Caldesmon, a calmodulin-binding, F actin-interacting protein, is present in aorta, uterus and platelets.

Caldesmon, a protein originally found in chicken gizzard, was concluded also to be present in bovine aorta, uterus, and human platelets by demonstration of a protein with the following properties: (a) Ca2+-dependent calmodulin-binding; (b) binding to F actin in such way that the binding was broken on Ca2+-dependent binding of calmodulin; (c) cross-reactivity in immune blotting procedures with affinity-purified antibody against gizzard caldesmon; (d) similar subunit Mr-values on SDS-gel to those of gizzard caldesmon. Like gizzard caldesmon, platelet caldesmon was composed of two polypeptide bands of Mr 150 000 and 147 000, but caldesmon in aorta and uterus gave a single band of Mr 150 000. A polypeptide of Mr 165 000 that was immunologically distinct from caldesmon but, like caldesmon, bound to calmodulin and F actin in a flip-flop fashion, was also demonstrated in aorta and uterus.