Dynein

General
structure

Myosin V

Myosin 2

~1829 AA
2 identical
heavy chains

Myosin II (also known as

conventional myosin) is the
myosin type responsible for
producing muscle contraction
in muscle cells.

12 light chains

Kinesin

Myosin II contains
two heavy chains,
each about 2000
amino acids in length,
which constitute the
head and tail domains.
Each of these heavy
chains contains the Nterminal head domain,
while the C-terminal
tails take on a coiledcoil morphology,
holding the two heavy
chains together
(imagine two snakes
wrapped around each
other, such as in a
caduceus). Thus,
myosin II has two
heads. The
intermediate neck
domain is the region
creating the angle
between the head and
tail.[12] In smooth
muscle, a single gene
(MYH11[13]) codes for
the heavy chains
myosin II, but splice
variants of this gene
result in four distinct
isoforms.[12]
It also contains 4 light
chains, resulting in 2
per head, weighing 20
(MLC20) and 17
(MLC17) kDa.[12]
These bind the heavy
chains in the "neck"
region between the
head and tail.
o

The MLC20 is
also known as
the regulatory
light chain and
actively
participates in
muscle
contraction.[12]