InterPro: IPR000533 Tropomyosin

Tropomyosins [1], are a family of closely related proteins present in muscle and non-muscle cells. In striated muscle, tropomyosin mediate the interactions between the troponin complex and actin so as to regulate muscle contraction [2]. The role of tropomyosin in smooth muscle and non-muscle tissues is not clear. Tropomyosin is an alpha-helical protein that forms a coiled-coil structure of 2 parallel helices containing 2 sets of 7 alternating actin binding sites [3]. There are multiple cell-specific isoforms, created by differential splicing of the messenger RNA from one gene, but the proportions of the isoforms vary between different cell types. Muscle isoforms of tropomyosin are characterised by having 284 amino acid residues and a highly conserved N-terminal region, whereas non-muscle forms are generally smaller and are heterogeneous in their N-terminal region.

Some of the proteins in this family are allergens. Allergies are hypersensitivity reactions of the immune system to specific substances called allergens (such as pollen, stings, drugs, or food) that, in most people, result in no symptoms. A nomenclature system has been established for antigens (allergens) that cause IgE-mediated atopic allergies in humans [WHO/IUIS Allergen Nomenclature Subcommittee King T.P., Hoffmann D., Loewenstein H., Marsh D.G., Platts-Mills T.A.E., Thomas W. Bull. World Health Organ. 72:797-806(1994)]. This nomenclature system is defined by a designation that is composed of the first three letters of the genus; a space; the first letter of the species name; a space and an arabic number. In the event that two species names have identical designations, they are discriminated from one another by adding one or more letters (as necessary) to each species designation.

The allergens in this family include allergens with the following designations: Met e 1.