Reverse engineering the L-type Ca2+ channel alpha1c subunit in adult cardiac myocytes using novel adenoviral vectors

Sympathetic Nervous System Regulation of Cardiac Calcium Channels

Calcium influx through voltage-gated calcium channels, Ca_v1.2, in cardiomyocytes initiates excitation-contraction coupling in the heart. The force and rate of cardiac contraction are modulated by the sympathetic nervous system, mediated substantially by changes in intracellular calcium. Norepinephrine released from sympathetic neurons innervating the heart and epinephrine secreted by the adrenal chromaffin cells bind to β-adrenergic receptors on the sarcolemma of cardiomyocytes initiating a signaling cascade that generates cAMP and activates protein kinase A, the targets of which control calcium influx. For decades, the mechanisms by which PKA regulated calcium channels in the heart were not known. Recently, these mechanisms have been elucidated. In this chapter, we will review the history of the field and the studies that led to the identification of the evolutionarily conserved process.

The PDZ motif of the α1C subunit is not required for surface trafficking and adrenergic modulation of CaV1.2 channel in the heart

Voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels play a key role in initiating muscle excitation-contraction coupling, neurotransmitter release, gene expression, and hormone secretion. The association of CaV1.2 with a supramolecular complex impacts trafficking, localization, turnover, and, most importantly, multifaceted regulation of its function in the heart. Several studies hint at an important role for the C terminus of the α1C subunit as a hub for multidimensional regulation of CaV1.2 channel trafficking and function. Recent studies have demonstrated an important role for the four-residue PDZ binding motif at the C terminus of α1C in interacting with scaffold proteins containing PDZ domains, in the subcellular localization of CaV1.2 in neurons, and in the efficient signaling to cAMP-response element-binding protein in neurons. However, the role of the α1C PDZ ligand domain in the heart is not known. To determine whether the α1C PDZ motif is critical for CaV1.2 trafficking and function in cardiomyocytes, we generated transgenic mice with inducible expression of an N-terminal FLAG epitope-tagged dihydropyridine-resistant α1C with the PDZ motif deleted (ΔPDZ). These mice were crossed with α-myosin heavy chain reverse transcriptional transactivator transgenic mice, and the double-transgenic mice were fed doxycycline. The ΔPDZ channels expressed, trafficked to the membrane, and supported robust excitation-contraction coupling in the presence of nisoldipine, a dihydropyridine Ca(2+) channel blocker, providing functional evidence that they appropriately target to dyads. The ΔPDZ Ca(2+) channels were appropriately regulated by isoproterenol and forskolin. These data indicate that the α1C PDZ motif is not required for surface trafficking, localization to the dyad, or adrenergic stimulation of CaV1.2 in adult cardiomyocytes.

Manipulating L-type calcium channels in cardiomyocytes using split-intein protein transsplicing

Manipulating expression of large genes (>6 kb) in adult cardiomyocytes is challenging because these cells are only efficiently transduced by viral vectors with a 4-7 kb packaging capacity. This limitation impedes understanding structure-function mechanisms of important proteins in heart. L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) regulate diverse facets of cardiac physiology including excitation-contraction coupling, excitability, and gene expression. Many important questions about how LTCCs mediate such multidimensional signaling are best resolved by manipulating expression of the 6.6 kb pore-forming α1C-subunit in adult cardiomyocytes. Here, we use split-intein-mediated protein transsplicing to reconstitute LTCC α1C-subunit from two distinct halves, overcoming the difficulty of expressing full-length α1C in cardiomyocytes. Split-intein-tagged α1C fragments encoding dihydropyridine-resistant channels were incorporated into adenovirus and reconstituted in cardiomyocytes. Similar to endogenous LTCCs, recombinant channels targeted to dyads, triggered Ca(2+) transients, associated with caveolin-3, and supported β-adrenergic regulation of excitation-contraction coupling. This approach lowers a longstanding technical hurdle to manipulating large proteins in cardiomyocytes.

Functional expression of transgenic 1sDHPR channels in adult mammalian skeletal muscle fibres

