Protein-protein interaction of FHL2, a LIM domain protein preferentially expressed in human heart, with hCDC47

In the yeast two-hybrid library screening, the heart-specific FHL2 protein was found to interact with hCDC47. In vitro interaction study between FHL2 protein and hCDC47 was demonstrated. From the results of domain studies by the yeast two-hybrid assay, the second and third LIM domains in conjunction with the first half LIM domain of FHL2 were identified to be important in binding with hCDC47. Besides, in Northern blot hybridization of human cance r cell lines, the highest FHL2 mRNA expression was detected in colorectal a denocarcinoma SW480 and HeLa cell S3. Our results imply that FHL2 protein m ay associate with cancer development and may act as a molecular adapter to form a multicomplex with hCDC47 in the nucleus, thus it plays an important role in the specification or maintenance of the terminal differentiated phe notype of heart muscle cells, (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.