Unconventional myosin-Ia 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 ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''MYO1A''

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 ...

. The

encoded by this gene belongs to the

myosin Myosins () are a superfamily of motor proteins best known for their roles in muscle contraction and in a wide range of other motility processes in eukaryotes. They are ATP-dependent and responsible for actin-based motility. The first myosin ...

superfamily. Myosins are

molecular motor Molecular motors are natural (biological) or artificial molecular machines that are the essential agents of movement in living organisms. In general terms, a motor is a device that consumes energy in one form and converts it into motion or mecha ...

s that, upon interaction with

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 ...

filaments, utilize energy from ATP hydrolysis to generate mechanical force. Each myosin has a conserved N-terminal motor domain that contains both ATP-binding and actin-binding sequences. Following the motor domain is a light-chain-binding 'neck' region containing 1-6 copies of a repeat element, the

IQ motif The IQ calmodulin-binding motif is an amino acid sequence motif containing the following sequence: * ILVxxx Kxxx Kx ILVWY The term "IQ" refers to the first two amino acids of the motif: isoleucine (commonly) and glutamine (invariably). Funct ...

, that serves as a binding site for

calmodulin Calmodulin (CaM) (an abbreviation for calcium-modulated protein) is a multifunctional intermediate calcium-binding messenger protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells. It is an intracellular target of the secondary messenger Ca2+, and the bind ...

or other members of the

EF-hand The EF hand is a helix–loop–helix structural domain or ''motif'' found in a large family of calcium-binding proteins. The EF-hand motif contains a helix–loop–helix topology, much like the spread thumb and forefinger of the human hand, in ...

superfamily of calcium-binding proteins. At the

C-terminus The C-terminus (also known as the carboxyl-terminus, carboxy-terminus, C-terminal tail, C-terminal end, or COOH-terminus) is the end of an amino acid chain (protein or polypeptide), terminated by a free carboxyl group (-COOH). When the protein is ...

, each myosin class has a distinct tail domain that serves in dimerization, membrane binding, protein binding, and/or enzymatic activities and targets each myosin to its particular subcellular location. The myosin-Ia protein is expressed by

enterocytes Enterocytes, or intestinal absorptive cells, are simple columnar epithelial cells which line the inner surface of the small and large intestines. A glycocalyx surface coat contains digestive enzymes. Microvilli on the apical surface increase its s ...

, the epithelial cells that line the luminal surface of the

small intestine The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the p ...

. In these cells the myosin-1a protein localizes specifically to the

brush border A brush border (striated border or brush border membrane) is the microvilli-covered surface of simple cuboidal and simple columnar epithelium found in different parts of the body. Microvilli are approximately 100 nanometers in diameter and the ...

. Experiments indicate that the brush border population of the encoded protein turns over rapidly, while its head and tail domains interact transiently with the core actin and plasma membrane, respectively. A rapidly exchanging pool of the unconventional myosin-Ia protein binds to the actin core bundle, which turns over on a much slower timescale.

References

Further reading