Immunohistochemistry- and/or immunofluorescence-based analysis of muscular proteins represents a standard procedure in the diagnostic management of patients suffering from neuromuscular diseases such as “Caveolinopathies” which are caused by mutations in the CAV3 gene encoding for caveolin-3. Human caveolin-3 is a 151 amino acid sized transmembrane protein localized within caveolae, predominantly expressed in cardiac and skeletal muscle cells and involved in a diversity of cellular functions crucial for muscle cell homeostasis. Loss of caveolin-3 protein abundance is indicative for the presence of pathogenic mutations within the corresponding gene and thus for the diagnosis of “Caveolinopathies.” Moreover, description of abnormal immunoreactivity findings for the caveolin-3 protein is increasing in the context of other neuromuscular diseases suggesting that profound knowledge of abnormal caveolin-3-expression and/or distribution findings can be decisive also for the diagnosis of other neurological diseases as well as for a better understanding of the biology of the protein. Here, we summarize the current knowledge about the caveolin-3, report on a protocol for immunofluorescence-based analysis of the protein in the diagnostic workup of neuromuscular patients—also considering problems encountered—and confirm as well as summarize already published abnormal histological findings in muscular pathologies beyond “Caveolinopathies.”
CITATION STYLE
Roos, A., Hathazi, D., & Schara, U. (2020). Immunofluorescence-based analysis of caveolin-3 in the diagnostic management of neuromuscular diseases. In Methods in Molecular Biology (Vol. 2169, pp. 197–216). Humana Press Inc. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0732-9_18
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