Mini-thin filaments regulated by troponin-tropomyosin

Overexpression of the QKI Gene Promotes Differentiation of Goat Myoblasts into Myotubes

The QKI genes encode RNA-binding proteins regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The Goat QKI has six isoforms, but their roles in myogenesis are unclear. In this study, the six isoforms of the QKI gene were overexpressed in goat myoblast. Immunofluorescence, qPCR and Western blot were used to evaluate the effect of QKI on the differentiation of goat myoblast. An RNA-Seq was performed on the cells with the gain of the function from the major isoforms to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The results show that six isoforms had different degrees of deletion in exons 6 and 7, and caused the appearance of different types of encoded amino acids. The expression levels of the QKI-1 and QKI-5 groups were upregulated in the biceps femoris and latissimus dorsi muscle tissues compared with those of the QKI-4, QKI-7, QKI-3 and QKI-6 groups. After 6 d of myoblast differentiation, QKI-5 and the myogenic differentiators MyoG, MyoD, and MyHC were upregulated. Compared to the negative control group, QKI promoted myotube differentiation and the myoblasts overexpressing QKI-5 formed large, abundant myotubes. In summary, we identified that the overexpression of the QKI gene promotes goat-myoblast differentiation and that QKI-5 is the major isoform, with a key role. The RNA-Seq screened 76 upregulated and 123 downregulated DEGs between the negative control and the QKI-5-overexpressing goat myoblasts after d 6 of differentiation. The GO and KEGG analyses associated the downregulated DEGs with muscle-related biological functions. Only the pathways related to muscle growth and development were enriched. This study provides a theoretical basis for further exploring the regulatory mechanism of QKI in skeletal-muscle development in goats.

Enhancing diastolic function by strain-dependent detachment of cardiac myosin crossbridges

The force response of cardiac muscle undergoing a quick stretch is conventionally interpreted to represent stretching of attached myosin crossbridges (phase 1) and detachment of these stretched crossbridges at an exponential rate (phase 2), followed by crossbridges reattaching in increased numbers due to an enhanced activation of the thin filament (phases 3 and 4). We propose that, at least in mammalian cardiac muscle, phase 2 instead represents an enhanced detachment rate of myosin crossbridges due to stretch, phase 3 represents the reattachment of those same crossbridges, and phase 4 is a passive-like viscoelastic response with power-law relaxation. To test this idea, we developed a two-state model of crossbridge attachment and detachment. Unitary force was assigned when a crossbridge was attached, and an elastic force was generated when an attached crossbridge was displaced. Attachment rate, f(x), was spatially distributed with a total magnitude f₀. Detachment rate was modeled as g(x) = g₀+ g₁x, where g₀ is a constant and g₁ indicates sensitivity to displacement. The analytical solution suggested that the exponential decay rate of phase 2 represents (f₀ + g₀) and the exponential rise rate of phase 3 represents g₀. The depth of the nadir between phases 2 and 3 is proportional to g₁. We prepared skinned mouse myocardium and applied a 1% stretch under varying concentrations of inorganic phosphate (Pi). The resulting force responses fitted the analytical solution well. The interpretations of phases 2 and 3 were consistent with lower f₀ and higher g₀ with increasing Pi. This novel scheme of interpreting the force response to a quick stretch does not require enhanced thin-filament activation and suggests that the myosin detachment rate is sensitive to stretch. Furthermore, the enhanced detachment rate is likely not due to the typical detachment mechanism following MgATP binding, but rather before MgADP release, and may involve reversal of the myosin power stroke.

The spatial distribution of thin filament activation influences force development and myosin activity in computational models of muscle contraction

Striated muscle contraction is initiated by Ca²⁺ binding to, and activating, thin filament regulatory units (RU) within the sarcomere, which then allows myosin cross-bridges from the opposing thick filament to bind actin and generate force. The amount of overlap between the filaments dictates how many potential cross-bridges are capable of binding, and thus how force is generated by the sarcomere. Myopathies and atrophy can impair muscle function by limiting cross-bridge interactions between the filaments, which can occur when the length of the thin filament is reduced or when RU function is disrupted. To investigate how variations in thin filament length and RU density affect ensemble cross-bridge behavior and force production, we simulated muscle contraction using a spatially explicit computational model of the half-sarcomere. Thin filament RUs were disabled either uniformly from the pointed end of the filament (to model shorter thin filament length) or randomly throughout the length of the half-sarcomere. Both uniform and random RU 'knockout' schemes decreased overall force generation during maximal and submaximal activation. The random knockout scheme also led to decreased calcium sensitivity and cooperativity of the force-pCa relationship. We also found that the rate of force development slowed with the random RU knockout, compared to the uniform RU knockout or conditions of normal RU activation. These findings imply that the relationship between RU density and force production within the sarcomere involves more complex coordination than simply the raw number of RUs available for myosin cross-bridge binding, and that the spatial pattern in which activatable RU are distributed throughout the sarcomere influences the dynamics of force production.

