A role for actin flexibility in thin filament-mediated contractile regulation and myopathy

Striated muscle contraction is regulated by the translocation of troponin-tropomyosin strands over the thin filament surface. Relaxation relies partly on highly-favorable, conformation-dependent electrostatic contacts between actin and tropomyosin, which position tropomyosin such that it impedes actomyosin associations. Impaired relaxation and hypercontractile properties are hallmarks of various muscle disorders. The α-cardiac actin M305L hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-causing mutation lies near residues that help confine tropomyosin to an inhibitory position along thin filaments. Here, we investigate M305L actin in vivo, in vitro, and in silico to resolve emergent pathological properties and disease mechanisms. Our data suggest the mutation reduces actin flexibility and distorts the actin-tropomyosin electrostatic energy landscape that, in muscle, result in aberrant contractile inhibition and excessive force. Thus, actin flexibility may be required to establish and maintain interfacial contacts with tropomyosin as well as facilitate its movement over distinct actin surface features and is, therefore, likely necessary for proper regulation of contraction.

The α-cardiac actin M305L hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-causing mutation is located near residues that help confine tropomyosin to an inhibitory position along thin filaments. Here the authors assessed M305L actin in vivo, in vitro, and in silico to characterize emergent pathological properties and define the mechanistic basis of disease.

Cardiomyopathy Mutation Alters End-to-End Junction of Tropomyosin and Reduces Calcium Sensitivity

Muscle contraction is governed by tropomyosin (Tpm) shifting azimuthally between three states on F-actin (B-, C-, and M-states) in response to calcium binding to troponin and actomyosin cross-bridge formation. The Tpm coiled coil polymerizes head to tail along the long-pitch helix of F-actin to form continuous superhelical cables that wrap around the actin filaments. The end-to-end bonds formed between the N- and C-terminus of adjacent Tpm molecules define Tpm continuity and play a critical role in the ability of Tpm to cooperatively bind to actin, thus facilitating Tpm conformational switching to cooperatively propagate along F-actin. We expect that a missense mutation in this critical overlap region associated with dilated cardiomyopathy, A277V, will alter Tpm binding and thin filament activation by altering the overlap structure. Here, we used cosedimentation assays and in vitro motility assays to determine how the mutation alters Tpm binding to actin and its ability to regulate actomyosin interactions. Analytical viscometry coupled with molecular dynamics simulations showed that the A277V mutation results in enhanced Tpm end-to-end bond strength and a reduced curvature of the Tpm overlap domain. The mutant Tpm exhibited enhanced actin-Tpm binding affinity, consistent with overlap stabilization. The observed A277V-induced decrease in cooperative activation observed with regulated thin filament motility indicates that increased overlap stabilization is not correlated with Tpm-Tpm overlap binding strength or mechanical rigidity as is often assumed. Instead, A277V-induced structural changes result in local and delocalized increases in Tpm flexibility and prominent coiled-coil twisting in pseudorepeat 4. An A277V-induced decrease in Ca²⁺ sensitivity, consistent with a mutation-induced bolstering of the B-state Tpm-actin electrostatic contacts and an increased Tpm troponin T1 binding affinity, was also observed.

