troponin

noun

tro·​po·​nin ˈtrō-pə-nən  ˈträ- 

-ˌnin

: a protein of muscle that together with tropomyosin forms a regulatory protein complex controlling the interaction of actin and myosin and that when combined with calcium ions permits muscular contraction

Examples of troponin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Scientists in that study followed up with people who had faced chest pain and elevated amounts of troponin in their blood, a protein that usually signals some kind of heart damage. — Paula Cohen, CBS News, 21 May 2025

There, doctors discovered dangerously elevated troponin levels, a protein that indicates damage to the heart. — Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 13 May 2025

Broken heart syndrome can cause an increase in a cardiac enzyme called troponin, in the blood, that is also elevated by a heart attack. — Allison Aubrey, NPR, 17 Feb. 2025

Troponin is more specific and sensitive than CK, as cardiac troponin only increases when there's damage to the heart muscle. — Jillian Kubala, Health, 31 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

by shortening & alteration from tropomyosin

Note: The name was apparently first used in print in a letter by the Japanese biochemist Setsuro Ebashi (1922-2006) and coworker Ayako Kodama, "Interaction of Troponin with F-Actin in the Presence of Tropomyosin," Journal of Biochemistry (Japanese Biochemical Society), vol. 59, issue 4 (April, 1966), p. 425.

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

troponin

noun

tro·​po·​nin ˈtrōp-ə-nən  ˈträp- 

-ˌnin

: a protein of muscle that together with tropomyosin forms a regulatory protein complex controlling the interaction of actin and myosin and that when combined with calcium ions permits muscular contraction