We investigated the effects of the overexpression of two enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-tagged α1sDHPR variants on Ca2+ currents (ICa), charge movements (Q) and SR Ca2+ release of muscle fibres isolated from adult mice. Flexor digitorum brevis (FDB)muscles were transfected by in vivo electroporation with plasmids encoding for EGFP-α1sDHPR-wt and EGFP-α1sDHPR-T935Y (an isradipine-insensitive mutant). Two-photon laser scanning microscopy (TPLSM) was used to study the subcellular localization of transgenic proteins, while ICa, Q and Ca2+ release were studied electrophysiologically and optically under voltage-clamp conditions. TPLSM images demonstrated that most of the transgenic α1sDHPR was correctly targeted to the transverse tubular system (TTS). Immunoblotting analysis of crude extracts of transfected fibres demonstrated the synthesis of bona fide transgenic EGFP-α1sDHPR-wt in quantities comparable to that of native α1sDHPR. Though expression of both transgenic variants of the alpha subunit of the dihydropyridine receptor (α1sDHPR) resulted in ∼50% increase in Q, they surprisingly had no effect on the maximal Ca2+ conductance (gCa) nor the SR Ca2+ release. Nonetheless, fibres expressing EGFP-α1sDHPR-T935Y exhibited up to 70% isradipine-insensitive ICa (ICa-ins) with a right-shifted voltage dependence compared to that in control fibres. Interestingly, Qand SRCa2+ release also displayed right-shifted voltage dependence in fibres expressing EGFP-α1sDHPR-T935Y. In contrast, the midpoints of the voltage dependence of gCa, Q and Ca2+ release were not different from those in control fibres and in fibres expressing EGFP-α1sDHPR-wt. Overall, our results suggest that transgenic α1sDHPRs are correctly trafficked and inserted in the TTS membrane, and that a substantial fraction of the mworks as conductive Ca2+ channels capable of physiologically controlling the release of Ca2+ from the SR. A plausible corollary of this work is that the expression of transgenic variants of the α1sDHPR leads to the replacement of native channels interacting with the ryanodine receptor 1 (RyR1), thus demonstrating the feasibility of molecular remodelling of the triads in adult skeletal muscle fibres.

The L-type Ca(2+) channel as a potential mediator of pathology during alterations in cellular redox state

The L-type Ca(2+) channel is the main route for calcium influx into cardiac myocytes and an important determinant of calcium homeostasis. There is now considerable evidence that the function of the L-type Ca(2+) channel is influenced by the cell's redox state. Reactive oxygen species such as hydrogen peroxide and superoxide can regulate biological function by directly altering the thiol redox state of proteins. Under conditions where cellular redox state varies, L-type Ca(2+) channel function and diastolic calcium levels can be significantly altered. This article will present the evidence for alterations in L-type Ca(2+) channel function by reactive oxygen species and the potential role for the channel in development of acute electrophysiological instability or chronic pathological remodelling under conditions of persistent oxidative stress.

Adenoviral-mediated expression of dihydropyridine-insensitive L-type calcium channels in cardiac ventricular myocytes and fibroblasts

Cardiac voltage-gated Ca2+ channels regulate the intracellular Ca2+ concentration and are therefore essential for muscle contraction, second messenger activation, gene expression and electrical signaling. As a first step in accessing the structural versus functional properties of the L-type Ca2+ channel in the heart, we have expressed a dihydropyridine (DHP)-insensitive CaV1.2 channel in rat ventricular myocytes and fibroblasts. Following isolation and culture, cells were infected with adenovirus expressing either LacZ or a mutant CaV1.2 channel (CaV1.2DHPi) containing the double mutation (T1039Y & Q1043M). This mutation renders the channel insensitive to neutral DHP compounds such as nisoldipine. The whole-cell, L-type Ca2+ current (ICa) measured in control myocytes was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by nisoldipine with an IC50 of 66 nM and complete block at 250 nM. In contrast, ICa in cells infected with AdCaV1.2DHPi was inhibited by only 35% by 500 nM nisoldipine but completely blocked by 50 microM diltiazem. In order to study CaV1.2DHPi in isolation, myocytes infected with AdCaV1.2DHPi were incubated with nisoldipine. Under this condition the cells expressed a large ICa (12 pA/pF) and displayed Ca2+ transients during field stimulation. Furthermore, addition of 2 microM forskolin and 100 microM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), to stimulate protein kinase A, strongly increased IBa in the AdCaV1.2DHPi-infected cells. A Cd2+-sensitive IBa was also recorded in cardiac fibroblasts infected with AdCaV1.2DHPi. Thus, expression of CaV1.2DHPi will provide an important tool in studies of cardiac myocyte and fibroblast function.

Beta-adrenergic stimulation of L-type Ca2+ channels in cardiac myocytes requires the distal carboxyl terminus of alpha1C but not serine 1928

Beta-adrenoceptor stimulation robustly increases cardiac L-type Ca2+ current (ICaL); yet the molecular mechanism of this effect is still not well understood. Previous reports have shown in vitro phosphorylation of a consensus protein kinase A site at serine 1928 on the carboxyl terminus of the alpha1C subunit; however, the functional role of this site has not been investigated in cardiac myocytes. Here, we examine the effects of truncating the distal carboxyl terminus of the alpha1C subunit at amino acid residue 1905 or mutating the putative protein kinase A site at serine 1928 to alanine in adult guinea pig myocytes, using novel dihydropyridine-insensitive alpha1C adenoviruses, coexpressed with beta2 subunits. Expression of alpha1C truncated at 1905 dramatically attenuated the increase of peak ICaL induced by isoproterenol. However, the point mutation S1928A did not significantly attenuate the beta-adrenergic response. The findings indicate that the distal carboxyl-terminus of alpha1C plays an important role in beta-adrenergic upregulation of cardiac L-type Ca2+ channels, but that phosphorylation of serine 1928 is not required for this effect.