Analysis of tcRNA102 associated with myosin heavy chain-mRNPs in control and dystrophic chick pectoralis muscle.

Translational control RNA (tcRNA102) is closely associated with nonpolysomal myosin heavy chain-mRNA in mRNP particles. The nucleotide sequence of tcRNA102 has revealed a heterogeneity at the 3' end. This heterogeneity is mostly with regard to an ambiguity between adenine and guanine residues. tcRNA102 (obtained from pectoralis muscle) runs as a single band on denaturing acrylamide gels. When this band is extracted and rerun on a native gel at low voltage, two individual bands appear (A the slower moving and B the faster moving). From the partial RNase U2 sequence analysis and our previous sequence determinations (McCarthy, T. L., Siegel, E., Mrockowski, B., and Heywood, S. M. (1983) Biochemistry 22, 935-941), we may now assign tcRNA102 (A) the 3'-terminal sequence ... GGUUGGACGG-3' and tcRNA102(B) and 3' terminal sequence ... GAUUAAGCAA-3'. Analysis of the tcRNA102s indicates that dystrophic pectoralis muscle contains much less tcRNA102 than a similar preparation from control muscle. The tcRNA102 found in dystrophic pectoralis muscle is of the "A" type while normal pectoralis muscle contains predominantly the "B" type. In addition, control leg muscle from dystrophic chick contains predominantly "B" type. These results suggest that the differences observed at the DNA level (see accompanying paper, Zezza, D. J., and Heywood, S. M. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 7455-7460) may be reflected in the RNA transcripts.