TNNI1, TNNI2 and TNNI3: Evolution, regulation, and protein structure-function relationships

Troponin C gene mutations on cardiac muscle cell and skeletal Regulation: A comprehensive review

BACKGROUND

The troponin complex plays a crucial role in regulating skeletal and cardiac contraction. Congenital myopathies can occur due to several mutations in genes that encode skeletal troponin. Moreover, there is limited information regarding the composition of skeletal troponin. This review specifically examines a comprehensive review of the TNNC gene mutations on cardiac and skeletal regulations.

MAIN BODY

Troponin C (TNNC) has been linked to a newly discovered inherited muscle disorder. Genetic variations in genes that encode skeletal troponin can impair the function of sarcomeres. Various treatment approaches have been employed to mitigate the impact of variations, including the use of troponin activators, the injection of wild-type protein via AAV gene therapy, and myosin modification to enhance muscle contraction. The processes responsible for the pathophysiological implications of the variations in genes that encode skeletal troponin are not fully understood.

CONCLUSION

This comprehensive review will contribute to the understanding of the relationship between human cardiomyopathy and TNNC mutations and will guide the development of therapy approaches.

The Genetic Factors Influencing Cardiomyopathies and Heart Failure across the Allele Frequency Spectrum

Heart failure (HF) remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Understanding the genetic basis of HF allows for the development of disease-modifying therapies, more appropriate risk stratification, and personalised management of patients. The advent of next-generation sequencing has enabled genome-wide association studies; moving beyond rare variants identified in a Mendelian fashion and detecting common DNA variants associated with disease. We summarise the latest GWAS and rare variant data on mixed and refined HF aetiologies, and cardiomyopathies. We describe the recent understanding of the functional impact of titin variants and highlight FHOD3 as a novel cardiomyopathy-associated gene. We describe future directions of research in this field and how genetic data can be leveraged to improve the care of patients with HF.

Skeletal muscle differentiation induces wide-ranging nucleosome repositioning in muscle gene promoters

In a previous report, we demonstrated that Cbx1, PurB and Sp3 inhibited cardiac muscle differentiation by increasing nucleosome density around cardiac muscle gene promoters. Since cardiac and skeletal muscle express many of the same proteins, we asked if Cbx1, PurB and Sp3 similarly regulated skeletal muscle differentiation. In a C2C12 model of skeletal muscle differentiation, Cbx1 and PurB knockdown increased myotube formation. In contrast, Sp3 knockdown inhibited myotube formation, suggesting that Sp3 played opposing roles in cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle differentiation. Consistent with this finding, Sp3 knockdown also inhibited various muscle-specific genes. The Cbx1, PurB and Sp3 proteins are believed to influence gene-expression in part by altering nucleosome position. Importantly, we developed a statistical approach to determine if changes in nucleosome positioning were significant and applied it to understanding the architecture of muscle-specific genes. Through this novel statistical approach, we found that during myogenic differentiation, skeletal muscle-specific genes undergo a set of unique nucleosome changes which differ significantly from those shown in commonly expressed muscle genes. While Sp3 binding was associated with nucleosome loss, there appeared no correlation with the aforementioned nucleosome changes. In summary, we have identified a novel role for Sp3 in skeletal muscle differentiation and through the application of quantifiable MNase-seq have discovered unique fingerprints of nucleosome changes for various classes of muscle genes during myogenic differentiation.

Dynamic transcriptome profiles of skeletal muscle growth and development in Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs using RNA-sequencing

BACKGROUND

We previously demonstrated that Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs differ in growth rate and meat quality. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for such phenotypic differences remain unclear. In the present study, we performed a transcriptomic analysis of 36 longissimus dorsi (LM) and 36 soleus (SM) muscle samples from Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs at six postnatal stages (30, 60, 90, 150, 210 and 300 days) to explore the differences in postnatal skeletal muscle of Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs.

RESULTS

Muscle morphological changes and the number of differentially expressed genes indicated the two stages of 60-90 days and 150-210 days were critical for the muscle growth and development in Shaziling pigs. Genes such as FLNC, COL1A1, NRAP, SMYD1, TNNI3, CRYAB and PDLIM3 played vital roles in the muscle growth, and genes such as CCDC71L, LPIN1, CPT1A, UCP3, NR4A3 and PDK4 played dominant roles in the lipid metabolism. Additionally, in contrast to the LM, the percentage of slow-twitch muscle fibers in the SM of both breeds consistently decreased from 30 to 150 days of age, but there was a significant rebound at 210 days of age. However, the percentage of slow-twitch muscle fibers in the SM of Shaziling pigs was higher than that in Yorkshire pigs, which may be associated with the calcium signaling pathway and the PPARβ/δ signaling pathway.

CONCLUSION

The present study detected two critical periods and many functional genes for the muscle growth and development of Shaziling pigs, and showed differences in muscle fiber characteristics between Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

The adult environment promotes the transcriptional maturation of human iPSC-derived muscle grafts

Pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-based cell therapy is an attractive option for the treatment of multiple human disorders, including muscular dystrophies. While in vitro differentiating PSCs can generate large numbers of human lineage-specific tissue, multiple studies evidenced that these cell populations mostly display embryonic/fetal features. We previously demonstrated that transplantation of PSC-derived myogenic progenitors provides long-term engraftment and functional improvement in several dystrophic mouse models, but it remained unknown whether donor-derived myofibers mature to match adult tissue. Here, we transplanted iPAX7 myogenic progenitors into muscles of non-dystrophic and dystrophic mice and compared the transcriptional landscape of human grafts with respective in vitro-differentiated iPAX7 myotubes as well as human skeletal muscle biospecimens. Pairing bulk RNA sequencing with computational deconvolution of human reads, we were able to pinpoint key myogenic changes that occur during the in vitro-to-in vivo transition, confirm developmental maturity, and consequently evaluate their applicability for cell-based therapies.

Pathogenic TNNI1 variants disrupt sarcomere contractility resulting in hypo- and hypercontractile muscle disease

Troponin I (TnI) regulates thin filament activation and muscle contraction. Two isoforms, TnI-fast (TNNI2) and TnI-slow (TNNI1), are predominantly expressed in fast- and slow-twitch myofibers, respectively. TNNI2 variants are a rare cause of arthrogryposis, whereas TNNI1 variants have not been conclusively established to cause skeletal myopathy. We identified recessive loss-of-function TNNI1 variants as well as dominant gain-of-function TNNI1 variants as a cause of muscle disease, each with distinct physiological consequences and disease mechanisms. We identified three families with biallelic TNNI1 variants (F1: p.R14H/c.190-9G>A, F2 and F3: homozygous p.R14C), resulting in loss of function, manifesting with early-onset progressive muscle weakness and rod formation on histology. We also identified two families with a dominantly acting heterozygous TNNI1 variant (F4: p.R174Q and F5: p.K176del), resulting in gain of function, manifesting with muscle cramping, myalgias, and rod formation in F5. In zebrafish, TnI proteins with either of the missense variants (p.R14H; p.R174Q) incorporated into thin filaments. Molecular dynamics simulations suggested that the loss-of-function p.R14H variant decouples TnI from TnC, which was supported by functional studies showing a reduced force response of sarcomeres to submaximal [Ca2+] in patient myofibers. This contractile deficit could be reversed by a slow skeletal muscle troponin activator. In contrast, patient myofibers with the gain-of-function p.R174Q variant showed an increased force to submaximal [Ca2+], which was reversed by the small-molecule drug mavacamten. Our findings demonstrated that TNNI1 variants can cause muscle disease with variant-specific pathomechanisms, manifesting as either a hypo- or a hypercontractile phenotype, suggesting rational therapeutic strategies for each mechanism.

Estrogen and testosterone supplementation improves tendon healing and functional recovery after rotator cuff repair

Failure of healing after rotator cuff repair (RCR) is common. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effect of systemic estrogen or testosterone supplementation on tendon healing after RCR. Seventy-two adult male mice were utilized for all experiments. The supraspinatus tendon was transected and repaired with 6-0 Prolene suture on the left shoulder of 51 animals. Mice were segregated into three groups postoperative: (1) vehicle group (VG; n = 18), (2) estrogen group (EST; n = 17), and (3) testosterone group (TST; n = 16). An unrepaired control group (unrepaired, n = 21) did not have surgery. Utilizing these animals, histological analysis, activity testing, biomechanical testing and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed. At 8 weeks post-RCR, TST, and EST supplementation improved the overall histologic structure of the repaired enthesis site. No differences in ultimate failure loads or stiffness were detected between VG, EST, and TST groups after biomechanical testing. RCR caused a reduction in wheel activity compared to unrepaired controls and supplementation with TST restored wheel activity. RNA-seq analysis indicated that estrogen and testosterone regulated different pathways associated with enthesis healing, including a suppression of inflammatory signaling. Supplementation with sex hormones improved the structure of the repaired tendon enthesis and significantly regulated expression of diverse pathways regulating multiple biological processes. Testosterone administration following RCR restored wheel activity without having a detrimental impact on biomechanical strength. Future human studies of sex hormone supplementation after RCR are warranted as supplementation in an animal model may improve tendon enthesis healing.

