Beta Dystroglycan Products

The dystroglycan complex is a membrane-spanning complex composed of two subunits, alpha- and beta-dystroglycan. Alpha-dystroglycan is a cell surface peripheral membrane protein which binds to the extracellular matrix (ECM), whereas beta-dystroglycan is an integral membrane protein which anchors alpha-dystroglycan to the cell membrane. The dystroglycan complex provides a tight link between the ECM and cell membrane. Dysfunction of the dystroglycan complex has commonly been implicated in the molecular pathogenesis of severe forms of hereditary neuromuscular diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Fukuyama-type congenital muscular dystrophy and sarcoglycanopathy (1). Human dystroglycan is expressed in a variety of fetal and adult tissues. Data suggest that muscle and non-muscle isoforms of dystroglycan differ by carbohydrate moieties but not protein sequence. Therefore variable glycosylation of the conserved protein core might modulate laminin binding (2). beta-dystroglycan has been localized to microvilli structures in a number of cell types where it associates with the cytoskeletal adaptor ezrin, through which it is able to modulate the actin cytoskeleton and induce peripheral filopodia and microvilli (3).