Function
During myotube differentiation, myopodin interacts with stress fibers prior to co-localizing with alpha actinin-2 at Z-discs in mature striated muscle cells. Myopodin has been shown to shuttle between the nucleus and cytoplasm in myoblasts and myotubes in response to stress; its export from the nucleus is sensitive to lemtomycin B. The nuclear localization of myopodin is sensitive to Importin 13, which directly binds myopodin and facilitates its translocation. Importin binding and nuclear import of myopodin appears to be mediated by serine/threonine phosphorylation-dependent binding of myopodin to 14-3-3 beta Myopodin appears to regulate compartmentalized, intracellular signal transduction between the Z-disc and nucleus in cardiac muscle cells, by forming a Z-disc signaling complex with alpha actinin-2, calcineurin, CaMKII, muscle-specific A-kinase anchoring protein, and myomegalin. Specifically, phosphorylation by protein kinase A or CaMKII, and dephosphorylation by calcineurin facilitates the binding or release, respectively, of 14-3-3-beta, and the corresponding nuclear or cytoplasmic localization, respectively, of myopodin.