Dystrophin-glycoprotein complex and laminin colocalize to the sarcolemma and transverse tubules of cardiac muscle.

The expression and subcellular distribution of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex and laminin were examined in cardiac muscle by immunoblot and immunofluorescence analysis of rabbit and sheep papillary muscle. The five dystrophin-associated proteins (DAPs), 156-DAG, 59-DAP, 50-DAG, 43-DAG, and 35-DAG, were identified in rabbit ventricular muscle and found to codistribute with dystrophin in both papillary myofibers and Purkinje fibers. The DAPs and dystrophin codistributed not only in the free surface sarcolemma but also in interior regions of the myofibers where T tubules are present. Neither the DAPs nor dystrophin were detected in intercalated discs, a specialized region of cardiac sarcolemma where neighboring myocardial cells are physically joined by cell-cell junctions. Similarly, in bundles of Purkinje fibers, which lack T tubules, DAPs and dystrophin were also found to codistribute at the free surface sarcolemma but were not detected either in the region of surface sarcolemma closely apposed to a n...