Docking Troponin T onto the Tropomyosin Overlapping Domain of Thin Filaments

Complete description of thin filament conformational transitions accompanying muscle regulation requires ready access to atomic structures of actin-bound tropomyosin-troponin. To date, several molecular-docking protocols have been employed to identify troponin interactions on actin-tropomyosin because high-resolution experimentally determined structures of filament-associated troponin are not available. However, previously published all-atom models of the thin filament show chain separation and corruption of components during our molecular dynamics simulations of the models, implying artifactual subunit organization, possibly due to incorporation of unorthodox tropomyosin-TnT crystal structures and complex FRET measurements during model construction. For example, the recent Williams et al. (2016) atomistic model of the thin filament displays a paucity of salt bridges and hydrophobic complementarity between the TnT tail (TnT1) and tropomyosin, which is difficult to reconcile with the high, 20 nM K_d binding of TnT onto tropomyosin. Indeed, our molecular dynamics simulations show the TnT1 component in their model partially dissociates from tropomyosin in under 100 ns, whereas actin-tropomyosin and TnT1 models themselves remain intact. We therefore revisited computational work aiming to improve TnT1-thin filament models by employing unbiased docking methodologies, which test billions of trial rotations and translations of TnT1 over three-dimensional grids covering end-to-end bonded tropomyosin alone or tropomyosin on F-actin. We limited conformational searches to the association of well-characterized TnT1 helical domains and either isolated tropomyosin or actin-tropomyosin yet avoided docking TnT domains that lack known or predicted structure. The docking programs PIPER and ClusPro were used, followed by interaction energy optimization and extensive molecular dynamics. TnT1 docked to either side of isolated tropomyosin but uniquely onto one location of actin-bound tropomyosin. The antiparallel interaction with tropomyosin contained abundant salt bridges and intimately integrated hydrophobic networks joining TnT1 and the tropomyosin N-/C-terminal overlapping domain. The TnT1-tropomyosin linkage yields well-defined molecular crevices. Interaction energy measurements strongly favor this TnT1-tropomyosin design over previously proposed models.

Enhanced Antiviral Activity of Human Surfactant Protein D by Site-Specific Engineering of the Carbohydrate Recognition Domain

Innate immunity is critical in the early containment of influenza A virus (IAV) infection and surfactant protein D (SP-D) plays a crucial role in innate defense against IAV in the lungs. Multivalent lectin-mediated interactions of SP-D with IAVs result in viral aggregation, reduced epithelial infection, and enhanced IAV clearance by phagocytic cells. Previous studies showed that porcine SP-D (pSP-D) exhibits distinct antiviral activity against IAV as compared to human SP-D (hSP-D), mainly due to key residues in the lectin domain of pSP-D that contribute to its profound neutralizing activity. These observations provided the basis for the design of a full-length recombinant mutant form of hSP-D, designated as “improved SP-D” (iSP-D). Inspired by pSP-D, the lectin domain of iSP-D has 5 amino acids replaced (Asp324Asn, Asp330Asn, Val251Glu, Lys287Gln, Glu289Lys) and 3 amino acids inserted (326Gly-Ser-Ser). Characterization of iSP-D revealed no major differences in protein assembly and saccharide binding selectivity as compared to hSP-D. However, hemagglutination inhibition measurements showed that iSP-D expressed strongly enhanced activity compared to hSP-D against 31 different IAV strains tested, including (pandemic) IAVs that were resistant for neutralization by hSP-D. Furthermore, iSP-D showed increased viral aggregation and enhanced protection of MDCK cells against infection by IAV. Importantly, prophylactic or therapeutic application of iSP-D decreased weight loss and reduced viral lung titers in a murine model of IAV infection using a clinical isolate of H1N1pdm09 virus. These studies demonstrate the potential of iSP-D as a novel human-based antiviral inhalation drug that may provide immediate protection against or recovery from respiratory (pandemic) IAV infections in humans.

Molecular integration of the anti-tropomyosin compound ATM-3507 into the coiled coil overlap region of the cancer-associated Tpm3.1

Tropomyosins (Tpm) determine the functional capacity of actin filaments in an isoform-specific manner. The primary isoform in cancer cells is Tpm3.1 and compounds that target Tpm3.1 show promising results as anti-cancer agents both in vivo and in vitro. We have determined the molecular mechanism of interaction of the lead compound ATM-3507 with Tpm3.1-containing actin filaments. When present during co-polymerization of Tpm3.1 with actin, ³H-ATM-3507 is incorporated into the filaments and saturates at approximately one molecule per Tpm3.1 dimer and with an apparent binding affinity of approximately 2 µM. In contrast, ³H-ATM-3507 is poorly incorporated into preformed Tpm3.1/actin co-polymers. CD spectroscopy and thermal melts using Tpm3.1 peptides containing the C-terminus, the N-terminus, and a combination of the two forming the overlap junction at the interface of adjacent Tpm3.1 dimers, show that ATM-3507 shifts the melting temperature of the C-terminus and the overlap junction, but not the N-terminus. Molecular dynamic simulation (MDS) analysis predicts that ATM-3507 integrates into the 4-helix coiled coil overlap junction and in doing so, likely changes the lateral movement of Tpm3.1 across the actin surface resulting in an alteration of filament interactions with actin binding proteins and myosin motors, consistent with the cellular impact of ATM-3507.

