Talin 2 is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

in humans that is encoded by the TLN2

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

. It belongs to the

talin protein Talin is a high-molecular-weight cytoskeletal protein concentrated at regions of cell–substratum contact and, in lymphocytes, at cell–cell contacts. Discovered in 1983 by Keith Burridge and colleagues, talin is a ubiquitous cytosolic prot ...

family. This gene encodes a protein related to talin 1, a cytoskeletal protein that plays a significant role in the assembly of

actin filament Microfilaments, also called actin filaments, are protein filaments in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells that form part of the cytoskeleton. They are primarily composed of polymers of actin, but are modified by and interact with numerous other pro ...

s. Talin-2 is expressed at high levels in

cardiac muscle Cardiac muscle (also called heart muscle, myocardium, cardiomyocytes and cardiac myocytes) is one of three types of vertebrate muscle tissues, with the other two being skeletal muscle and smooth muscle. It is an involuntary, striated muscle th ...

and functions to provide linkages between the

extracellular matrix In biology, the extracellular matrix (ECM), also called intercellular matrix, is a three-dimensional network consisting of extracellular macromolecules and minerals, such as collagen, enzymes, glycoproteins and hydroxyapatite that provide stru ...

and

actin Actin is a family of globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments in the cytoskeleton, and the thin filaments in muscle fibrils. It is found in essentially all eukaryotic cells, where it may be present at a concentration of over ...

cytoskeleton at

costamere The costamere is a structural-functional component of striated muscle cells which connects the sarcomere of the muscle to the cell membrane (i.e. the sarcolemma).20: 2327-2331 Costameres are sub-sarcolemmal protein assemblies circumferentially a ...

structures to transduce force laterally.

Structure

Human talin-2 is 271.4 kDa and 2542 amino acids in length. The size of talin-2

is similar to talin-1, and is relatively similar (74% identity, 86% similarity); the size of the talin-2 gene (200 kb) is however much larger than that of talin-1 (30 kb), due to differences in intron sizes. Talin-2

mRNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of Protein biosynthesis, synthesizing a protein. mRNA is ...

is expressed in multiple tissues, including

, mouse

embryonic stem cell Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre- implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consi ...

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...

skeletal muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

and

testis A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testostero ...

; however expression is highest in

. A detailed analysis of the ''TLN2''

revealed that the alternative splicing of ''TLN2'' is complex and encodes multiple

transcripts and

isoform A protein isoform, or "protein variant", is a member of a set of highly similar proteins that originate from a single gene or gene family and are the result of genetic differences. While many perform the same or similar biological roles, some isof ...

s. Studies revealed a promoter associated with a

CpG island The CpG sites or CG sites are regions of DNA where a cytosine nucleotide is followed by a guanine nucleotide in the linear sequence of bases along its 5' → 3' direction. CpG sites occur with high frequency in genomic regions called CpG isl ...

that accounts for most of the ''TLN2'' expression in adult tissues. This promoter is separated from the first coding exon by approximately > 200 kb of

alternatively spliced Alternative splicing, or alternative RNA splicing, or differential splicing, is an alternative splicing process during gene expression that allows a single gene to code for multiple proteins. In this process, particular exons of a gene may be in ...

noncoding

exons An exon is any part of a gene that will form a part of the final mature RNA produced by that gene after introns have been removed by RNA splicing. The term ''exon'' refers to both the DNA sequence within a gene and to the corresponding sequence ...

. The

and

talin-2

s lack the

N-terminal The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the ami ...

50% of the

, and evidence suggests that this is the

expressed in elongating

spermatids The spermatid is the haploid male gametid that results from division of secondary spermatocytes. As a result of meiosis, each spermatid contains only half of the genetic material present in the original primary spermatocyte. Spermatids are co ...

