Purification and characterization of an α-actinin-binding PDZ-LIM protein that is up-regulated during muscle differentiation

α-Actinin is required for the organization and function of the contractile machinery of muscle. In order to understand more precisely the molecular mechanisms by which α-actinin might contribute to the formation and maintenance of the contractile apparatus within muscle cells, we performed a screen to identify novel α-actinin binding partners present in chicken smooth muscle cells. In this paper, we report the identification, purification, and characterization of a 36-kDa smooth muscle protein (p36) that interacts with α-actinin.