Terence C. Tao, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
Muscle related diseases: heart failure, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, stroke, asthma
Email: tao at bbri.org

Research Summary
My research interests lie in deciphering the mechanisms whereby striated (skeletal and cardiac) and smooth muscles are regulated. Contraction of striated muscles is regulated by the proteins troponin and tropomyosin. We use a combination of site-directed-mutagenesis, fluorescence spectroscopy and photocrosslinking techniques to study the interactions between the proteins involved, from which we can reconstruct the events that occur during regulation. Contraction of smooth muscles is regulated by myosin phosphorylation, which involves the proteins myosin light chain kinase and phosphatase. We are studying such properties of the phosphatase as subunit interactions, interactions with myosin, mechanisms of activation and how itself is regulated using such techniques as enzymology, analytical ultracentrifugation and isothermal titration. Results from these studies are relevant to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of various cardiovascular diseases.

Selected Publications
Luo, Y., Leszyk, J., Li, B., Li, Z. X., Gergely, J. & Tao, T. (2002). Troponin-I interacts with the Met47 region of skeletal muscle actin. Implications for the mechanism of thin filament regulation by calcium. J. Mol. Biol.316, 429-434.

Luo, Y., Li, B., Yang, G., Gergely, J. & Tao, T. (2002). Cross-linking between the regulatory regions of troponin-I and troponin-C abolishes the inhibitory function of troponin. Biochemistry41, 12891-12898.

Langsetmo, K., Stafford, W. F., Mabuchi, K. & Tao, T. (2001). Recombinant small subunit of smooth muscle myosin light chain phosphatase - Molecular properties and interactions with the targeting subunit. J. Biol. Chem.276, 34318-34322.

Luo, Y., Wu, J. L., Li, B., Langsetmo, K., Gergely, J. & Tao, T. (2000). Photocrosslinking of benzophenone-labeled single cysteine troponin I mutants to other thin filament proteins. J. Mol. Biol.296, 899-910.

Zhang, Y., Mabuchi, K. & Tao, T. (1997). Expression in insect cells and characterization of the 110 kDa anchoring subunit of myosin light chain phosphatase. Biochim. Biophys. Acta1343, 51-58.