The Effect of Tropomyosin Mutations on Actin-Tropomyosin Binding: In Search of Lost Time

The initial binding of tropomyosin onto actin filaments and then its polymerization into continuous cables on the filament surface must be precisely tuned to overall thin-filament structure, function, and performance. Low-affinity interaction of tropomyosin with actin has to be sufficiently strong to localize the tropomyosin on actin, yet not so tight that regulatory movement on filaments is curtailed. Likewise, head-to-tail association of tropomyosin molecules must be favorable enough to promote tropomyosin cable formation but not so tenacious that polymerization precedes filament binding. Arguably, little molecular detail on early tropomyosin binding steps has been revealed since Wegner's seminal studies on filament assembly almost 40 years ago. Thus, interpretation of mutation-based actin-tropomyosin binding anomalies leading to cardiomyopathies cannot be described fully. In vitro, tropomyosin binding is masked by explosive tropomyosin polymerization once cable formation is initiated on actin filaments. In contrast, in silico analysis, characterizing molecular dynamics simulations of single wild-type and mutant tropomyosin molecules on F-actin, is not complicated by tropomyosin polymerization at all. In fact, molecular dynamics performed here demonstrates that a midpiece tropomyosin domain is essential for normal actin-tropomyosin interaction and that this interaction is strictly conserved in a number of tropomyosin mutant species. Elsewhere along these mutant molecules, twisting and bending corrupts the tropomyosin superhelices as they "lose their grip" on F-actin. We propose that residual interactions displayed by these mutant tropomyosin structures with actin mimic ones that occur in early stages of thin-filament generation, as if the mutants are recapitulating the assembly process but in reverse. We conclude therefore that an initial binding step in tropomyosin assembly onto actin involves interaction of the essential centrally located domain.

Association of Rare Coding Mutations With Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias Among Adults of European Ancestry

Importance

Some of the unexplained heritability of Alzheimer disease (AD) may be due to rare variants whose effects are not captured in genome-wide association studies because very large samples are needed to observe statistically significant associations.

Objective

To identify genetic variants associated with AD risk using a nonstatistical approach.

Design, Setting, and Participants

Genetic association study in which rare variants were identified by whole-exome sequencing in unrelated individuals of European ancestry from the Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP). Data were analyzed between March 2017 and September 2018.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Minor alleles genome-wide and in 95 genes previously associated with AD, AD-related traits, or other dementias were tabulated and filtered for predicted functional impact and occurrence in participants with AD but not controls. Support for several findings was sought in a whole-exome sequencing data set comprising 19 affected relative pairs from Utah high-risk pedigrees and whole-genome sequencing data sets from the ADSP and Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.

Results

Among 5617 participants with AD (3202 [57.0%] women; mean [SD] age, 76.4 [9.3] years) and 4594 controls (2719 [59.0%] women; mean [SD] age, 86.5 [4.5] years), a total of 24 variants with moderate or high functional impact from 19 genes were observed in 10 or more participants with AD but not in controls. These variants included a missense mutation (rs149307620 [p.A284T], n = 10) in NOTCH3, a gene in which coding mutations are associated with cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), that was also identified in 1 participant with AD and 1 participant with mild cognitive impairment in the whole genome sequencing data sets. Four participants with AD carried the TREM2 rs104894002 (p.Q33X) high-impact mutation that, in homozygous form, causes Nasu-Hakola disease, a rare disorder characterized by early-onset dementia and multifocal bone cysts, suggesting an intermediate inheritance model for the mutation. Compared with controls, participants with AD had a significantly higher burden of deleterious rare coding variants in dementia-associated genes (2314 vs 3354 cumulative variants, respectively; P = .006).