. Talin is also

post-translationally modified Post-translational modification (PTM) is the covalent and generally enzyme, enzymatic modification of proteins following protein biosynthesis. This process occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum and the golgi apparatus. Proteins are synthesized by r ...

via calpain 2-mediated cleavage, which may target it for

ubiquitin Ubiquitin is a small (8.6 kDa) regulatory protein found in most tissues of eukaryotic organisms, i.e., it is found ''ubiquitously''. It was discovered in 1975 by Gideon Goldstein and further characterized throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. Fo ...

proteasome Proteasomes are protein complexes which degrade unneeded or damaged proteins by proteolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks peptide bonds. Enzymes that help such reactions are called proteases. Proteasomes are part of a major mechanism by w ...

-mediated degradation and turnover of associated cell adhesion structures.

Function

The expression of talin-2 in

striated muscle Striations means a series of ridges, furrows or linear marks, and is used in several ways: * Glacial striation * Striation (fatigue), in material * Striation (geology), a ''striation'' as a result of a geological fault * Striation Valley, in Ant ...

is developmentally regulated. Undifferentiated

myoblast Myogenesis is the formation of skeletal muscular tissue, particularly during embryonic development. Muscle fibers generally form through the fusion of precursor myoblasts into multinucleated fibers called ''myotubes''. In the early development of ...

s primarily express talin-1, and both

and

expression of talin-2 is upregulated during differentiation; ectopic expression of talin-2 in undifferentiated

s dysregulates the

cytoskeleton The cytoskeleton is a complex, dynamic network of interlinking protein filaments present in the cytoplasm of all cells, including those of bacteria and archaea. In eukaryotes, it extends from the cell nucleus to the cell membrane and is compos ...

, demonstrating that the timing of talin-2 expression during development is critical. In mature

cardiomyocytes Cardiac muscle (also called heart muscle, myocardium, cardiomyocytes and cardiac myocytes) is one of three types of vertebrate muscle tissues, with the other two being skeletal muscle and smooth muscle. It is an involuntary, striated muscle that ...

and

, talin-2 is expressed at

s and

intercalated disc Intercalated discs or lines of Eberth are microscopic identifying features of cardiac muscle. Cardiac muscle consists of individual heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) connected by intercalated discs to work as a single functional syncytium. By con ...

s, thus demonstrating that talin2 links

integrins Integrins are transmembrane receptors that facilitate cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion. Upon ligand binding, integrins activate signal transduction pathways that mediate cellular signals such as regulation of the cell cycle, ...

and the

in stable adhesion complexes involving mature

sarcomere A sarcomere (Greek σάρξ ''sarx'' "flesh", μέρος ''meros'' "part") is the smallest functional unit of striated muscle tissue. It is the repeating unit between two Z-lines. Skeletal muscles are composed of tubular muscle cells (called musc ...

s. Talin-2 appears to play a role in

development; specifically, in

fusion,

assembly, and the integrity of

myotendinous junction Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscle ...

s. Ablation of both talin isoforms, talin-2 and talin-1 prevented normal

fusion and

assembly, as well as assembly of integrin adhesion complexes, which was attributed to disrupted interactions between

and the

. The

expression of talin-2 has been shown to be regulated by the muscle-specific fragile X mental retardation, autosomal homolog 1 (FXR1)

, which binds talin2

s directly and represses translation. Knockout of

FXR1 Fragile X mental retardation syndrome-related protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''FXR1'' gene. The protein encoded by this gene is an RNA binding protein that interacts with the functionally similar proteins FMR1 and FXR2. Th ...

upregulates talin-2

, which disrupts the architecture of

desmosome A desmosome (; "binding body"), also known as a macula adherens (plural: maculae adherentes) (Latin for ''adhering spot''), is a cell structure specialized for cell-to-cell adhesion. A type of junctional complex, they are localized spot-like adh ...

s and

s in

. Talin-2, like talin-1 appears to join

ligand In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule (functional group) that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's electr ...

-bound

integrin Integrins are transmembrane receptors that facilitate cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion. Upon ligand binding, integrins activate signal transduction pathways that mediate cellular signals such as regulation of the cell cycle, ...

s and the

, which enhances the affinity of

s for the

and catalyzes

focal adhesion In cell biology, focal adhesions (also cell–matrix adhesions or FAs) are large macromolecular assemblies through which mechanical force and regulatory signals are transmitted between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and an interacting cell. More ...