Gene correction and overexpression of TNNI3 improve impaired relaxation in engineered heart tissue model of pediatric restrictive cardiomyopathy

Research on cardiomyopathy models using engineered heart tissue (EHT) created from disease-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is advancing rapidly. However, the study of restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM), a rare and intractable cardiomyopathy, remains at the experimental stage because there is currently no established method to replicate the hallmark phenotype of RCM, particularly diastolic dysfunction, in vitro. In this study, we generated iPSCs from a patient with early childhood-onset RCM harboring the TNNI3 R170W mutation (R170W-iPSCs). The properties of R170W-iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) and EHTs were evaluated and compared with an isogenic iPSC line in which the mutation was corrected. Our results indicated altered calcium kinetics in R170W-iPSC-CMs, including prolonged tau, and an increased ratio of relaxation force to contractile force in R170W-EHTs. These properties were reversed in the isogenic line, suggesting that our model recapitulates impaired relaxation of RCM, i.e., diastolic dysfunction in clinical practice. Furthermore, overexpression of wild-type TNNI3 in R170W-iPSC-CMs and -EHTs effectively rescued impaired relaxation. These results highlight the potential efficacy of EHT, a modality that can accurately recapitulate diastolic dysfunction in vitro, to elucidate the pathophysiology of RCM, as well as the possible benefits of gene therapies for patients with RCM.

Cardiac maturation

The heart undergoes a dynamic maturation process following birth, in response to a wide range of stimuli, including both physiological and pathological cues. This process entails substantial re-programming of mitochondrial energy metabolism coincident with the emergence of specialized structural and contractile machinery to meet the demands of the adult heart. Many components of this program revert to a more "fetal" format during development of pathological cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. In this review, emphasis is placed on recent progress in our understanding of the transcriptional control of cardiac maturation, encompassing the results of studies spanning from in vivo models to cardiomyocytes derived from human stem cells. The potential applications of this current state of knowledge to new translational avenues aimed at the treatment of heart failure is also addressed.

Distinct and shared endothermic strategies in the heat producing tissues of tuna and other teleosts

Although most fishes are ectothermic, some, including tuna and billfish, achieve endothermy through specialized heat producing tissues that are modified muscles. How these heat producing tissues evolved, and whether they share convergent molecular mechanisms, remain unresolved. Here, we generated a high-quality genome from the mackerel tuna (Euthynnus affinis) and investigated the heat producing tissues of this fish by single-nucleus and bulk RNA sequencing. Compared with other teleosts, tuna-specific genetic variation is strongly associated with muscle differentiation. Single-nucleus RNA-seq revealed a high proportion of specific slow skeletal muscle cell subtypes in the heat producing tissues of tuna. Marker genes of this cell subtype are associated with the relative sliding of actin and myosin, suggesting that tuna endothermy is mainly based on shivering thermogenesis. In contrast, cross-species transcriptome analysis indicated that endothermy in billfish relies mainly on non-shivering thermogenesis. Nevertheless, the heat producing tissues of the different species do share some tissue-specific genes, including vascular-related and mitochondrial genes. Overall, although tunas and billfishes differ in their thermogenic strategies, they share similar expression patterns in some respects, highlighting the complexity of convergent evolution.

Zebrafish as a model for cardiac disease; Cryo-EM structure of native cardiac thin filaments from Danio Rerio

Actin, tropomyosin and troponin, the proteins that comprise the contractile apparatus of the cardiac thin filament, are highly conserved across species. We have used cryo-EM to study the three-dimensional structure of the zebrafish cardiac thin and actin filaments. With 70% of human genes having an obvious zebrafish orthologue, and conservation of 85% of disease-causing genes, zebrafish are a good animal model for the study of human disease. Our structure of the zebrafish thin filament reveals the molecular interactions between the constituent proteins, showing that the fundamental organisation of the complex is the same as that reported in the human reconstituted thin filament. A reconstruction of zebrafish cardiac F-actin demonstrates no deviations from human cardiac actin over an extended length of 14 actin subunits. Modelling zebrafish homology models into our maps enabled us to compare, in detail, the similarity with human models. The structural similarities of troponin-T in particular, a region known to contain a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy 'hotspot', confirm the suitability of zebrafish to study these disease-causing mutations.

Troponin-I-induced tropomyosin pivoting defines thin-filament function in relaxed and active muscle

Regulation of the crossbridge cycle that drives muscle contraction involves a reconfiguration of the troponin-tropomyosin complex on actin filaments. By comparing atomic models of troponin-tropomyosin fitted to cryo-EM structures of inhibited and Ca2+-activated thin filaments, we find that tropomyosin pivots rather than rolls or slides across actin as generally thought. We propose that pivoting can account for the Ca2+ activation that initiates muscle contraction and then relaxation influenced by troponin-I (TnI). Tropomyosin is well-known to occupy either of three meta-stable configurations on actin, regulating access of myosin motorheads to their actin-binding sites and thus the crossbridge cycle. At low Ca2+ concentrations, tropomyosin is trapped by TnI in an inhibitory B-state that sterically blocks myosin binding to actin, leading to muscle relaxation. Ca2+ binding to TnC draws TnI away from tropomyosin, while tropomyosin moves to a C-state location over actin. This partially relieves the steric inhibition and allows weak binding of myosin heads to actin, which then transition to strong actin-bound configurations, fully activating the thin filament. Nevertheless, the reconfiguration that accompanies the initial Ca2+-sensitive B-state/C-state shift in troponin-tropomyosin on actin remains uncertain and at best is described by moderate-resolution cryo-EM reconstructions. Our recent computational studies indicate that intermolecular residue-to-residue salt-bridge linkage between actin and tropomyosin is indistinguishable in B- and C-state thin filament configurations. We show here that tropomyosin can pivot about relatively fixed points on actin to accompany B-state/C-state structural transitions. We argue that at low Ca2+ concentrations C-terminal TnI domains attract tropomyosin, causing it to bend and then pivot toward the TnI, thus blocking myosin binding and contraction.

CYP2J deficiency leads to cardiac injury and presents dual regulatory effects on cardiac function in rats

Cytochrome P450 2 J2 (CYP2J2) enzyme is widely expressed in aortic endothelial cells and cardiac myocytes and affects cardiac function, but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Based on CYP2J knockout (KO) rats, we have directly studied the metabolic regulation of CYP2J on cardiac function during aging. The results showed that CYP2J deficiency significantly reduced the content of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) in plasma, aggravated myocarditis, myocardial hypertrophy, as well as fibrosis, and inhibited the mitochondrial energy metabolism signal network Pgc-1α/Ampk/Sirt1. With the increase of age, the levels of 11,12-EET and 14,15-EET in plasma of KO rats decreased significantly, and the heart injury was more serious. Interestingly, we found that after CYP2J deletion, the heart initiated a self-protection mechanism by upregulating cardiac mechanism factors Myh7, Dsp, Tnni3, Tnni2, and Scn5a, as well as mitochondrial fusion factors Mfn2 and Opa1. However, this protective effect disappeared with aging. In conclusion, CYP2J deficiency not only reduces the amount of EETs, but also plays a dual regulatory role in cardiac function.

Discovery and Characteristics of a Novel Antitumor Cyclopeptide Derived from Shark

Peptides pose a challenge in drug development due to their short half-lives in vivo. In this study, we conducted in vitro degradation experiments on SAIF, which is a shark-derived peptide that we previously studied. The degradation fragments were sequenced and a truncated peptide sequence was identified. The truncated peptide was then cloned and expressed via the E. coli system with traceless cloning to form a novel cyclic peptide in vitro oxidation condition via the formation of a disulfide bond between the N- and C-termini, which was named ctSAIF. ctSAIF exhibited high anti-HCC activity and enhanced enzymatic stability in vitro, and retained antitumor activity and good biocompatibility in systemic circulation in a HCC xenograft model. Our study discovered and characterized a novel shark-derived cyclic peptide with antitumor activity, laying a foundation for its further development as an antitumor drug candidate. The study also provided a new solution for peptide drug development.

