Abstract
Mice homozygous for several Tln2 gene targeted alleles are viable and fertile. Here we show that although the expression of talin2 protein is drastically reduced in muscle from these mice, other tissues continue to express talin2 albeit at reduced levels. We therefore generated a Tln2 allele lacking the entire coding sequence (Tln2cd). Tln2cd/cd mice were viable and fertile, and the genotypes of Tln2cd/+ intercrosses were at the expected Mendelian ratio. Tln2cd/cd mice showed no major difference in body mass or the weight of the major organs compared to wild-type, although they displayed a mildly dystrophic phenotype. Moreover, Tln2cd/cd mouse embryo fibroblasts showed no obvious defects in cell adhesion, migration or proliferation. However, the number of Tln2cd/cd pups surviving to adulthood was variable suggesting that such mice have an underlying defect.
Highlights
The cytoskeletal protein talin plays a pivotal role in regulating the activity of the integrin family of cell adhesion proteins and couples them to F-actin [1]
It is clearly expressed in brain and heart (Fig. 1) and kidney and spleen, but at reduced levels compared to fulllength talin2
Mice homozygous for two Tln2 gene trap alleles [2,13] or a Tln2ko allele [12] are viable and fertile, it is apparent that these mice still express talin2 protein in several tissues
Summary
The cytoskeletal protein talin plays a pivotal role in regulating the activity of the integrin family of cell adhesion proteins and couples them to F-actin [1]. There are two talin genes that encode closely related (74% identity) proteins [2,3], but the relative roles of talin and talin are not yet understood. Tln is a relatively simple gene spanning approximately 30 kb, with 56 coding exons separated by relatively small introns. Tln, the ancestral gene [4], spans >400 kb, and the genomic organization of the coding exons of the two genes is identical, the introns in Tln are much larger [2]. Talin is the predominant isoform in muscle and brain, but it is not present in most cells of haemopoietic origin
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