-dependent signaling pathways, as well as reinforces the

cytoskeletal The cytoskeleton is a complex, dynamic network of interlinking protein filaments present in the cytoplasm of all cells, including those of bacteria and archaea. In eukaryotes, it extends from the cell nucleus to the cell membrane and is compo ...

structure in response to an applied force. The strength of the interaction between talin and

appears to be fine-tuned through differential expression of

s in different tissues. The talin-2/ β1D-integrin

s that are expressed and colocalize in

form a markedly strong interaction, and a few

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

deletions in the β1-integrin tail can alter this interaction by 1000-fold. Talin-2 is found within the

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...

al synaptic region in

tissue, and plays a role in clathrin-mediated

endocytosis Endocytosis is a cellular process in which substances are brought into the cell. The material to be internalized is surrounded by an area of cell membrane, which then buds off inside the cell to form a vesicle containing the ingested material. E ...

, coordinating

phosphatidylinositol Phosphatidylinositol (or Inositol Phospholipid) consists of a family of lipids as illustrated on the right, where red is x, blue is y, and black is z, in the context of independent variation, a class of the phosphatidylglycerides. In such molecul ...

synthesis, and modulating

dynamics through interactions with PIP kinase type 1γ, the major

phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate or PtdIns(4,5)''P''2, also known simply as PIP2 or PI(4,5)P2, is a minor phospholipid component of cell membranes. PtdIns(4,5)''P''2 is enriched at the plasma membrane where it is a substrate for a number of ...

-synthesizing

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

of the

Clinical significance

In patients with

temporal lobe epilepsy Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a chronic disorder of the nervous system which is characterized by recurrent, unprovoked focal seizures that originate in the temporal lobe of the brain and last about one or two minutes. TLE is the most common f ...

, talin-2

was detected in

cerebrospinal fluid Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear, colorless body fluid found within the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord of all vertebrates. CSF is produced by specialised ependymal cells in the choroid plexus of the ventricles of the bra ...

, whereas expression was absent in non-epileptic patients. Furthermore, postencephalitic

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

patients that were refractory to drug treatment exhibited markedly elevated levels of talin-2 protein in

and reciprocally decreased levels in serum. These data suggest that talin-2 may prove useful as a biomarker for

, and may be pathologically linked to this disease. Studies have also shown that ''TLN2'' is a direct target of

miR ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

-132, which is epigenetically silenced in

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

, suggesting that talin-2 may play a role in modulating

cell adhesion Cell adhesion is the process by which cells interact and attach to neighbouring cells through specialised molecules of the cell surface. This process can occur either through direct contact between cell surfaces such as cell junctions or indir ...

Interactions

TLN2 has been shown to

interact Advocates for Informed Choice, dba interACT or interACT Advocates for Intersex Youth, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization using innovative strategies to advocate for the legal and human rights of children with intersex traits. The organizati ...

with: *

ACTA1 Actin, alpha skeletal muscle is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ACTA1'' gene. Actin alpha 1 which is expressed in skeletal muscle is one of six different actin isoforms which have been identified. Actins are highly conserved proteins ...

, *

CD61 Integrin beta-3 (β3) or CD61 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ITGB3'' gene. CD61 is a cluster of differentiation found on thrombocytes. Structure and function The ITGB3 protein product is the integrin beta chain beta 3. Integrins ...

, *

ITGB1 Integrin beta-1 (ITGB1), also known as CD29, is a cell surface receptor that in humans is encoded by the ''ITGB1'' gene. This integrin associates with integrin alpha 1 and integrin alpha 2 to form integrin complexes which function as collagen r ...

, *

LAYN Torah reading (; ') is a Judaism, Jewish religion, religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Sefer Torah, Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) fro ...

, *

PTK2 PTK2 protein tyrosine kinase 2 (PTK2), also known as focal adhesion kinase (FAK), is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the ''PTK2'' gene. PTK2 is a focal adhesion-associated protein kinase involved in cellular adhesion (how cells stick to ...

Structure

Function

Clinical significance

Interactions

References

Further reading