Conclusions and Relevance

Different mutations in the same gene or variable dose of a mutation may be associated with result in distinct dementias. These findings suggest that minor differences in the structure or amount of protein may be associated with in different clinical outcomes. Understanding these genotype-phenotype associations may provide further insight into the pathogenic nature of the mutations, as well as offer clues for developing new therapeutic targets.

A new twist on tropomyosin binding to actin filaments: perspectives on thin filament function, assembly and biomechanics

Tropomyosin, best known for its role in the steric regulation of muscle contraction, polymerizes head-to-tail to form cables localized along the length of both muscle and non-muscle actin-based thin filaments. In skeletal and cardiac muscles, tropomyosin, under the control of troponin and myosin, moves in a cooperative manner between blocked, closed and open positions on filaments, thereby masking and exposing actin-binding sites necessary for myosin crossbridge head interactions. While the coiled-coil signature of tropomyosin appears to be simple, closer inspection reveals surprising structural complexity required to perform its role in steric regulation. For example, component α-helices of coiled coils are typically zippered together along a continuous core hydrophobic stripe. Tropomyosin, however, contains a number of anomalous, functionally controversial, core amino acid residues. We argue that the atypical residues at this interface, including clusters of alanines and a charged aspartate, are required for preshaping tropomyosin to readily fit to the surface of the actin filament, but do so without compromising tropomyosin rigidity once the filament is assembled. Indeed, persistence length measurements of tropomyosin are characteristic of a semi-rigid cable, in this case conducive to cooperative movement on thin filaments. In addition, we also maintain that tropomyosin displays largely unrecognized and residue-specific torsional variance, which is involved in optimizing contacts between actin and tropomyosin on the assembled thin filament. Corresponding twist-induced stiffness may also enhance cooperative translocation of tropomyosin across actin filaments. We conclude that anomalous core residues of tropomyosin facilitate thin filament regulatory behavior in a multifaceted way.

Spontaneous transitions of actin-bound tropomyosin toward blocked and closed states

The detachment of myosin from actin is associated with tropomyosin adopting a blocked or closed state, but the mechanism is unclear. Using MD simulations, Kiani et al. show that tropomyosin undergoes spontaneous transitions on the F-actin surface toward blocked or closed positions.

After muscle contraction, myosin cross-bridge heads detach from thin actin filaments during relaxation. Structural and kinetic data of cross-bridge–thin filament interactions have shown that tropomyosin’s position on F-actin is biased toward the blocked or closed states when myosin detaches. It is not clear if structural linkages between tropomyosin and myosin cross-bridge heads, or tropomyosin and Ca²⁺-free troponin, drive the process or whether tropomyosin movement is energetically independent of myosin and troponin influence. Here we provide in silico data about tropomyosin dynamics on troponin/myosin-free F-actin indicating that tropomyosin moves from the open state toward blocked- or closed-state positions on actin. To follow transitions inherent to tropomyosin itself on F-actin, we performed MD simulations initiated from the blocked-, open-, and intermediate-state models and followed tropomyosin over the surface of F-actin in the absence of myosin and troponin. These MD simulations maintain tropomyosin in a cable-like conformation, including the tropomyosin overlap domain, while allowing tropomyosin to retain most of its motional freedom. Tropomyosin shows considerable azimuthal movement away from the open state toward the surrounds of a more energetically favorable blocked B-state position over F-actin. In contrast, little movement away from the B-state location is observed. Our results are consistent with previous predictions based on electrostatic interaction energy landscapes determined by rigid-body translocation of tropomyosin. They support the view that in the absence of myosin, i.e., when myosin cross-bridges detach from actin, the blocked- or closed-state positions of tropomyosin are energetically favored, while the open state is not.

