Synaptopodin 2 Like Protein (SYNPO2L)

SYNPO2L, a novel protein expressed in cardiac and skeletal muscle, in sarcomere formation and stabilization. SYNPO2L displays significant homology with cytoskeletal protein myopodin, which is involved in cytoskeletal organization and muscle differentiation. SYNPO2L is expressed in developing heart in skeletal muscle in zebrafish, mouse and human. SYNPO2L plays a role in the formation and stabilization of sarcomeres in heart and skeletal muscle and that a cardiac-specific deletion of SYNPO2L in mice results in dilated cardiomyopathy. By whole mount ISH expression of SYNPO2L will be determined throughout zebrafish development, whereas injection of morpholino oligos in zebrafish eggs will be used to knock down specifically SYNPO2L expression.