Developmentally regulated expression of a nonmuscle myosin heavy chain IIB inserted isoform in rat brain

The alternatively spliced isoform of the nonmuscle myosin II heavy chain B (MHC-B) with an insert of 21 amino acids at the 50- to 20-kDa junction of the globular region of myosin has been demonstrated to be expressed specifically in the central nervous system (CNS) in chicken. To explore the role of this B2 inserted isoform (MHC-B(B2)), immunoblot and immunoprecipitation analyses were performed using specific antibodies and extracts from rat tissues. MHC-B(B2) is present throughout the CNS, but is less abundant in the cerebrum and not expressed in the olfactory lobe at all. In the developing rat brain, MHC-B(B2) is expressed from postnatal day 10 (P10) in the cerebellum and increases markedly from P14. The appearance of MHC-B(B2) in the cerebrum (P28) is later than in the cerebellum. Additionally, we show that myosin IIB(B2) is homodimeric in its heavy chain subunit composition. These results suggest that myosin IIB(B2) might participate in cell motility in the neuronal cells of the mature CNS. (C) 1999 Academic Press.