Precise Binding of Tropomyosin on Actin Involves Sequence-Dependent Variance in Coiled-Coil Twisting

Often considered an archetypal dimeric coiled coil, tropomyosin nonetheless exhibits distinctive "noncanonical" core residues located at the hydrophobic interface between its component α-helices. Notably, a charged aspartate, D137, takes the place of nonpolar residues otherwise present. Much speculation has been offered to rationalize potential local coiled-coil instability stemming from D137 and its effect on regulatory transitions of tropomyosin over actin filaments. Although experimental approaches such as electron cryomicroscopy reconstruction are optimal for defining average tropomyosin positions on actin filaments, to date, these methods have not captured the dynamics of tropomyosin residues clustered around position 137 or elsewhere. In contrast, computational biochemistry, involving molecular dynamics simulation, is a compelling choice to extend the understanding of local and global tropomyosin behavior on actin filaments at high resolution. Here, we report on molecular dynamics simulation of actin-free and actin-associated tropomyosin, showing noncanonical residue D137 as a locus for tropomyosin twist variation, with marked effects on actin-tropomyosin interactions. We conclude that D137-sponsored coiled-coil twisting is likely to optimize electrostatic side-chain contacts between tropomyosin and actin on the assembled thin filament, while offsetting disparities between tropomyosin pseudorepeat and actin subunit periodicities. We find that D137 has only minor local effects on tropomyosin coiled-coil flexibility, (i.e., on its flexural mobility). Indeed, D137-associated overtwisting may actually augment tropomyosin stiffness on actin filaments. Accordingly, such twisting-induced stiffness of tropomyosin is expected to enhance cooperative regulatory translocation of the tropomyosin cable over actin.

Lectin-mediated binding and sialoglycans of porcine surfactant protein D synergistically neutralize influenza A virus

Innate immunity is critical in the early containment of influenza A virus (IAV) infection, and surfactant protein D (SP-D) plays a crucial role in the pulmonary defense against IAV. In pigs, which are important intermediate hosts during the generation of pandemic IAVs, SP-D uses its unique carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) to interact with IAV. An N-linked CRD glycosylation provides interactions with the sialic acid-binding site of IAV, and a tripeptide loop at the lectin-binding site facilitates enhanced interactions with IAV glycans. Here, to investigate both mechanisms of IAV neutralization in greater detail, we produced an N-glycosylated neck-CRD fragment of porcine SP-D (RpNCRD) in HEK293 cells. X-ray crystallography disclosed that the N-glycan did not alter the CRD backbone structure, including the lectin site conformation, but revealed a potential second nonlectin-binding site for glycans. IAV hemagglutination inhibition, IAV aggregation, and neutralization of IAV infection studies showed that RpNCRD, unlike the human analogue RhNCRD, exhibits potent neutralizing activity against pandemic A/Aichi/68 (H3N2), enabled by both porcine-specific structural features of its CRD. MS analysis revealed an N-glycan site-occupancy of >98% at Asn-303 of RpNCRD with complex-type, heterogeneously branched and predominantly α(2,3)-sialylated oligosaccharides. Glycan-binding array data characterized both RpNCRD and RhNCRD as mannose-type lectins. RpNCRD also bound Lewis^Y structures, whereas RhNCRD bound polylactosamine-containing glycans. The presence of the N-glycan in the CRD increases the glycan-binding specificity of RpNCRD. These insights increase our understanding of porcine-specific innate defense against pandemic IAV and may inform the design of recombinant SP-D-based antiviral drugs.

Distortion of the Actin A-Triad Results in Contractile Disinhibition and Cardiomyopathy

Striated muscle contraction is regulated by the movement of tropomyosin over the thin filament surface, which blocks or exposes myosin binding sites on actin. Findings suggest that electrostatic contacts, particularly those between K326, K328, and R147 on actin and tropomyosin, establish an energetically favorable F-actin-tropomyosin configuration, with tropomyosin positioned in a location that impedes actomyosin associations and promotes relaxation. Here, we provide data that directly support a vital role for these actin residues, termed the A-triad, in tropomyosin positioning in intact functioning muscle. By examining the effects of an A295S α-cardiac actin hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-causing mutation, over a range of increasingly complex in silico, in vitro, and in vivo Drosophila muscle models, we propose that subtle A-triad-tropomyosin perturbation can destabilize thin filament regulation, which leads to hypercontractility and triggers disease. Our efforts increase understanding of basic thin filament biology and help unravel the mechanistic basis of a complex cardiac disorder.

