![](https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/t2-main/medschool-prd/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2018/08/IMG_1519-2-200x300.jpg)
James Hayes
University of Tennessee
Dylan Burnette lab
Despite their importance for muscle function, we still do not fully understand how sarcomeres are made. The classical marker of “Z-lines” in cardiac sarcomeres is a protein called alpha-actinin 2. However, we have discovered that two paralogues of this protein , alpha-actinin 1 and 4, also localize to Z-lines. I am characterizing these proteins and their importance for sarcomere assembly in cardiac myocytes.