N-terminal truncated cardiac troponin I enhances Frank-Starling response by increasing myofilament sensitivity to resting tension

Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) of higher vertebrates has evolved with an N-terminal extension, of which deletion via restrictive proteolysis occurs as a compensatory adaptation in chronic heart failure to increase ventricular relaxation and stroke volume. Here, we demonstrate in a transgenic mouse model expressing solely N-terminal truncated cTnI (cTnI-ND) in the heart with deletion of the endogenous cTnI gene. Functional studies using ex vivo working hearts showed an extended Frank-Starling response to preload with reduced left ventricular end diastolic pressure. The enhanced Frank-Starling response effectively increases systolic ventricular pressure development and stroke volume. A novel finding is that cTnI-ND increases left ventricular relaxation velocity and stroke volume without increasing the end diastolic volume. Consistently, the optimal resting sarcomere length (SL) for maximum force development in cTnI-ND cardiac muscle was not different from wild-type (WT) control. Despite the removal of the protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation sites in cTnI, β-adrenergic stimulation remains effective on augmenting the enhanced Frank-Starling response of cTnI-ND hearts. Force-pCa relationship studies using skinned preparations found that while cTnI-ND cardiac muscle shows a resting SL-resting tension relationship similar to WT control, cTnI-ND significantly increases myofibril Ca2+ sensitivity to resting tension. The results demonstrate that restrictive N-terminal deletion of cTnI enhances Frank-Starling response by increasing myofilament sensitivity to resting tension rather than directly depending on SL. This novel function of cTnI regulation suggests a myofilament approach to utilizing Frank-Starling mechanism for the treatment of heart failure, especially diastolic failure where ventricular filling is limited.

Identification of a novel TNNI3 synonymous variant causing intron retention in autosomal recessive dilated cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND

Dilated cardiomyopathy type 2A (DCM2A, MIM: #611880) is a rare autosomal recessive heart disease leading to heart failure and sudden cardiac death. However, the causative role of TNNI3 in DCM2A is still questioned due to few cases reported and the conflicting molecular biological evidence.

METHODS

Trio whole-exome sequencing (trio-WES) was performed in a Chinese family with dilated cardiomyopathy. Sanger sequencing and real-time quantitative PCR were used to confirm the variants identified. Expression outcome caused by the synonymous mutation was validated by minigene splicing analyses.

RESULTS

The one-year-old girl presented severe left ventricular enlargement and significantly reduced left ventricular systolic function and she died of respiratory and heart failure soon after her diagnosis. Trio-WES revealed a compound heterozygous variants of TNNI3, a novel c.24G＞A (p.Ala8Ala) (NM_000363.4) in exon 2 and a deletion of entire gene. Minigene splicing analyses showed it led to an intron retention (c.24 + 1_24 + 45ins) by intron 2 cryptic splicing.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study describes and characterizes a synonymous mutation in TNNI3 gene, supporting the clinical diagnosis of an autosomal recessive DCM. Our study emphasizes the importance of functional analysis to assess the potential pathogenicity of synonymous mutations, especially when the synonymous variants are not annotated as benign.

Proliferation and Maturation: Janus and the Art of Cardiac Tissue Engineering

During cardiac development and morphogenesis, cardiac progenitor cells differentiate into cardiomyocytes that expand in number and size to generate the fully formed heart. Much is known about the factors that regulate initial differentiation of cardiomyocytes, and there is ongoing research to identify how these fetal and immature cardiomyocytes develop into fully functioning, mature cells. Accumulating evidence indicates that maturation limits proliferation and conversely proliferation occurs rarely in cardiomyocytes of the adult myocardium. We term this oppositional interplay the proliferation-maturation dichotomy. Here we review the factors that are involved in this interplay and discuss how a better understanding of the proliferation-maturation dichotomy could advance the utility of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for modeling in 3-dimensional engineered cardiac tissues to obtain truly adult-level function.

A molecular signature defining exercise adaptation with ageing and in vivo partial reprogramming in skeletal muscle

Exercise promotes functional improvements in aged tissues, but the extent to which it simulates partial molecular reprogramming is unknown. Using transcriptome profiling from (1) a skeletal muscle-specific in vivo Oct3/4, Klf4, Sox2 and Myc (OKSM) reprogramming-factor expression murine model; (2) an in vivo inducible muscle-specific Myc induction murine model; (3) a translatable high-volume hypertrophic exercise training approach in aged mice; and (4) human exercise muscle biopsies, we collectively defined exercise-induced genes that are common to partial reprogramming. Late-life exercise training lowered murine DNA methylation age according to several contemporary muscle-specific clocks. A comparison of the murine soleus transcriptome after late-life exercise training to the soleus transcriptome after OKSM induction revealed an overlapping signature that included higher JunB and Sun1. Also, within this signature, downregulation of specific mitochondrial and muscle-enriched genes was conserved in skeletal muscle of long-term exercise-trained humans; among these was muscle-specific Abra/Stars. Myc is the OKSM factor most induced by exercise in muscle and was elevated following exercise training in aged mice. A pulse of MYC rewired the global soleus muscle methylome, and the transcriptome after a MYC pulse partially recapitulated OKSM induction. A common signature also emerged in the murine MYC-controlled and exercise adaptation transcriptomes, including lower muscle-specific Melusin and reactive oxygen species-associated Romo1. With Myc, OKSM and exercise training in mice, as well habitual exercise in humans, the complex I accessory subunit Ndufb11 was lower; low Ndufb11 is linked to longevity in rodents. Collectively, exercise shares similarities with genetic in vivo partial reprogramming. KEY POINTS: Advances in the last decade related to cellular epigenetic reprogramming (e.g. DNA methylome remodelling) toward a pluripotent state via the Yamanaka transcription factors Oct3/4, Klf4, Sox2 and Myc (OKSM) provide a window into potential mechanisms for combatting the deleterious effects of cellular ageing. Using global gene expression analysis, we compared the effects of in vivo OKSM-mediated partial reprogramming in skeletal muscle fibres of mice to the effects of late-life murine exercise training in muscle. Myc is the Yamanaka factor most induced by exercise in skeletal muscle, and so we compared the MYC-controlled transcriptome in muscle to Yamanaka factor-mediated and exercise adaptation mRNA landscapes in mice and humans. A single pulse of MYC is sufficient to remodel the muscle methylome. We identify partial reprogramming-associated genes that are innately altered by exercise training and conserved in humans, and propose that MYC contributes to some of these responses.

A Revised Perspective on the Evolution of Troponin I and Troponin T Gene Families in Vertebrates

The troponin (Tn) complex, responsible for the Ca2+ activation of striated muscle, is composed of three interacting protein subunits: TnC, TnI, and TnT, encoded by TNNC, TNNI, and TNNT genes. TNNI and TNNT are sister gene families, and in mammals the three TNNI paralogs (TNNI1, TNNI2, TNNI3), which encode proteins with tissue-specific expression, are each in close genomic proximity with one of the three TNNT paralogs (TNNT2, TNNT3, TNNT1, respectively). It has been widely presumed that all vertebrates broadly possess genes of these same three classes, although earlier work has overlooked jawless fishes (cyclostomes) and cartilaginous fishes (chimeras, rays, and sharks), which are distantly related to other jawed vertebrates. With a new phylogenetic and synteny analysis of a diverse array of vertebrates including these taxonomic groups, we define five distinct TNNI classes (TNNI1-5), with TNNI4 and TNNI5 being only present in non-amniote vertebrates and typically found in tandem, and four classes of TNNT (TNNT1-4). These genes are located in four genomic loci that were generated by the 2R whole-genome duplications. TNNI3, encoding "cardiac TnI" in tetrapods, was independently lost in cartilaginous and ray-finned fishes. Instead, ray-finned fishes predominantly express TNNI1 in the heart. TNNI5 is highly expressed in shark hearts and contains a N-terminal extension similar to that of TNNI3 found in tetrapod hearts. Given that TNNI3 and TNNI5 are distantly related, this supports the hypothesis that the N-terminal extension may be an ancestral feature of vertebrate TNNI and not an innovation unique to TNNI3, as has been commonly believed.

A review of cardiac troponin I detection by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy: Under the spotlight of point-of-care testing

Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a biomarker widely related to acute myocardial infarction (AMI), one of the leading causes of death around the world. Point-of-care testing (POCT) of cTnI not only demands a short turnaround time for its detection but the highest accuracy levels to set expeditious and adequate clinical decisions. The analytical technique Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) possesses several properties that tailor to the POCT format, such as its flexibility to couple with rapid assay platforms like microfluidics and paper-based immunoassays. Here, we analyze the strategies used for the detection of cTnI by SERS considering POCT requirements. From the detection ranges reported in the reviewed literature, we suggest the diseases other than AMI that could be diagnosed with this technique. For this, a section with information about cardiac and non-cardiac diseases with cTnI release, including their release kinetics or cut-off values are presented. Likewise, POCT features, the use of SERS as a POCT technique, and the biochemistry of cTnI are discussed. The information provided in this review allowed the identification of strengths and lacks of the available SERS-based point-of-care tests for cTnI and the disclosing of requirements for future assays design.