HCM and DCM cardiomyopathy-linked α-tropomyosin mutations influence off-state stability and crossbridge interaction on thin filaments

Calcium regulation of cardiac muscle contraction is controlled by the thin-filament proteins troponin and tropomyosin bound to actin. In the absence of calcium, troponin-tropomyosin inhibits myosin-interactions on actin and induces muscle relaxation, whereas the addition of calcium relieves the inhibitory constraint to initiate contraction. Many mutations in thin filament proteins linked to cardiomyopathy appear to disrupt this regulatory switching. Here, we tested perturbations caused by mutant tropomyosins (E40K, DCM; and E62Q, HCM) on intra-filament interactions affecting acto-myosin interactions including those induced further by myosin association. Comparison of wild-type and mutant human α-tropomyosin (Tpm1.1) behavior was carried out using in vitro motility assays and molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that E62Q tropomyosin destabilizes thin filament off-state function by increasing calcium-sensitivity, but without apparent affect on global tropomyosin structure by modifying coiled-coil rigidity. In contrast, the E40K mutant tropomyosin appears to stabilize the off-state, demonstrates increased tropomyosin flexibility, while also decreasing calcium-sensitivity. In addition, the E40K mutation reduces thin filament velocity at low myosin concentration while the E62Q mutant tropomyosin increases velocity. Corresponding molecular dynamics simulations indicate specific residue interactions that are likely to redefine underlying molecular regulatory mechanisms, which we propose explain the altered contractility evoked by the disease-causing mutations.

Tropomyosin Must Interact Weakly with Actin to Effectively Regulate Thin Filament Function

Elongated tropomyosin, associated with actin-subunits along the surface of thin filaments, makes electrostatic interactions with clusters of conserved residues, K326, K328, and R147, on actin. The association is weak, permitting low-energy cost regulatory movement of tropomyosin across the filament during muscle activation. Interestingly, acidic D292 on actin, also evolutionarily conserved, lies adjacent to the three-residue cluster of basic amino acids and thus may moderate the combined local positive charge, diminishing tropomyosin-actin interaction and facilitating regulatory-switching. Indeed, charge neutralization of D292 is connected to muscle hypotonia in individuals with D292V actin mutations and linked to congenital fiber-type disproportion. Here, the D292V mutation may predispose tropomyosin-actin positioning to a myosin-blocking state, aberrantly favoring muscle relaxation, thus mimicking the low-Ca²⁺ effect of troponin even in activated muscles. To test this hypothesis, interaction energetics and in vitro function of wild-type and D292V filaments were measured. Energy landscapes based on F-actin-tropomyosin models show the mutation localizes tropomyosin in a blocked-state position on actin defined by a deeper energy minimum, consistent with augmented steric-interference of actin-myosin binding. In addition, whereas myosin-dependent motility of troponin/tropomyosin-free D292V F-actin is normal, motility is dramatically inhibited after addition of tropomyosin to the mutant actin. Thus, D292V-induced blocked-state stabilization appears to disrupt the delicately poised energy balance governing thin filament regulation. Our results validate the premise that stereospecific but necessarily weak binding of tropomyosin to F-actin is required for effective thin filament function.

Differential Ligand Binding Specificities of the Pulmonary Collectins Are Determined by the Conformational Freedom of a Surface Loop