Troponin Revealed: Uncovering the Structure of the Thin Filament On-Off Switch in Striated Muscle

Recently, our understanding of the structural basis of troponin-tropomyosin's Ca2+-triggered regulation of striated muscle contraction has advanced greatly, particularly via cryo-electron microscopy data. Compelling atomic models of troponin-tropomyosin-actin were published for both apo- and Ca2+-saturated states of the cardiac thin filament. Subsequent electron microscopy and computational analyses have supported and further elaborated the findings. Per cryo-electron microscopy, each troponin is highly extended and contacts both tropomyosin strands, which lie on opposite sides of the actin filament. In the apo-state characteristic of relaxed muscle, troponin and tropomyosin hinder strong myosin-actin binding in several different ways, apparently barricading the actin more substantially than does tropomyosin alone. The troponin core domain, the C-terminal third of TnI, and tropomyosin under the influence of a 64-residue helix of TnT located at the overlap of adjacent tropomyosins are all in positions that would hinder strong myosin binding to actin. In the Ca2+-saturated state, the TnI C-terminus dissociates from actin and binds in part to TnC; the core domain pivots significantly; the N-lobe of TnC binds specifically to actin and tropomyosin; and tropomyosin rotates partially away from myosin's binding site on actin. At the overlap domain, Ca2+ causes much less tropomyosin movement, so a more inhibitory orientation persists. In the myosin-saturated state of the thin filament, there is a large additional shift in tropomyosin, with molecular interactions now identified between tropomyosin and both actin and myosin. A new era has arrived for investigation of the thin filament and for functional understandings that increasingly accommodate the recent structural results.

Effects of the cardiomyopathy-causing E244D mutation of troponin T on the structures of cardiac thin filaments studied by small-angle X-ray scattering

Small-angle X-ray scattering experiments were carried out to investigate the structural changes of cardiac thin filaments induced by the cardiomyopathy-causing E244D mutation in troponin T (TnT). We examined native thin filaments (NTF) from a bovine heart, reconstituted thin filaments containing human cardiac wild-type Tn (WTF), and filaments containing the E244D mutant of Tn (DTF), in the absence and presence of Ca²⁺. Analysis by model calculation showed that upon Ca²⁺-activation, tropomyosin (Tm) and Tn in the WTF and NTF moved together in a direction to expose myosin-binding sites on actin. On the other hand, Tm and Tn of the DTF moved in the opposite directions to each other upon Ca²⁺-activation. These movements caused Tm to expose more myosin-binding sites on actin than the WTF, suggesting that the affinity of myosin for actin is higher for the DTF. Thus, the mutation-induced structural changes in thin filaments would increase the number of myosin molecules bound to actin compared with the WTF, resulting in the force enhancement observed for the E244D mutation.

A Spatially Detailed Model of Isometric Contraction Based on Competitive Binding of Troponin I Explains Cooperative Interactions between Tropomyosin and Crossbridges