The functional verification and analysis of Fugu promoter of cardiac gene tnni1a in zebrafish

Troponin I type 1b (Tnni1b) is thought to be a novel isoform that is expressed only in the zebrafish heart. Knocking down of tnni1b can lead to cardiac defects in zebrafish. Although both the zebrafish tnni1b and human troponin I1 (TNNI1) genes are thought to be closely associated with fatal cardiac development, the regulatory molecular mechanisms of these genes are poorly understood. Analyzing the functionally conserved sequence, especially in the noncoding regulatory region involved in gene expression, clarified these mechanisms. In this study, we isolated a 3 kb fragment upstream of Fugu tnni1a that can regulate green fluorescence protein (GFP) expression in a heart-specific manner, similar to the pattern of zebrafish homologue expression. Three evolutionarily conserved regions (ECRs) in the 5'-flanking sequence of Fugu tnni1a were identified by sequence alignment. Deletion analysis led to the identification of ECR2 as a core sequence that affects the heart-specific expression function of the Fugu tnni1a promoter. Interestingly, both the Fugu tnni1a promoter and ECR2 sequence were functionally conserved in zebrafish, although they shared no sequence similarity. Together, the findings of our study provided further evidence for the important role of tnni1a homologous in cardiac development and demonstrated that two functionally conserved sequences in the zebrafish and Fugu genomes may be ECRs, despite their lack of similarity.

Morphological and Molecular Responses of Lateolabrax maculatus Skeletal Muscle Cells to Different Temperatures

Temperature strongly modulates muscle development and growth in ectothermic teleosts; however, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, primary cultures of skeletal muscle cells of Lateolabrax maculatus were conducted and reared at different temperatures (21, 25, and 28 °C) in both the proliferation and differentiation stages. CCK-8, EdU, wound scratch and nuclear fusion index assays revealed that the proliferation, myogenic differentiation, and migration processes of skeletal muscle cells were significantly accelerated as the temperature raises. Based on the GO, GSEA, and WGCNA, higher temperature (28 °C) induced genes involved in HSF1 activation, DNA replication, and ECM organization processes at the proliferation stage, as well as HSF1 activation, calcium activity regulation, myogenic differentiation, and myoblast fusion, and sarcomere assembly processes at the differentiation stage. In contrast, lower temperature (21 °C) increased the expression levels of genes associated with DNA damage, DNA repair and apoptosis processes at the proliferation stage, and cytokine signaling and neutrophil degranulation processes at the differentiation stage. Additionally, we screened several hub genes regulating myogenesis processes. Our results could facilitate the understanding of the regulatory mechanism of temperature on fish skeletal muscle growth and further contribute to utilizing rational management strategies and promoting organism growth and development.

Changes of Serum D-Dimer, NT-proBNP, and Troponin I Levels in Patients with Acute Aortic Dissection and the Clinical Significance

Objective

To investigate the changes in blood D-dimer (D-D), high-sensitivity troponin I (hs-cTnI), and N-terminal B-type brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels in patients with acute aortic dissection (AAD) and its clinical significance.

Methods

Forty patients with AAD diagnosed in our hospital from January 2018 to December 2019 were selected as the observation group, and 40 patients with chest pain and non-AAD treated in our hospital during the same period were included in the control group. The patients were subdivided into a death group and a survival group as per the prognosis. The clinical symptoms and signs of the two groups of patients upon admission were observed, and the levels of D-D, hs-cTnI, and NT-proBNP were determined. The differences in clinical data, plasma D-D, hs-cTnI, and NT-proBNP levels between the two groups of patients were analyzed.

Results

The clinical data and physical signs were homogeneous between the two groups (P > 0.05), while a significant elevation in the level of hs-cTnI in the control group was observed 24 h after admission (P < 0.05). The observation group showed significantly higher levels of D-D, NT-proBNP, and hs-cTnI than the control group (P < 0.05). The prevalence and surgical cure rate of Stanford A in the survival group were significantly lower in contrast with the death group, with an obvious higher intervention cure rate in the survival group. Higher D-dimer and NT-proBNP levels were identified at 24 h after admission versus upon admission, and the death group had a greater increase of D-dimer and NT-proBNP levels.

Conclusion

Clinical symptoms and signs are insufficient to constitute a diagnosis of AAD, whereas the elevated expression levels of D-D, hs-cTnI, and NT-proBNP demonstrated great potential for the diagnosis and prognosis of AAD.

A complete reference genome improves analysis of human genetic variation

Compared to its predecessors, the Telomere-to-Telomere CHM13 genome adds nearly 200 million base pairs of sequence, corrects thousands of structural errors, and unlocks the most complex regions of the human genome for clinical and functional study. We show how this reference universally improves read mapping and variant calling for 3202 and 17 globally diverse samples sequenced with short and long reads, respectively. We identify hundreds of thousands of variants per sample in previously unresolved regions, showcasing the promise of the T2T-CHM13 reference for evolutionary and biomedical discovery. Simultaneously, this reference eliminates tens of thousands of spurious variants per sample, including reduction of false positives in 269 medically relevant genes by up to a factor of 12. Because of these improvements in variant discovery coupled with population and functional genomic resources, T2T-CHM13 is positioned to replace GRCh38 as the prevailing reference for human genetics.

Evolution of the N-Terminal Regulation of Cardiac Troponin I for Heart Function of Tetrapods: Lungfish Presents an Example of the Emergence of Novel Submolecular Structure to Lead the Capacity of Adaptation

Troponin-based Ca2+ regulation of striated muscle contraction emerged approximately 700 million years ago with largely conserved functions during evolution. Troponin I (TnI) is the inhibitory subunit of troponin and has evolved into three muscle type-specific isoforms in vertebrates. Cardiac TnI is specifically expressed in the adult heart and has a unique N-terminal extension implicating a specific value during natural selection. The N-terminal extension of cardiac TnI in higher vertebrates contains β-adrenergic-regulated protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation sites as a mechanism to enhance cardiac muscle relaxation and facilitate ventricular filling. Phylogenic studies showed that the N-terminal extension of cardiac TnI first emerged in the genomes of early tetrapods as well as primordial lobe-finned fishes such as the coelacanth whereas it is absent in ray-finned fish. This apparently rapid evolution of β-adrenergic regulation of cardiac function suggests a high selection value for the heart of vertebrate animals on land to work under higher metabolic demands. Sequencing and PKA phosphorylation data showed that lungfish cardiac TnI has evolved with an amphibian-like N-terminal extension with prototype PKA phosphorylation sites while its overall structure remained fish like. The data demonstrate that the submolecular structure of TnI may evolve ahead of the whole protein for cardiac muscle contractility to adapt to new environmental conditions. Understanding the evolution of the β-adrenergic regulation of TnI and cardiac adaptation to the increased energetic demands of life on land adds knowledge for the treatment of human heart diseases and failure.

TNNI1 Mutated in Autosomal Dominant Proximal Arthrogryposis

Objectives

The main objective of this case report is to identify a gene associated with a Japanese family with autosomal dominant arthrogryposis.

Methods

We performed clinicopathologic diagnosis and genomic analysis using trio-based exome sequencing.

Results

A 14-year-old boy had contractures in the proximal joints, and the serum creatine kinase level was elevated. Muscle biopsy demonstrated a moth-eaten appearance in some type 1 fibers, and electron microscopic analysis revealed that type 1 fibers had Z disk streaming. We identified a heterozygous nonsense variant, c.523A>T (p.K175*), in TNNI1 in the family.

Discussion

The altered amino acid residue is within the tropomyosin-binding site near the C-terminus, in a region homologous to the variational hotspot of Troponin I2 (TNNI2), which is associated with distal arthrogryposis type 1 and 2b. Compared with patients with TNNI2 variants, our patient had a milder phenotype and proximal arthrogryposis. We report here a case of proximal arthrogryposis associated with a TNNI1 nonsense variant, which expands the genetic and clinical spectrum of this disease. Further functional and genetic studies are required to clarify the role of TNNI1 in the disease.

SYT8 promotes pancreatic cancer progression via the TNNI2/ERRα/SIRT1 signaling pathway

Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal malignancy due to failures of early detection and high metastasis in patients. While certain genetic mutations in tumors are associated with severity, the molecular mechanisms responsible for cancer progression are still poorly understood. Synaptotagmin-8 (SYT8) is a membrane protein that regulates hormone secretion and neurotransmission, and its expression is positively regulated by the promoter of the insulin gene in pancreatic islet cells. In this study, we identified a previously unknown role of SYT8 in altering tumor characteristics in pancreatic cancer. SYT8 levels were upregulated in patient tumors and contributed towards increased cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Increased SYT8 expression also promoted tumor metastasis in an in vivo tumor metastasis model. Furthermore, we showed that SYT8-mediated increase in tumorigenicity was regulated by SIRT1, a protein deacetylase previously known to alter cell metabolism in pancreatic lesions. SIRT1 expression was altered by orphan nuclear receptor ERRα and troponin-1 (TNNI2), resulting in cell proliferation and migration in an SYT8-dependent manner. Together, we identified SYT8 to be a central regulator of tumor progression involving signaling via the SIRT1, ERRα, and TNNI2 axis. This knowledge may provide the basis for the development of therapeutic strategies to restrict tumor metastasis in pancreatic cancer.

