*191041
TROPONIN T1, SKELETAL, SLOW; TNNT1

Alternative titles; symbols
TROPONIN T

HGNC Approved Gene Symbol: TNNT1

Cytogenetic location: 19q13.42     Genomic coordinates (GRCh37): 19:55,644,160 - 55,660,605 (from NCBI)

Gene Phenotype Relationships
Location Phenotype Phenotype
MIM number
19q13.42 Nemaline myopathy, Amish type 605355

TEXT
Description
The TNNT1 gene encodes the slow skeletal muscle troponin. The sarcomere, the contractile element in muscle, including the myocardium, is constituted by 7 major proteins and several minor ones organized into thin and thick filaments. Each tropomyosin dimer (TPM1, 191010; TPM2, 190990 ) interacts with 7 actins and is associated with a troponin complex. Each complex is composed of 1 molecule of each of the 3 troponins: T, C, and I. This tropomyosin-troponin complex is responsible for the calcium sensitivity of the contractile apparatus (Nadal-Ginard and Mahdavi, 1989), and thus plays an important role in linking excitation to contraction in skeletal muscle.

Cloning
Samson et al. (1994) concluded that there are 4 isoforms of human slow skeletal troponin-T mRNA and that these probably result from combinatorial alternative splicing of a single gene.

By PCR of adult human skeletal muscle total RNA, Barton et al. (1999) cloned full-length TNNT1 and identified 3 shorter splice variants. The full-length protein contains 278 amino acids. Northern blot analysis detected TNNT1 expression in adult skeletal muscle, but not in adult heart and liver or in fetal heart.

Gene Structure
Barton et al. (1999) determined that the TNNT1 gene contains 14 exons and spans more than 16 kb. The first exon is noncoding.

Mapping
Samson et al. (1990) assigned the slow skeletal isoform of troponin T (TNNT1) to chromosome 19q13.3-q13.4 using a panel of somatic cell hybrids and a cDNA clone as probe.

Novelli et al. (1991, 1992) confirmed the assignment of the TNNT1 gene to human chromosome 19 by showing the presence of a specific PCR product in hybrids retaining chromosome 19. The cardiac isoform of troponin-I (TNNI3; 191044) maps to the same region.

Samson et al. (1991) achieved regional assignment to the 19q13.2-qter region by analysis of 7 somatic cell hybrids containing different portions of chromosome 19. They excluded TNNT1 as a candidate gene for myotonic dystrophy (DM1; 160900) by the finding of obligate recombination events in family linkage studies.

Samson et al. (1992) mapped the TNNT1 gene to chromosome 19q13.4 by study of somatic cell hybrids and fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Barton et al. (1999) determined that the TNNI3 gene and the TNNT1 gene are oriented head to tail, with the TNNI3 gene 2.6 kb upstream of exon 1 of the TNNT1 gene.

Molecular Genetics
Johnston et al. (2000) demonstrated that a form of autosomal recessive nemaline myopathy, Amish nemaline myopathy (ANM; 605355), is caused by mutation in troponin T1 (see 191041.0001).

ALLELIC VARIANTS (Selected Examples):

.0001 NEMALINE MYOPATHY, 5
TNNT1, GLU180TER [dbSNP:rs80358249]

In affected individuals with Amish nemaline myopathy (605355), Johnston et al. (2000) found a 579G-T transversion in exon 11 of the TNNT1 gene, resulting in a stop codon at amino acid 180 (E180X) and loss of 83 C-terminal residues. Johnston et al. (2000) had treated or obtained clinical information on 71 infants and young children from 33 nuclear Amish families with this form of nemaline myopathy. In the first months of life, affected infants had tremors with hypotonia and mild contractures of the shoulders and hips. Progressive worsening of the proximal contractures, weakness, and a pectus carinatum deformity developed before the children died of respiratory insufficiency, usually in the second year.

Jin et al. (2003) found complete loss of the TNNT1 protein in patients with the E180X mutation. The truncated protein results in elimination of the C-terminal T2 domain that interacts with troponin C (TNNC1; 191040), I (TNNI2; 191043), and tropomyosin (TPM1; 191010), but was predicted to retain a central tropomyosin-binding site that participates in the anchoring of troponin complex to the thin actin filament. If residual truncated protein was produced, this could potentially result in a dominant-negative effect. The significant muscle atrophy observed in the disorder was consistent with the slow Tnt isoform being involved in muscle development and growth.

In a patient with Amish nemaline myopathy due to the E180X mutation, Wang et al. (2005) detected residual mutant TNNT1 mRNA in muscle tissue but detected no corresponding translated mutant TNNT1 protein. In vitro functional expression studies in nonmuscle cells showed that E180X-mutant protein could be produced but was not detectable when expressed in muscle cells in vitro. The findings suggested rapid degradation of E180X-mutant protein in muscle cells, rather than a loss of nonsense mRNA to explain the absence of a dominant effect. Wang et al. (2005) postulated that inefficient incorporation of mutant TNNT1 into myofilaments results in its degradation by the muscle cell as a protective mechanism.