Biophysical models of cardiac tension development provide a succinct representation of our understanding of force generation in the heart. The link between protein kinetics and interactions that gives rise to high cooperativity is not yet fully explained from experiments or previous biophysical models. We propose a biophysical ODE-based representation of cross-bridge (XB), tropomyosin and troponin within a contractile regulatory unit (RU) to investigate the mechanisms behind cooperative activation, as well as the role of cooperativity in dynamic tension generation across different species. The model includes cooperative interactions between regulatory units (RU-RU), between crossbridges (XB-XB), as well more complex interactions between crossbridges and regulatory units (XB-RU interactions). For the steady-state force-calcium relationship, our framework predicts that: (1) XB-RU effects are key in shifting the half-activation value of the force-calcium relationship towards lower [Ca²⁺], but have only small effects on cooperativity. (2) XB-XB effects approximately double the duty ratio of myosin, but do not significantly affect cooperativity. (3) RU-RU effects derived from the long-range action of tropomyosin are a major factor in cooperative activation, with each additional unblocked RU increasing the rate of additional RU’s unblocking. (4) Myosin affinity for short (1–4 RU) unblocked stretches of actin of is very low, and the resulting suppression of force at low [Ca²⁺] is a major contributor in the biphasic force-calcium relationship. We also reproduce isometric tension development across mouse, rat and human at physiological temperature and pacing rate, and conclude that species differences require only changes in myosin affinity and troponin I/troponin C affinity. Furthermore, we show that the calcium dependence of the rate of tension redevelopment k_tr is explained by transient blocking of RU’s by a temporary decrease in XB-RU effects.

Force generation in cardiac muscle cells is driven by changes in calcium concentration. Relatively small changes in the calcium concentration over the course of a heart beat lead to the large changes in force required to fully contract and relax the heart. This is known as ‘cooperative activation’, and involves a complex interaction of several proteins involved in contraction. Current computer models which reproduce force generation often do not represent these processes explicitly, and stochastic approaches that do tend to require large amounts of computational power to solve, which limit the range of investigations in which they can be used. We have created an new computational model that captures the underlying physiological processes in more detail, and is more efficient than stochastic approaches, while still being able to run a large range of simulations. The model is able to explain the biological processes leading to the cooperative activation of muscle. In addition, the model reproduces how this cooperative activation translates to normal muscle function to generate force from changes in calcium across three different species.

Molecular cloning, structural analysis, and tissue expression of the TNNT3 gene in Guizhou black goat

The vertebrate fast skeletal troponin T (TNNT3) protein is an important regulatory and structural component of thin filaments in skeletal muscle, which improves meat quality traits of livestock and poultry. In this study, the troponin T isoforms from adult goat (skeletal muscle mRNA) were identified. We isolated the full-length coding sequence of the goat TNNT3 gene (GenBank: KM042888), analyzed its structure, and investigated its expression in different tissues from different aged goats (10, 30, 90, 180, and 360 days old). Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses revealed that Guizhou black goat TNNT3 was highly expressed in the biceps femoris muscle, abdominal muscle, and longissimus dorsi muscle (P<0.01), and lowly expressed in the cardiac muscle, masseter muscle, and rumen tissue (P>0.05). Western blotting confirmed that the TNNT3 protein was expressed in the muscle tissues listed above, with the highest level found in the longissimus dorsi muscle, and the lowest level in the masseter muscle. In the 10 to 360day study period the TNNT3 protein expression level was the highest when the goats were 30 days old. A peptide, ASPPPAEVPEVHEEVH that may contribute to improved goat meat tenderness was identified. This study provides an insight into the molecular structure of the vertebrate TNNT3 gene.

Tropomodulins: pointed-end capping proteins that regulate actin filament architecture in diverse cell types

Tropomodulins are a family of four proteins (Tmods 1-4) that cap the pointed ends of actin filaments in actin cytoskeletal structures in a developmentally regulated and tissue-specific manner. Unique among capping proteins, Tmods also bind tropomyosins (TMs), which greatly enhance the actin filament pointed-end capping activity of Tmods. Tmods are defined by a TM-regulated/Pointed-End Actin Capping (TM-Cap) domain in their unstructured N-terminal portion, followed by a compact, folded Leucine-Rich Repeat/Pointed-End Actin Capping (LRR-Cap) domain. By inhibiting actin monomer association and dissociation from pointed ends, Tmods regulate actin dynamics and turnover, stabilizing actin filament lengths and cytoskeletal architecture. In this review, we summarize the genes, structural features, molecular and biochemical properties, actin regulatory mechanisms, expression patterns, and cell and tissue functions of Tmods. By understanding Tmods' functions in the context of their molecular structure, actin regulation, binding partners, and related variants (leiomodins 1-3), we can draw broad conclusions that can explain the diverse morphological and functional phenotypes that arise from Tmod perturbation experiments in vitro and in vivo. Tmod-based stabilization and organization of intracellular actin filament networks provide key insights into how the emergent properties of the actin cytoskeleton drive tissue morphogenesis and physiology.

