The striated muscle Z line, a multiprotein complex at the boundary between sarcomeres,
plays an integral role in maintaining striated muscle structure and function. Multiple Z-line–
associated proteins have been identified and shown to play an increasingly important role in
the pathogenesis of human muscle disease. Cypher/Z-band alternatively spliced PDZ-motif
protein, a PDZ-LIM protein in the Z line, binds to α-actinin (via its PDZ domain) and has been
suggested to function as a linker-strut to maintain cytoskeletal structural integrity during�…