of the CP alpha subunit in the heart. Techniques employed include immunolocalization, Northern blot analysis, Western blot analysis, light microscopy, fluorescent microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, cardiac catherization, ECG, GST pulldown analysis, co-immunoiprecipitation, and yeast two hybrid analysis.