Protein modulation in mouse heart under acute and chronic hypoxia

Exploring cellular mechanisms underlying beneficial and detrimental responses to hypoxia represents the object of the present study. Signaling molecules controlling adaptation to hypoxia (HIF-1α), energy balance (AMPK), mitochondrial biogenesis (PGC-1α), autophagic/apoptotic processes regulation and proteomic dysregulation were assessed. Responses to acute hypoxia (AH) and chronic hypoxia (CH) in mouse heart proteome were detected by 2-D DIGE, mass spectrometry and antigen-antibody reactions. Both in AH and CH, the results indicated a deregulation of proteins related to sarcomere stabilization and muscle contraction. Neither in AH nor in CH the HIF-1α stabilization was observed. In AH, the metabolic adaptation to lack of oxygen was controlled by AMPK activation and sustained by an up-regulation of adenosylhomocysteinase and acetyl-CoA synthetase. AH was characterized by the mitophagic protein Bnip 3 increment. PGC-1α, a master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis, was down-regulated. CH was characterized by the up-regulation of enzymes involved in antioxidant defense, in aldehyde bio-product detoxification and in misfolded protein degradation. In addition, a general down-regulation of enzymes controlling anaerobic metabolism was observed. After 10 days of hypoxia, cardioprotective molecules were substantially decreased whereas pro-apoptotic molecules increased accompained by down-regulation of specific target proteins.

Diversity of human skeletal muscle in health and disease: contribution of proteomics

Muscle represents a large fraction of the human body mass. It is an extremely heterogeneous tissue featuring in its contractile structure various proportions of heavy- and light-chain slow type 1 and fast types 2A and 2X myosins, actins, tropomyosins, and troponin complexes as well as metabolic proteins (enzymes and most of the players of the so-called excitation-transcription coupling). Muscle is characterized by wide plasticity, i.e. capacity to adjust size and functional properties in response to endogenous and exogenous influences. Over the last decade, proteomics has become a crucial technique for the assessment of muscle at the molecular level and the investigation of its functional changes. Advantages and shortcomings of recent techniques for muscle proteome analysis are discussed. Data from differential proteomics applied to healthy individuals in normal and unusual environments (hypoxia and cold), in exercise, immobilization, aging and to patients with neuromuscular hereditary disorders (NMDs), inclusion body myositis and insulin resistance are summarized, critically discussed and, when required, compared with homologous data from pertinent animal models. The advantages as well as the limits of proteomics in view of the identification of new biomarkers are evaluated.

The role of thin filament cooperativity in cardiac length-dependent calcium activation

Length-dependent activation (LDA) is a prominent feature of cardiac muscle characterized by decreases in the Ca(2+) levels required to generate force (i.e., increases in Ca(2+) sensitivity) when muscle is stretched. Previous studies have concluded that LDA originates from the increased ability of (strong) cross-bridges to attach when muscle is lengthened, which in turn enhances Ca(2+) binding to the troponin C (TnC) subunit of the troponin complex. However, our results demonstrate that inhibition of strong cross-bridge attachment with blebbistatin had no effect on the length-dependent modulation of Ca(2+) sensitivity (i.e., EC(50)) or Ca(2+) cooperativity, suggesting that LDA originates upstream of cross-bridge attachment. To test whether LDA arises from length dependence of thin-filament activation, we replaced native cTnC with a mutant cTnC (DM-TnC) that is incapable of binding Ca(2+). Although progressive replacement of native cTnC with DM-TnC caused an expected monotonic decrease in the maximal force (F(max)), DM-TnC incorporation induced much larger increases in EC(50) and decreases in Ca(2+) cooperativity at short lengths than at long lengths. These findings support the conclusion that LDA arises primarily from the influence of length on the modulation of the Ca(2+) cooperativity arising from interaction between adjacent troponin-tropomyosin complexes on the thin filament.

