AIM: To study preliminarily the properties of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) in rabbit liver. METHODS: The expression of MLCK was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR); the MLCK was obtained from rabbit liver, and its activity was analyzed by gamma-(32)P incorporation technique to detect the phosphorylation of myosin light chain. RESULTS: MLCK was expressed in rabbit liver, and the activity of the enzyme was similar to rabbit smooth muscle MLCK, and calmodulin-dependent. When the concentration was 0.65 mg x L(-1), the activity was at the highest level. CONCLUSION: MLCK expressed in rabbit liver may catalyze the phosphorylation of myosin light chain, which may play important roles in the regulation of hepatic cell functions.
Bin Ren~1 Hua-Qing Zhu~2 Zhao-Feng Luo~1 Qing Zhou~2 Yuan Wang~2 Yu-Zhen Wang~1 1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,University of Science and Technology of China,Hefei 230027,Anhui Province,China2 Laboratory of Molecular Biology,Anhui Medical University,Hefei 230032,Anhui Province,China