See Also:
Trask et al. (1993)

REFERENCES
1. Barton, P. J. R., Cullen, M. E., Townsend, P. J., Brand, N. J., Mullen, A. J., Norman, D. A. M., Bhavsar, P. K., Yacoub, M. H. Close physical linkage of human troponin genes: organization, sequence, and expression of the locus encoding cardiac troponin I and slow skeletal troponin T. Genomics 57: 102-109, 1999. [PubMed: 10191089, related citations] [Full Text: Elsevier Science, Pubget]

2. Jin, J.-P., Brotto, M. A., Hossain, M. M., Huang, Q.-Q., Brotto, L. S., Nosek, T. M., Morton, D. H., Crawford, T. O. Truncation by glu180 nonsense mutation results in complete loss of skeletal muscle troponin T in a lethal nemaline myopathy. J. Biol. Chem. 278: 26159-26165, 2003. [PubMed: 12732643, related citations] [Full Text: HighWire Press, Pubget]

3. Johnston, J. J., Kelley, R. I., Crawford, T. O., Morton, D. H., Agarwala, R., Koch, T., Schaffer, A. A., Francomano, C. A., Biesecker, L. G. A novel nemaline myopathy in the Amish caused by a mutation in troponin T1. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 67: 814-821, 2000. [PubMed: 10952871, related citations] [Full Text: Elsevier Science, Pubget]

4. Nadal-Ginard, B., Mahdavi, V. Molecular basis of cardiac performance: plasticity of the myocardium generated through protein isoform switches. J. Clin. Invest. 84: 1693-1700, 1989. [PubMed: 2687327, related citations] [Full Text: Journal of Clinical Investigation, Pubget]

5. Novelli, G., Gennarelli, M., Rocchi, M., Dallapiccola, B. Assignment of the slow troponin T (TNNT1) gene to chromosome 19 using polymerase chain reaction. Hum. Genet. 88: 697-698, 1992. [PubMed: 1551677, related citations] [Full Text: Pubget]

6. Novelli, G., Gennarelli, M., Zelano, G., Sangiuolo, F., Rocchi, M., Dallapiccola, B. Isolation and mapping of the slow skeletal troponin T using the polymerase chain reaction. (Abstract) Cytogenet. Cell Genet. 58: 2023, 1991.

7. Samson, F., de Jong, P. J., Trask, B. J., Koza-Taylor, P., Speer, M. C., Potter, T., Roses, A. D., Gilbert, J. R. Assignment of the human slow skeletal troponin T gene to 19q13.4 using somatic cell hybrids and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis. Genomics 13: 1374-1375, 1992. [PubMed: 1505979, related citations] [Full Text: Pubget]

8. Samson, F., Gilbert, J. R., Lee, J. E., Potter, T. G., Koza-Taylor, P., Speer, M. C., Bachinski, L. L., Siciliano, M. J., Roses, A. D. Isolation and localization of a human slow troponin T gene on chromosome 19q. (Abstract) Cytogenet. Cell Genet. 58: 2025, 1991.

9. Samson, F., Lee, J. E., Hung, W. Y., Potter, T. G., Herbstreith, M., Roses, A. D., Gilbert, J. R. Isolation and localisation of a slow troponin (TNT) gene on chromosome 19 by subtraction of a cDNA muscle library using myotonic muscle cDNA. J. Neurosci. Res. 27: 441-451, 1990. [PubMed: 1706783, related citations] [Full Text: Pubget]

10. Samson, F., Mesnard, L., Mihovilovic, M., Potter, T. G., Mercadier, J.-J., Roses, A. D., Gilbert, J. R. A new human slow skeletal troponin T (TnTs) mRNA isoform derived from alternative splicing of a single gene. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 199: 841-847, 1994. [PubMed: 8135831, related citations] [Full Text: Elsevier Science, Pubget]

11. Trask, B., Fertitta, A., Christensen, M., Youngblom, J., Bergmann, A., Copeland, A., de Jong, P., Mohrenweiser, H., Olsen, A., Carrano, A., Tynan, K. Fluorescence in situ hybridization mapping of human chromosome 19: cytogenetic band location of 540 cosmids and 70 genes or DNA markers. Genomics 15: 133-145, 1993. [PubMed: 8432525, related citations] [Full Text: Elsevier Science, Pubget]

12. Wang, X., Huang, Q.-Q., Breckenridge, M. T., Chen, A., Crawford, T. O., Morton, D. H., Jin, J.-P. Cellular fate of truncated slow skeletal muscle troponin T produced by glu180 nonsense mutation in Amish nemaline myopathy. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 13241-13249, 2005. [PubMed: 15665378, related citations] [Full Text: HighWire Press, Pubget]

Contributors: Patricia A. Hartz - updated : 01/30/2009
Cassandra L. Kniffin - updated : 12/2/2008
Victor A. McKusick - updated : 10/19/2000
Creation Date: Victor A. McKusick : 12/30/1989
Edit History: mgross : 01/30/2009
wwang : 12/8/2008
ckniffin : 12/2/2008
ckniffin : 4/4/2005
carol : 10/20/2004
carol : 10/24/2000
terry : 10/19/2000
dkim : 9/9/1998
terry : 6/3/1998
mark : 7/3/1997
joanna : 2/11/1996
jason : 6/13/1994
carol : 5/12/1993
carol : 2/11/1993
carol : 10/7/1992
carol : 9/16/1992
carol : 5/11/1992