Coupling of adjacent tropomyosins enhances cross-bridge-mediated cooperative activation in a markov model of the cardiac thin filament

We developed a Markov model of cardiac thin filament activation that accounts for interactions among nearest-neighbor regulatory units (RUs) in a spatially explicit manner. Interactions were assumed to arise from structural coupling of adjacent tropomyosins (Tms), such that Tm shifting within each RU was influenced by the Tm status of its neighbors. Simulations using the model demonstrate that this coupling is sufficient to produce observed cooperativity in both steady-state and dynamic force-Ca(2+) relationships. The model was further validated by comparison with reported responses under various conditions including inhibition of myosin binding and the addition of strong-binding, non-force-producing myosin fragments. The model also reproduced the effects of 2.5 mM added P(i) on Ca(2+)-activated force and the rate of force redevelopment measured in skinned rat myocardial preparations. Model analysis suggests that Tm-Tm coupling potentiates the activating effects of strongly-bound cross-bridges and contributes to force-Ca(2+) dynamics of intact cardiac muscle. The model further predicts that activation at low Ca(2+) concentrations is cooperatively inhibited by nearest neighbors, requiring Ca(2+) binding to >25% of RUs to produce appreciable levels of force. Without excluding other putative cooperative mechanisms, these findings suggest that structural coupling of adjacent Tm molecules contributes to several properties of cardiac myofilament activation.

Mechanical and kinetic effects of shortened tropomyosin reconstituted into myofibrils

The effects of tropomyosin on muscle mechanics and kinetics were examined in skeletal myofibrils using a novel method to remove tropomyosin (Tm) and troponin (Tn) and then replace these proteins with altered versions. Extraction employed a low ionic strength rigor solution, followed by sequential reconstitution at physiological ionic strength with Tm then Tn. SDS-PAGE analysis was consistent with full reconstitution, and fluorescence imaging after reconstitution using Oregon-green-labeled Tm indicated the expected localization. Myofibrils remained mechanically viable: maximum isometric forces of myofibrils after sTm/sTn reconstitution (control) were comparable (~84%) to the forces generated by non-reconstituted preparations, and the reconstitution minimally affected the rate of isometric activation (k_act), calcium sensitivity (pCa₅₀), and cooperativity (n_H). Reconstitutions using various combinations of cardiac and skeletal Tm and Tn indicated that isoforms of both Tm and Tn influence calcium sensitivity of force development in opposite directions, but the isoforms do not otherwise alter cross-bridge kinetics. Myofibrils reconstituted with Δ23Tm, a deletion mutant lacking the second and third of Tm’s seven quasi-repeats, exhibited greatly depressed maximal force, moderately slower k_act rates and reduced n_H. Δ23Tm similarly decreased the cooperativity of calcium binding to the troponin regulatory sites of isolated thin filaments in solution. The mechanisms behind these effects of Δ23Tm also were investigated using P_i and ADP jumps. P_i and ADP kinetics were indistinguishable in Δ23Tm myofibrils compared to controls. The results suggest that the deleted region of tropomyosin is important for cooperative thin filament activation by calcium.

X-ray scattering study of actin polymerization nuclei assembled by tandem W domains

The initiation of actin polymerization in cells requires actin filament nucleators. With the exception of formins, known filament nucleators use the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) homology 2 (WH2 or W) domain for interaction with actin. A common architecture, found in Spire, Cobl, VopL, and VopF, consists of tandem W domains that tie together three to four actin monomers to form a polymerization nucleus. Uncontrollable polymerization has prevented the structural investigation of such nuclei. We have engineered stable nuclei consisting of an actin dimer and a trimer stabilized by tandem W domain hybrid constructs and studied their structures in solution by x-ray scattering. We show that Spire-like tandem W domains stabilize a polymerization nucleus by lining up actin subunits along the long-pitch helix of the actin filament. Intersubunit contacts in the polymerization nucleus, thought to involve the DNase I-binding loop of actin, coexist with the binding of the W domain in the cleft between actin subdomains 1 and 3. The successful stabilization of filament-like multiactin assemblies opens the way to the crystallographic investigation of intersubunit contacts in the actin filament.

Simulation of steady state and transient cardiac muscle response experiments with a Huxley-based contraction model

A cardiac muscle model is presented with the purpose of representing a wide range of mechanical experiments at constant and transient Ca(2+) concentration. Modifications of a previous model were: weak and power attached crossbridge states, a troponin system involving three consecutive regulatory troponin-tropomyosin units acting together in Ca(2+) kinetics and detachment constants depending on crossbridge length. This model improved cooperativity (Hill coefficient close to 4) and the force-velocity relationship, and incorporated the representation of the four phases of muscle response to length and force steps, isotonic shortening and isosarcometric contractions, preserving previous satisfactory results. Moreover, experimentally reported effects, such as length dependence on Ca(2+) affinity, the decreased cooperativity at higher Ca(2+) concentrations, temperature effects on the stiffness-frequency relationship and the isometric internal shortening due to series elasticity, were obtained. In conclusion, the model is more comprehensive than a previous version because it is able to represent a wider variety of steady state experiments, the mechanical variables in twitches can be adequately related to intracellular Ca(2+), and all the simulations were performed with the same set of parameters.