Transcriptomic analysis for pork color – the ham halo effect in biceps femoris

Pork color is a major indicator of product quality that guides consumerpurchasing decisions. Recently, industry has received an increase in consumercomplaints about the lightness and non-uniformity of ham color, primarilylighter color in the periphery termed “ham halo” that is not caused bymanufacturing procedures. This effect is seen in fresh and processed hams andthe outer, lighter muscle is associated with lower myoglobin concentration, pHand type I fibers. The objective of this study was to identify differences ingene expression profiles between light and normal colored portions of biceps femoris muscle from pork hams.RNA-sequencing was performed for paired light and normal colored muscle samplesfrom 10 animals showing the ham halo effect. Over 50 million paired-end reads(2x75bp) per library were obtained. An average of 99.74% of trimmed high-qualityreads were mapped to the Sscrofa 11.1 genome assembly. Differentially expressedgenes (DEGs) were identified using both the DESeq2 and GFOLD software packages.A total of 14,049 genes were expressed in bicepsfemoris; 13,907 were expressed in both light and normal muscle, while 56and 86 genes were only expressed in light and normal muscle, respectively. Analysiswith DESeq2 identified 392 DEGs with 359 genes being more highly expressed innormal colored muscle. A total of 61 DEGs were identified in the DESeq2analysis and also were identified in at least 7 of the 10 individual animalanalyses. All 61 of these DEGs were up-regulated in normal colored muscle. Geneontology (GO) enrichment analysis of DEGs identified the transition betweenfast and slow fibers, and skeletal muscle adaptation and contraction as themost significant biological process terms. The evaluation of gene expression byRNA-Seq identified DEGs between regions of the biceps femoris with the ham halo effect that are associated with thevariation in pork color.

Identification of Chimeric RNAs in Pig Skeletal Muscle and Transcriptomic Analysis of Chimeric RNA TNNI2-ACTA1 V1

Chimeric RNA was considered a special marker of cancer. However, recent studies have demonstrated that chimeric RNAs also exist in non-cancerous cells and tissues. Here, we analyzed and predicted jointly 49 chimeric RNAs by Star-Fusion and FusionMap. One chimeric RNA, we named TNNI2-ACTA1, and its eight transcript variants were identified by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction. The overexpression of TNNI2-ACTA1 V1 inhibited the proliferation of porcine skeletal muscle satellite cells through down-regulating the mRNA expression levels of cell cycle–related genes cyclinD1. However, as parental genes, there is no such effect in the TNNI2 and ACTA1. To explore the underlying mechanism for this phenomenon, we used RNA-seq to profile the transcriptomes of PSCs with overexpression. Compared with the negative control group, 1,592 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were upregulated and 1,077 DEGs downregulated in TNNI2 group; 1,226 DEGs were upregulated and 902 DEGs downregulated in ACTA1 group; and 13 DEGs were upregulated and 16 DEGs downregulated in TNNI2-ACTA1 V1 group, respectively. Compared with the parental gene groups, three specific genes were enriched in the TNNI2-ACTA1 V1 group (NCOA3, Radixin, and DDR2). These three genes may be the key to TNNI2-ACTA1 V1 regulating cell proliferation. Taken together, our study explores the role of chimeric RNAs in normal tissues. In addition, our study as the first research provides the foundation for the mechanism of chimeric RNAs regulating porcine skeletal muscle growth.

Genome-wide association study of cardiac troponin I in the general population

Circulating cardiac troponin proteins are associated with structural heart disease and predict incident cardiovascular disease in the general population. However, the genetic contribution to cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations and its causal effect on cardiovascular phenotypes are unclear. We combine data from two large population-based studies, the Trøndelag Health Study and the Generation Scotland Scottish Family Health Study, and perform a genome-wide association study of high-sensitivity cTnI concentrations with 48 115 individuals. We further use two-sample Mendelian randomization to investigate the causal effects of circulating cTnI on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure (HF). We identified 12 genetic loci (8 novel) associated with cTnI concentrations. Associated protein-altering variants highlighted putative functional genes: CAND2, HABP2, ANO5, APOH, FHOD3, TNFAIP2, KLKB1 and LMAN1. Phenome-wide association tests in 1688 phecodes and 83 continuous traits in UK Biobank showed associations between a genetic risk score for cTnI and cardiac arrhythmias, metabolic and anthropometric measures. Using two-sample Mendelian randomization, we confirmed the non-causal role of cTnI in AMI (5948 cases, 355 246 controls). We found indications for a causal role of cTnI in HF (47 309 cases and 930 014 controls), but this was not supported by secondary analyses using left ventricular mass as outcome (18 257 individuals). Our findings clarify the biology underlying the heritable contribution to circulating cTnI and support cTnI as a non-causal biomarker for AMI in the general population. Using genetically informed methods for causal inference helps inform the role and value of measuring cTnI in the general population.

Hybrid Sequencing in Different Types of Goat Skeletal Muscles Reveals Genes Regulating Muscle Development and Meat Quality

Domestic goats are commonly reared for meat and milk production in several regions of the world. However, the genetic mechanism underlying muscle development and meat quality of goats is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify known and novel genes regulating muscle development and meat quality of goats using second- and third-generation sequencing technologies. To achieve this, the meat quality and transcriptomes of longissimus dorsi (LD) and biceps femoris (BF) muscle tissues of Lingqiu Greyback goats were examined and compared. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and isoforms (DEIs) were functionally annotated. Results showed that 45,574 full-length transcripts covering 18,491 loci were characterized, and 12,566 genes were co-expressed in all samples. Differential expression analysis identified 231 DEGs, including 45 novel genes in the LD and BF muscles of the goats. Additionally, 1173 DEIs were found, in which 642 novel isoforms were identified in this study. Functional annotation and pathway analysis of the DEGs and DEIs revealed that some of them were associated with muscle growth and lipid metabolism. Overall, the findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the transcriptomic diversity underlying meat quality and muscle development of goat.

Troponin Variants as Markers of Skeletal Muscle Health and Diseases

Ca2 +-regulated contractility is a key determinant of the quality of muscles. The sarcomeric myofilament proteins are essential players in the contraction of striated muscles. The troponin complex in the actin thin filaments plays a central role in the Ca2+-regulation of muscle contraction and relaxation. Among the three subunits of troponin, the Ca2+-binding subunit troponin C (TnC) is a member of the calmodulin super family whereas troponin I (TnI, the inhibitory subunit) and troponin T (TnT, the tropomyosin-binding and thin filament anchoring subunit) are striated muscle-specific regulatory proteins. Muscle type-specific isoforms of troponin subunits are expressed in fast and slow twitch fibers and are regulated during development and aging, and in adaptation to exercise or disuse. TnT also evolved with various alternative splice forms as an added capacity of muscle functional diversity. Mutations of troponin subunits cause myopathies. Owing to their physiological and pathological importance, troponin variants can be used as specific markers to define muscle quality. In this focused review, we will explore the use of troponin variants as markers for the fiber contents, developmental and differentiation states, contractile functions, and physiological or pathophysiological adaptations of skeletal muscle. As protein structure defines function, profile of troponin variants illustrates how changes at the myofilament level confer functional qualities at the fiber level. Moreover, understanding of the role of troponin modifications and mutants in determining muscle contractility in age-related decline of muscle function and in myopathies informs an approach to improve human health.

Mediator complex proximal Tail subunit MED30 is critical for Mediator core stability and cardiomyocyte transcriptional network

Dysregulation of cardiac transcription programs has been identified in patients and families with heart failure, as well as those with morphological and functional forms of congenital heart defects. Mediator is a multi-subunit complex that plays a central role in transcription initiation by integrating regulatory signals from gene-specific transcriptional activators to RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Recently, Mediator subunit 30 (MED30), a metazoan specific Mediator subunit, has been associated with Langer-Giedion syndrome (LGS) Type II and Cornelia de Lange syndrome-4 (CDLS4), characterized by several abnormalities including congenital heart defects. A point mutation in MED30 has been identified in mouse and is associated with mitochondrial cardiomyopathy. Very recent structural analyses of Mediator revealed that MED30 localizes to the proximal Tail, anchoring Head and Tail modules, thus potentially influencing stability of the Mediator core. However, in vivo cellular and physiological roles of MED30 in maintaining Mediator core integrity remain to be tested. Here, we report that deletion of MED30 in embryonic or adult cardiomyocytes caused rapid development of cardiac defects and lethality. Importantly, cardiomyocyte specific ablation of MED30 destabilized Mediator core subunits, while the kinase module was preserved, demonstrating an essential role of MED30 in stability of the overall Mediator complex. RNAseq analyses of constitutive cardiomyocyte specific Med30 knockout (cKO) embryonic hearts and inducible cardiomyocyte specific Med30 knockout (icKO) adult cardiomyocytes further revealed critical transcription networks in cardiomyocytes controlled by Mediator. Taken together, our results demonstrated that MED30 is essential for Mediator stability and transcriptional networks in both developing and adult cardiomyocytes. Our results affirm the key role of proximal Tail modular subunits in maintaining core Mediator stability in vivo.