Lung surfactant proteins (SPs) play critical roles in surfactant function and innate immunity. SP-A and SP-D, members of the collectin family of C-type lectins, exhibit distinct ligand specificities, effects on surfactant structure, and host defense functions despite extensive structural homology. SP-A binds to dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), the major surfactant lipid component, but not phosphatidylinositol (PI), whereas SP-D shows the opposite preference. Additionally, SP-A and SP-D recognize widely divergent pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Previous studies suggested that a ligand-induced surface loop conformational change unique to SP-A contributes to lipid binding affinity. To test this hypothesis and define the structural features of SP-A and SP-D that determine their ligand binding specificities, a structure-guided approach was used to introduce key features of SP-D into SP-A. A quadruple mutant (E171D/P175E/R197N/K203D) that introduced an SP-D-like loop-stabilizing calcium binding site into the carbohydrate recognition domain was found to interconvert SP-A ligand binding preferences to an SP-D phenotype, exchanging DPPC for PI specificity, and resulting in the loss of lipid A binding and the acquisition of more avid mannan binding properties. Mutants with constituent single or triple mutations showed alterations in their lipid and sugar binding properties that were intermediate between those of SP-A and SP-D. Structures of mutant complexes with inositol or methyl-mannose revealed an attenuation of the ligand-induced conformational change relative to wild-type SP-A. These studies suggest that flexibility in a key surface loop supports the distinctive lipid binding functions of SP-A, thus contributing to its multiple functions in surfactant structure and regulation, and host defense.

The propensity for tropomyosin twisting in the presence and absence of F-actin

A canonical model of muscle α-tropomyosin (Tpm1.1), based on molecular-mechanics and electron microscopy of different contractile states, shows that the two-stranded coiled-coiled is pre-bent to present a specific molecular-face to the F-actin filament. This conformation is thought to facilitate both filament assembly and tropomyosin sliding across actin to modulate myosin-binding. However, to bind effectively to actin filaments, the 42 nm-long tropomyosin coiled-coil is not strictly canonical. Here, the mid-region of tropomyosin twists an additional ∼20° in order to better match the F-actin helix. In addition, the N- and C-terminal regions of tropomyosin polymerize head-to-tail to form continuous super-helical cables. In this case, 9 to 10 residue-long overlapping domains between adjacent molecules untwist relative to each other to accommodate orthogonal interactions between chains in the junctional four-helix nexus. Extensive molecular dynamics simulations show that the twisting and untwisting motions of tropomyosin vary appreciably along tropomyosin length, and in particular that substantial terminal domain winding and unwinding occurs whether tropomyosin is bound to F-actin or not. The local and regional twisting and untwisting do not appear to proceed in a concerted fashion, resembling more of a "wringing-type" behavior rather than a rotation.

Elucidation of Lipid Binding Sites on Lung Surfactant Protein A Using X-ray Crystallography, Mutagenesis, and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Surfactant protein A (SP-A) is a collagenous C-type lectin (collectin) that is critical for pulmonary defense against inhaled microorganisms. Bifunctional avidity of SP-A for pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) such as lipid A and for dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), the major component of surfactant membranes lining the air-liquid interface of the lung, ensures that the protein is poised for first-line interactions with inhaled pathogens. To improve our understanding of the motifs that are required for interactions with microbes and surfactant structures, we explored the role of the tyrosine-rich binding surface on the carbohydrate recognition domain of SP-A in the interaction with DPPC and lipid A using crystallography, site-directed mutagenesis, and molecular dynamics simulations. Critical binding features for DPPC binding include a three-walled tyrosine cage that binds the choline headgroup through cation-π interactions and a positively charged cluster that binds the phosphoryl group. This basic cluster is also critical for binding of lipid A, a bacterial PAMP and target for SP-A. Molecular dynamics simulations further predict that SP-A binds lipid A more tightly than DPPC. These results suggest that the differential binding properties of SP-A favor transfer of the protein from surfactant DPPC to pathogen membranes containing appropriate lipid PAMPs to effect key host defense functions.

Tropomyosin diffusion over actin subunits facilitates thin filament assembly

Coiled-coil tropomyosin binds to consecutive actin-subunits along actin-containing thin filaments. Tropomyosin molecules then polymerize head-to-tail to form cables that wrap helically around the filaments. Little is known about the assembly process that leads to continuous, gap-free tropomyosin cable formation. We propose that tropomyosin molecules diffuse over the actin-filament surface to connect head-to-tail to partners. This possibility is likely because (1) tropomyosin hovers loosely over the actin-filament, thus binding weakly to F-actin and (2) low energy-barriers provide tropomyosin freedom for 1D axial translation on F-actin. We consider that these unique features of the actin-tropomyosin interaction are the basis of tropomyosin cable formation.