Evidence for interaction between smooth muscle tropomyosin and caldesmon.

The viscosity of chicken gizzard smooth muscle tropomyosin is enhanced 4.7-fold in the absence of salt and 1.43-fold in 0.1 M salt by the presence of stoichiometric amounts of gizzard caldesmon, indicating that the two proteins interact under these conditions. Since the thin filament regulation of smooth muscle contraction by caldesmon requires the presence of tropomyosin, these results suggest that the direct interaction between tropomyosin and caldesmon on the thin filament plays a role in this regulation.