Spatiotemporal Regulation and Functional Analysis of Circular RNAs in Skeletal Muscle and Subcutaneous Fat during Pig Growth

Recently, thousands of circular RNAs have been reported in different pig breeds. However, researches on the temporal and spatial expression patterns of circRNA over the period of animal growth are limited. Here, we systematically analyzed circRNAs in skeletal muscle and subcutaneous fat in four growth time points (30 days, 90 days, 150 days and 210 days after birth) of a Chinese native pig breed, Ningxiang pigs. A total of 1171 differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs between muscle and fat were identified, including 562 upregulated and 609 downregulated circRNAs. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of these DE circRNAs revealed that host genes were mainly involved in glycogen metabolism signaling pathways, muscle development signaling pathways such as ErbB pathway and adipocytokine signaling pathways and AMPK signaling pathways and fatty acid biosynthesis. The circRNAs have striking spatiotemporal specificity in the form of dynamic expression at 90 d. Short Time-Series Expression Miner analysis showed multiple model spectra that are significantly enriched with time changes in muscle and fat. Our findings provide new ideas and perspectives about the role of circular RNAs and their targeting relations with mRNA and miRNA in skeletal muscle and fat tissue during pig growth.

Troponin Variants in Congenital Myopathies: How They Affect Skeletal Muscle Mechanics

The troponin complex is a key regulator of muscle contraction. Multiple variants in skeletal troponin encoding genes result in congenital myopathies. TNNC2 has been implicated in a novel congenital myopathy, TNNI2 and TNNT3 in distal arthrogryposis (DA), and TNNT1 and TNNT3 in nemaline myopathy (NEM). Variants in skeletal troponin encoding genes compromise sarcomere function, e.g., by altering the Ca²⁺ sensitivity of force or by inducing atrophy. Several potential therapeutic strategies are available to counter the effects of variants, such as troponin activators, introduction of wild-type protein through AAV gene therapy, and myosin modulation to improve muscle contraction. The mechanisms underlying the pathophysiological effects of the variants in skeletal troponin encoding genes are incompletely understood. Furthermore, limited knowledge is available on the structure of skeletal troponin. This review focusses on the physiology of slow and fast skeletal troponin and the pathophysiology of reported variants in skeletal troponin encoding genes. A better understanding of the pathophysiological effects of these variants, together with enhanced knowledge regarding the structure of slow and fast skeletal troponin, will direct the development of treatment strategies.

Mandibular muscle troponin of the Florida carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus: extending our insights into invertebrate Ca2+ regulation

Ants use their mandibles for a variety of functions and behaviors. We investigated mandibular muscle structure and function from major workers of the Florida carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus: force-pCa relation and velocity of unloaded shortening of single, permeabilized fibres, primary sequences of troponin subunits (TnC, TnI and TnT) from a mandibular muscle cDNA library, and muscle fibre ultrastructure. From the mechanical measurements, we found Ca²⁺-sensitivity of isometric force was markedly shifted rightward compared with vertebrate striated muscle. From the troponin sequence results, we identified features that could explain the rightward shift of Ca²⁺-activation: the N-helix of TnC is effectively absent and three of the four EF-hands of TnC (sites I, II and III) do not adhere to canonical sequence rules for divalent cation binding; two alternatively spliced isoforms of TnI were identified with the alternatively spliced exon occurring in the region of the IT-arm α-helical coiled-coil, and the N-terminal extension of TnI may be involved in modulation of regulation, as in mammalian cardiac muscle; and TnT has a Glu-rich C-terminus. In addition, a structural homology model was built of C. floridanus troponin on the thin filament. From analysis of electron micrographs, we found thick filaments are almost as long as the 6.8 μm sarcomeres, have diameter of ~ 16 nm, and typical center-to-center spacing of ~ 46 nm. These results have implications for the mechanisms by which mandibular muscle fibres perform such a variety of functions, and how the structure of the troponin complex aids in these tasks.

miRNAs as cell fate determinants of lateral and paraxial mesoderm differentiation from embryonic stem cells

To date, the role of miRNAs on pluripotency and differentiation of ESCs into specific lineages has been studied extensively. However, the specific role of miRNAs during lateral and paraxial mesoderm cell fate decision is still unclear. To address this, we firstly determined miRNA profile of mouse ESCs differentiating towards lateral and paraxial lineages which were detected using Flk1 and PDGFαR antibodies, and of myogenic and hematopoietic differentiation potential of purified paraxial and lateral mesodermal cells within these populations. miRNAs associated with lateral and paraxial mesoderm, and their targets were identified using bioinformatics tools. The targets of the corresponding miRNAs were validated after transfection into mouse ESCs. The roles of the selected miRNAs in lateral, and paraxial mesoderm formation were assessed along with hematopoietic and myogenic differentiation capacity. Among the miRNAs, mmu-miR-126a-3p, mmu-miR-335-5p and mmu-miR-672-5p, upregulated in lateral mesoderm cells, and mmu-miR-10b-5p, mmu-miR-196a-5p and mmu-miR-615-3p, upregulated in paraxial mesoderm cells. While transient co-transfection of mmu-miR-126a-3p, mmu-miR-335-5p and mmu-miR-672-5p increased the number of lateral mesodermal cells, co-transfection of mmu-miR-10b-5p, mmu-miR-196a-5p and mmu-miR-615-3p increased the number of paraxial mesodermal cells. Moreover, differentiation potential of the lateral mesodermal cells into hematopoietic cell lineage increased upon co-transfection of mmu-miR-126a-3p, mmu-miR-335-5p and mmu-miR-672-5p and differentiation potential of the paraxial mesodermal cells into skeletal muscle lineage were increased upon co-transfection of mmu-miR-10b-5p, mmu-miR-196a-5p and mmu-miR-615-3p. In conclusion, we determined the miRNA profile of lateral and paraxial mesodermal cells and co-transfection of miRNAs increased differentiation potential of both lateral and paraxial mesodermal cells transiently.

Mechanisms of Frank-Starling law of the heart and stretch activation in striated muscles may have a common molecular origin

Vertebrate cardiac muscle generates progressively larger systolic force when the end diastolic chamber volume is increased, a property called the "Frank-Starling Law", or "length dependent activation (LDA)". In this mechanism a larger force develops when the sarcomere length (SL) increased, and the overlap between thick and thin filament decreases, indicating increased production of force per unit length of the overlap. To account for this phenomenon at the molecular level, we examined several hypotheses: as the muscle length is increased, (1) lattice spacing decreases, (2) Ca2+ sensitivity increases, (3) titin mediated rearrangement of myosin heads to facilitate actomyosin interaction, (4) increased SL activates cross-bridges (CBs) in the super relaxed state, (5) increased series stiffness at longer SL promotes larger elementary force/CB to account for LDA, and (6) stretch activation (SA) observed in insect muscles and LDA in vertebrate muscles may have similar mechanisms. SA is also known as delayed tension or oscillatory work, and universally observed among insect flight muscles, as well as in vertebrate skeletal and cardiac muscles. The sarcomere stiffness observed in relaxed muscles may significantly contributes to the mechanisms of LDA. In vertebrate striated muscles, the sarcomere stiffness is mainly caused by titin, a single filamentary protein spanning from Z-line to M-line and tightly associated with the myosin thick filament. In insect flight muscles, kettin connects Z-line and the thick filament to stabilize the sarcomere structure. In vertebrate cardiac muscles, titin plays a similar role, and may account for LDA and may constitute a molecular mechanism of Frank-Starling response.

The muscle-relaxing C-terminal peptide from troponin I populates a nascent helix, facilitating binding to tropomyosin with a potent therapeutic effect

The conserved C-terminal end segment of troponin I (TnI) plays a critical role in regulating muscle relaxation. This function is retained in the isolated C-terminal 27 amino acid peptide (residues 184-210) of human cardiac TnI (HcTnI-C27): When added to skinned muscle fibers, HcTnI-C27 reduces the Ca²⁺-sensitivity of activated myofibrils and facilitates relaxation without decreasing the maximum force production. However, the underlying mechanism of HcTnI-C27 function is unknown. We studied the conformational preferences of HcTnI-C27 and a myopathic mutant, Arg192His, (HcTnI-C27-H). Both peptides were mainly disordered in aqueous solution with a nascent helix involving residues from Trp191 to Ile195, as shown by NMR analysis and molecular dynamics simulations. The population of nascent helix was smaller in HcTnI-C27-H than in HcTnI-C27, as shown by circular dichroism (CD) titrations. Fluorescence and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) showed that both peptides bound tropomyosin (αTm), with a detectably higher affinity (∼10 μM) of HcTnI-C27 than that of HcTnI-C27-H (∼15 μM), consistent with an impaired Ca²⁺-desensitization effect of the mutant peptide on skinned muscle strips. Upon binding to αTm, HcTnI-C27 acquired a weakly stable helix-like conformation involving residues near Trp191, as shown by transferred nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy and hydrogen/deuterium exchange experiments. With the potent Ca²⁺-desensitization effect of HcTnI-C27 on skinned cardiac muscle from a mouse model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the data support that the C-terminal end domain of TnI can function as an isolated peptide with the intrinsic capacity of binding tropomyosin, providing a promising therapeutic approach to selectively improve diastolic function of the heart.

