Syncoilin

Syncoilin is a muscle-specific intermediate filament, first isolated by Newey and colleagues as a binding partner to α-dystrobrevin, as determined by a yeast two-hybrid assay. Later, Poon and colleagues used yeast two-hybrid methods to demonstrate that syncoilin is a binding partner of desmin. These binding partners suggest that syncoilin acts as a mechanical "linker" between the sarcomere Z-disk (where desmin is localized) and the dystrophin-associated protein complex (where α-dystrobrevin is localized). However, the specific in vivo functions of syncoilin have not yet been determined.

Abnormally high levels of syncoilin have been shown to be a characteristic of neuromuscular wasting diseases, such as desminopathy and muscular dystrophy. Therefore, syncoilin is being explored as a promising marker of neuromuscular disease.