Modulation of troponin C affinity for the thin filament by different cross-bridge states in skinned skeletal muscle fibers

In vertebrate skeletal muscle, the C-domain of troponin C (TnC) serves as an anchor; the N-domain regulates the position of troponin-tropomyosin on the thin filament after changes in intracellular Ca2+. Another type of thin-filament regulation is provided by cross-bridges. In this study, we use skinned fibers reconstituted with chicken recombinant TnC (rTnC) to examine TnC-thin filament affinity when cross-bridges containing different ligands are formed. Dissociation and equilibrium binding of apo-TnC (i.e., lacking divalent cations) under different conditions were monitored by a standard test for maximum tension (P (o)). After 10 min in low-Mg2+ relaxing solution, rTnC dissociation (i.e., tension loss) was 80% vs only 45% in rigor. In rigor, adding myosin subfragment 1 (S1) reduced dissociation approximately twofold, whereas stretching to reduce filament overlap increased dissociation to nearly the value for relaxed fibers. Dissociation of rTnC after addition of Pi or MgADP to form A.M.Pi or A.M.ADP cross-bridges was significantly greater than with rigor (A.M) bridges. The increase in P (o) during equilibration with different concentrations of rTnC showed that the affinity for rTnC binding to the thin filament increased progressively with stronger cross-bridges: rTnC concentrations for half-maximal reconstitution (K (0.5)) were 8.1, 3.7, 2.9, and 1.1 microM for A + M.ADP.Pi, A.M.Pi, A.M, and A.M + S1. Cross-bridges containing MgADP(-) (A.M.ADP) were also less effective than rigor bridges in promoting rTnC binding. We conclude that cross-bridge state and number both modulate TnC affinity for the thin filament and that the TnC C-domain is a central element in this pathway.

Effects of thin and thick filament proteins on calcium binding and exchange with cardiac troponin C

Understanding the effects of thin and thick filament proteins on the kinetics of Ca(2+) exchange with cardiac troponin C is essential to elucidating the Ca(2+)-dependent mechanisms controlling cardiac muscle contraction and relaxation. Unlike labeling of the endogenous Cys-84, labeling of cardiac troponin C at a novel engineered Cys-53 with 2-(4'-iodoacetamidoanilo)napthalene-6-sulfonic acid allowed us to accurately measure the rate of calcium dissociation from the regulatory domain of troponin C upon incorporation into the troponin complex. Neither tropomyosin nor actin alone affected the Ca(2+) binding properties of the troponin complex. However, addition of actin-tropomyosin to the troponin complex decreased the Ca(2+) sensitivity ( approximately 7.4-fold) and accelerated the rate of Ca(2+) dissociation from the regulatory domain of troponin C ( approximately 2.5-fold). Subsequent addition of myosin S1 to the reconstituted thin filaments (actin-tropomyosin-troponin) increased the Ca(2+) sensitivity ( approximately 6.2-fold) and decreased the rate of Ca(2+) dissociation from the regulatory domain of troponin C ( approximately 8.1-fold), which was completely reversed by ATP. Consistent with physiological data, replacement of cardiac troponin I with slow skeletal troponin I led to higher Ca(2+) sensitivities and slower Ca(2+) dissociation rates from troponin C in all the systems studied. Thus, both thin and thick filament proteins influence the ability of cardiac troponin C to sense and respond to Ca(2+). These results imply that both cross-bridge kinetics and Ca(2+) dissociation from troponin C work together to modulate the rate of cardiac muscle relaxation.