Multiplexing physical stimulation on single human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for phenotype modulation

Traditional in vitro bioengineering approaches whereby only individual biophysical cues are manipulated at any one time are highly inefficient, falling short when recapitulating the complexity of the cardiac environment. Multiple biophysical cues are present in the native myocardial niche and are essential during development, as well as in maintenance of adult cardiomyocyte (CM) phenotype in both health and disease. This study establishes a novel biofabrication workflow to study and manipulate hiPSC-CMs and to understand how these cells respond to a multiplexed biophysical environment, namely 3D shape and substrate stiffness, at a single cell level. Silicon masters were fabricated and developed to generate inverse patterns of the desired 3D shapes in bas relief, which then were used to mold the designed microwell arrays into a hydrogel. Polyacrylamide (PAAm) was modified with the incorporation of acrylic acid to provide a carboxylic group conjugation site for adhesion motifs, without compromising capacity to modulate stiffness. In this manner, two individual parameters can be finely tuned independently within the hydrogel: the shape of the 3D microwell and its stiffness. The design allows the platform to isolate single hiPSC-CMs to study solely biophysical cues in the absence of cell-cell physical interaction. Under physiologic-like physical conditions (3D shape resembling that of adult CM and 9.83 kPa substrate stiffness that mimics muscle stiffness), isolated single hiPSC-CMs exhibit increased Cx-43 density, cell membrane stiffness and calcium transient amplitude; co-expression of the subpopulation-related MYL2-MYL7 proteins; and higher anisotropism than cells in pathologic-like conditions (flat surface and 112 kPa substrate stiffness). This demonstrates that supplying a physiologic or pathologic microenvironment to an isolated single hiPSC-CM in the absence of any physical cell-to-cell communication in this biofabricated platform leads to a significantly different set of cellular features, thus presenting a differential phenotype. Importantly, this demonstrates the high plasticity of hiPSC-CMs even in isolation. The ability of multiple biophysical cues to significantly influence isolated single hiPSC-CM phenotype and functionality highlights the importance of fine-tuning such cues for specific applications. This has the potential to produce more fit-for-purpose hiPSC-CMs. Further understanding of human cardiac development is enabled by the robust, versatile and reproducible biofabrication techniques applied here. We envision that this system could be easily applied to other tissues and cell types where the influence of cellular shape and stiffness of the surrounding environment is hypothesized to play an important role in physiology.

Molecular alterations in oral cancer using high-throughput proteomic analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue

Loss of cell differentiation is a hallmark for the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Archival Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) tissues constitute a valuable resource for studying the differentiation of OSCC and can offer valuable insights into the process of tumor progression. In the current study, we performed LC-MS/MS-based quantitative proteomics of FFPE specimens from pathologically-confirmed well-differentiated, moderately-differentiated, and poorly-differentiated OSCC cases. The data were analyzed in four technical replicates, resulting in the identification of 2376 proteins. Of these, 141 and 109 were differentially expressed in moderately-differentiated and poorly differentiated OSCC cases, respectively, compared to well-differentiated OSCC. The data revealed significant metabolic reprogramming with respect to lipid metabolism and glycolysis with proteins belonging to both these processes downregulated in moderately-differentiated OSCC when compared to well-differentiated OSCC. Signaling pathway analysis indicated the alteration of extracellular matrix organization, muscle contraction, and glucose metabolism pathways across tumor grades. The extracellular matrix organization pathway was upregulated in moderately-differentiated OSCC and downregulated in poorly differentiated OSCC, compared to well-differentiated OSCC. PADI4, an epigenetic enzyme transcriptional regulator, and its transcriptional target HIST1H1B were both found to be upregulated in moderately differentiated and poorly differentiated OSCC, indicating epigenetic events underlying tumor differentiation. In conclusion, the findings support the advantage of using high-resolution mass spectrometry-based FFPE archival blocks for clinical and translational research. The candidate signaling pathways identified in the study could be used to develop potential therapeutic targets for OSCC.

Developmental programming: Adipose depot-specific transcriptional regulation by prenatal testosterone excess in a sheep model of PCOS

Prenatal testosterone (T)-treated female sheep manifest adipose depot-specific disruptions in inflammatory/oxidative state, adipocyte differentiation and thermogenic adipocyte distribution. The objective of this study was to identify common and divergent gene pathways underlying prenatal T excess-induced adipose depot-specific disruptions. RNA sequencing and network analyses were undertaken with visceral (VAT), subcutaneous (SAT), epicardiac (ECAT) and perirenal (PRAT) adipose tissues from control and prenatal T-treated (100 mg T propionate twice a week from days 30-90 of gestation) female sheep at 21 months of age. Increased expression of adiposity and inflammation-related genes in VAT and genes that promote differentiation of white adipocytes in SAT were congruous with their metabolic roles with SAT favoring uptake/storage of free fatty acids and triglycerides and VAT favoring higher rate of fatty acid turnover and lipolysis. Selective upregulation of cardiac muscle and renoprotection genes in ECAT and PRAT respectively are suggestive of protective paracrine actions. Expression profile in prenatal T-treated sheep paralleled depot-specific dysfunctions with increased proinflammatory genes in VAT, reduced adipocyte differentiation genes in VAT and SAT and increased vascular related gene expression in PRAT. The high expression of genes involved in cardiomyocyte function in ECAT is suggestive of cardioprotective function being maintained to overcome the prenatal T-induced cardiac dysfunction and hypertension. These findings coupled with changes in gene pathways and networks involved in chromatin modification, extracellular matrix, immune and mitochondrial function, and endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi transport suggest that dysregulation in gene expression underlie prenatal T-treatment induced functional differences among adipose depots and manifestation of metabolic dysfunction.

μ-Crystallin in Mouse Skeletal Muscle Promotes a Shift from Glycolytic toward Oxidative Metabolism

μ-Crystallin, encoded by the CRYM gene, binds the thyroid hormones, T3 and T4. Because T3 and T4 are potent regulators of metabolism and gene expression, and CRYM levels in human skeletal muscle can vary widely, we investigated the effects of overexpression of Crym. We generated transgenic mice, Crym tg, that expressed Crym protein specifically in skeletal muscle at levels 2.6-147.5 fold higher than in controls. Muscular functions, Ca2+ transients, contractile force, fatigue, running on treadmills or wheels, were not significantly altered, although T3 levels in tibialis anterior (TA) muscle were elevated ~190-fold and serum T4 was decreased 1.2-fold. Serum T3 and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were unaffected. Crym transgenic mice studied in metabolic chambers showed a significant decrease in the respiratory exchange ratio (RER) corresponding to a 13.7% increase in fat utilization as an energy source compared to controls. Female but not male Crym tg mice gained weight more rapidly than controls when fed high fat or high simple carbohydrate diets. Although labeling for myosin heavy chains showed no fiber type differences in TA or soleus muscles, application of machine learning algorithms revealed small but significant morphological differences between Crym tg and control soleus fibers. RNA-seq and gene ontology enrichment analysis showed a significant shift towards genes associated with slower muscle function and its metabolic correlate, β-oxidation. Protein expression showed a similar shift, though with little overlap. Our study shows that μ-crystallin plays an important role in determining substrate utilization in mammalian muscle and that high levels of μ-crystallin are associated with a shift toward greater fat metabolism.

NH2-Terminal Cleavage of Cardiac Troponin I Signals Adaptive Response to Cardiac Stressors

Cardiac sarcomeres express a variant of troponin I (cTnI) that contains a unique N-terminal extension of ~30 amino acids with regulatory phosphorylation sites. The extension is important in the control of myofilament response to Ca²⁺, which contributes to the neuro-humoral regulation of the dynamics of cardiac contraction and relaxation. Hearts of various species including humans express a stress-induced truncated variant of cardiac troponin I (cTnI-ND) missing the first ~30 amino acids and functionally mimicking the phosphorylated state of cTnI. Studies have demonstrated that upregulation of cTnI-ND potentially represents a homeostatic mechanism as well as an adaptive response in pathophysiology including ischemia/reperfusion injury, beta adrenergic maladaptive activation, and aging. We present evidence showing that cTnI-ND can modify the trigger for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) by reducing the Ca²⁺ sensitivity of myofilaments from hearts with an E180G mutation in α-tropomyosin. Induction of this truncation may represent a therapeutic approach to modifying Ca²⁺-responses in hearts with hypercontractility or heat failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Preliminary RNA-microarray analysis of long non-coding RNA expression in abnormally invasive placenta

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are reported to have important roles in placental development and function, but the role of lncRNAs in abnormally invasive placenta (AIP) remains elusive. In the present study, the differential expression profiles of lncRNAs were analyzed to identify novel targets for further study of AIP. A total of 10 lncRNAs were chosen for validation by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. To further determine the functions of dysregulated lncRNAs and their corresponding mRNAs, functional enrichment analysis, coexpression analysis were performed. A total of 329 lncRNAs and 179 mRNAs were identified to be differently expressed between the invasive and control group. Gene ontology analysis revealed that the 10 most significantly enriched functions included upregulated mRNAs and the most significantly enriched term was related to the proteinaceous extracellular matrix (ECM). In the pathway analysis, the two most significantly enriched pathways were the TGF-β signaling pathway for upregulated mRNAs and the pentose phosphate pathway for downregulated mRNAs. Furthermore, for certain dysregulated lncRNAs, their associated mRNAs were also dysregulated. Of note, BMP and activin membrane-bound inhibitor and TGF-β-induced, as the target genes of the TGF-β pathway, were indicated to be closely related to the ECM and invasive placental cells. Their nearby lncRNAs G008916 and vault RNA2-1 were also significantly dysregulated. In conclusion, significant lncRNAs with the potential to serve as biomarkers for AIP were identified.

Tnni1b-ECR183-d2, an 87 bp cardiac enhancer of zebrafish

Background

Several heart malformations are associated with mutations in the regulatory regions of cardiac genes. Troponin I type 1b (tnni1b) is important for the formation of the atrioventricular canal in zebrafish hearts; however, the regulation of tnni1b is poorly understand. We aimed to identify a small but functional enhancer that is distal to tnni1b.

Methods

Evolutionary Conserved Region (ECR) Browser was used to analyze the 219 kb zebrafish and human genomes covering the tnni1b gene as well as the 100 kb regions upstream and downstream of tnni1b. Putative transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) were analyzed using JASPAR and PROMO, and the enhancer activity was identified using zebrafish embryos and the luciferase reporter assay. A correlation analysis between the enhancer and transcription factors (TFs) was performed via TF overexpression and TFBS mutation experiments and the electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). To analyze the conservation between zebrafish and human enhancers, human DNA fragments were functionally verified. Images were captured and analyzed by fluorescence microscopy or confocal microscopy.

Results

Combined with comparative analysis and functional validation, we identified a 183 bp ECR (termed tnni1b-ECR183) that was located approximately 84 kb upstream of tnni1b that had the heart-specific enhancer activity in zebrafish. TFBS analysis and the enhancer activity detection assay data showed that the 87 bp core region (termed tnni1b-ECR183-d2) was capable of driving specific GFP expression near the atrioventricular junction and increased luciferase expression in HEK293 and HL1 cell lines. The GFP pattern in zebrafish embryos was similar to the expression profiles of tnni1b. A correlation analysis showed that the enhancer activity of tnni1b-ECR183-d2 was increased when NKX2.5 (p = 0.0006) or JUN (p < 0.0001) was overexpressed and was decreased when the TFBSs of NKX2.5 (p < 0.0001) or JUN (p = 0.0018) were mutated. In addition, DNA-protein interactions were not observed between these TFs and tnni1b-ECR183-d2 in the EMSA experiment. The conservation analysis showed that tnni1b-ECR183-h179 (aligned from tnni1b-ECR183) drove GFP expression in the heart and skeletal muscles and increased the luciferase expression after NKX2.5 (p < 0.0001), JUN (p < 0.0001) or ETS1 (p < 0.0001) was overexpressed. Interestingly, the truncated fragment tnni1b-ECR183-h84 mainly drove GFP expression in the skeletal muscles of zebrafish and the enhancer activity decreased when NKX2.5 (p = 0.0028), ETS1 (p = 0.0001) or GATA4 (p < 0.0001) was overexpressed.

Conclusions

An 87 bp cardiac-specific enhancer located 84 kb upstream of tnni1b in zebrafish was positively correlated with NKX2.5 or JUN. The zebrafish and human enhancers in this study target different tissues. The GFP expression mediated by tnni1b-ECR183-d2 is a valuable tool for marking the domain around the atrioventricular junction.

Comparative Transcriptome Profiling of Skeletal Muscle from Black Muscovy Duck at Different Growth Stages Using RNA-seq

In China, the production for duck meat is second only to that of chicken, and the demand for duck meat is also increasing. However, there is still unclear on the internal mechanism of regulating skeletal muscle growth and development in duck. This study aimed to identity candidate genes related to growth of duck skeletal muscle and explore the potential regulatory mechanism. RNA-seq technology was used to compare the transcriptome of skeletal muscles in black Muscovy ducks at different developmental stages (day 17, 21, 27, 31, and 34 of embryos and postnatal 6-month-olds). The SNPs and InDels of black Muscovy ducks at different growth stages were mainly in “INTRON”, “SYNONYMOUS_CODING”, “UTR_3_PRIME”, and “DOWNSTREAM”. The average number of AS in each sample was 37,267, mainly concentrated in TSS and TTS. Besides, a total of 19 to 5377 DEGs were detected in each pairwise comparison. Functional analysis showed that the DEGs were mainly involved in the processes of cell growth, muscle development, and cellular activities (junction, migration, assembly, differentiation, and proliferation). Many of DEGs were well known to be related to growth of skeletal muscle in black Muscovy duck, such as MyoG, FBXO1, MEF2A, and FoxN2. KEGG pathway analysis identified that the DEGs were significantly enriched in the pathways related to the focal adhesion, MAPK signaling pathway and regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. Some DEGs assigned to these pathways were potential candidate genes inducing the difference in muscle growth among the developmental stages, such as FAF1, RGS8, GRB10, SMYD3, and TNNI2. Our study identified several genes and pathways that may participate in the regulation of skeletal muscle growth in black Muscovy duck. These results should serve as an important resource revealing the molecular basis of muscle growth and development in duck.

Microporous Biodegradable Films Promote Therapeutic Angiogenesis

Peripheral arterial disease and critical limb ischemia are common symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Vascular surgery is used to create a bypass around occluded blood vessels to improve blood flow to ischemic muscle, thus avoiding the need for amputation. Attempts to vascularize tissues by therapeutic angiogenesis using delivery of exogenous angiogenic agents are underwhelming. A material-based approach that provides an endogenous stimulus capable of promoting angiogenesis and increased tissue perfusion would provide a paradigm shift in treatment options available. It is reported here that microporous biodegradable films produced using thermally induced phase separation provide a localized biophysical stimulus of proangiogenic genes in vivo that is associated with increased blood vessel density and restoration of blood flow to ischemic tissue. These findings show, for the first time, that acellular, nonfunctionalized biodegradable biomaterials can provide an innovative, material-based approach for therapeutic angiogenesis to enhance tissue reperfusion in vivo.

miR-206 enforces a slow muscle phenotype

Striated muscle is a highly specialized collection of tissues with contractile properties that vary according to functional needs. Although muscle fiber types are established postnatally, lifelong plasticity facilitates stimulus-dependent adaptation. Functional adaptation requires molecular adaptation, which is partially provided by miRNA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation. miR-206 is a muscle-specific miRNA enriched in slow muscles. We investigated whether miR-206 drives the slow muscle phenotype or is merely an outcome. We found that miR-206 expression increases in both physiological (including female sex and endurance exercise) and pathological conditions (muscular dystrophy and adrenergic agonism) that promote a slow phenotype. Consistent with that observation, the slow soleus muscle of male miR-206-knockout mice displays a faster phenotype than wild-type mice. Moreover, left ventricles of male miR-206 knockout mice have a faster myosin profile, accompanied by dilation and systolic dysfunction. Thus, miR-206 appears to be necessary to enforce a slow skeletal and cardiac muscle phenotype and to play a key role in muscle sexual dimorphisms.

RNA-Seq transcriptome reveals different molecular responses during human and mouse oocyte maturation and fertilization

BACKGROUND

Female infertility is a worldwide concern and the etiology of infertility has not been thoroughly demonstrated. Although the mouse is a good model system to perform functional studies, the differences between mouse and human also need to be considered. The objective of this study is to elucidate the different molecular mechanisms underlying oocyte maturation and fertilization between human and mouse.

RESULTS

A comparative transcriptome analysis was performed to identify the differentially expressed genes and associated biological processes between human and mouse oocytes. In total, 8513 common genes, as well as 15,165 and 6126 uniquely expressed genes were detected in human and mouse MII oocytes, respectively. Additionally, the ratios of non-homologous genes in human and mouse MII oocytes were 37 and 8%, respectively. Functional categorization analysis of the human MII non-homologous genes revealed that cAMP-mediated signaling, sister chromatid cohesin, and cell recognition were the major enriched biological processes. Interestingly, we couldn't detect any GO categories in mouse non-homologous genes.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that human and mouse oocytes exhibit significant differences in gene expression profiles during oocyte maturation, which probably deciphers the differential molecular responses to oocyte maturation and fertilization. The significant differences between human and mouse oocytes limit the generalizations from mouse to human oocyte maturation. Knowledge about the limitations of animal models is crucial when exploring a complex process such as human oocyte maturation and fertilization.