Cooperative effects of rigor and cycling cross-bridges on calcium binding to troponin C

The effects of rigor and cycling cross-bridges on distributions of calcium (Ca) bound within sarcomeres of rabbit psoas muscle fibers were compared using electron probe x-ray microanalysis. Calcium in the overlap region of rigor fibers, after correction for that bound to thick filaments, was significantly higher than in the I-band at all pCa levels tested between 6.9 and 4.8, but the difference was greatest at pCa 6.9. With addition of MgATP, differences were significant at high levels of activation (pCa 5.6 and 4.9); near and below the threshold for activation, Ca was the same in I-band and overlap regions. Comparison of Ca and mass profiles at the A-I junction showed elevation of Ca extending 55-110 nm (up to three regulatory units) into the I-band. Extraction of TnC-reduced I-band and overlap Ca in rigor fibers at pCa 5.6 to the same levels found in unextracted fibers at pCa 8.9, suggesting that variations reported here reflect changes in Ca bound to troponin C (TnC). Taken together, these observations provide evidence for near-neighbor cooperative effects of both rigor and cycling cross-bridges on Ca(2+) binding to TnC.

Increased Ca2+ affinity of cardiac thin filaments reconstituted with cardiomyopathy-related mutant cardiac troponin I

To understand the molecular mechanisms whereby cardiomyopathy-related cardiac troponin I (cTnI) mutations affect myofilament activity, we have investigated the Ca2+ binding properties of various assemblies of the regulatory components that contain one of the cardiomyopahty-related mutant cTnI. Acto-S1 ATPase activities in reconstituted systems were also determined. We investigated R145G and R145W mutations from the inhibitory region and D190H and R192H mutations from the second actin-tropomyosin-binding site. Each of the four mutations sensitized the acto-S1 ATPase to Ca2+. Whereas the mutations from the inhibitory region increased the basal level of ATPase activity, those from the second actin-tropomyosin-binding site did not. The effects on the Ca2+ binding properties of the troponin ternary complex and the troponin-tropomyosin complex with one of four mutations were either desensitization or no effect compared with those with wild-type cTnI. All of the mutations, however, affected the Ca2+ sensitivities of the reconstituted thin filaments in the same direction as the acto-S1 ATPase activity. Also the thin filaments with one of the mutant cTnIs bound Ca2+ with less cooperativity compared with those with wild-type cTnI. These data indicate that the mutations found in the inhibitory region and those from the second actin-tropomyosin site shift the equilibrium of the states of the thin filaments differently. Moreover, the increased Ca2+ bound to myofilaments containing the mutant cTnIs may be an important factor in triggered arrhythmias associated with the cardiomyopathy.

Physiological consequences of thin filament cooperativity for vertebrate striated muscle contraction: a theoretical study

Bindings of both myosin and Ca(2+) to the thin filament of vertebrate striated muscle are known to be strongly cooperative. Here the relation between these two sources of cooperativity and their consequences for physiological properties are assessed by comparing two models, with and without Monod-type myosin-binding cooperativity. In both models a thin filament regulatory unit (RU) is in either 'off' or 'on' state, and the equilibrium between them (K (on)) is [Ca(2+)]-dependent. The calculations predict the following: (1) In both models, myosin binding stabilizes the RU in the 'on' state, causing troponin to trap Ca(2+). This stabilization in turn increases the Ca(2+)-binding cooperativity, ensuring efficient regulation to occur in a narrow [Ca(2+)] range. (2) In the cooperative model, the RU is stabilized with a relatively low myosin affinity for actin (K approximately approximately 1), while the non-cooperative model requires a much higher affinity (K approximately approximately 10) to produce the same effect. (3) The cooperative model reproduces the known effects of [Ca(2+)] on the rate of force development and shortening velocity with a low K, but again the non-cooperative model requires a higher value. (4) Because of the finite value of K (on), the thin filaments can never be fully activated by increasing [Ca(2+)], indicating that contracting muscles are under strong influence of thin-filament cooperativity even at saturating [Ca(2+)]. Interpretation of data on muscle mechanics without considering these cooperative effects could therefore lead to a substantial (10-fold) overestimate of cross-bridge binding properties.

Regulation of energy liberation during steady sarcomere shortening

Energy liberation rate ( Ė) during steady muscle shortening is a monotonic increasing or biphasic function of the shortening velocity ( V). The study examines three plausible hypotheses for explaining the biphasic Ė-V relationship (EVR): 1) the cross-bridge (XB) turnover rate from non-force-generating (weak) to force-generating (strong) conformation decreases as V increases; 2) XB kinetics is determined by the number of strong XBs (XB -XB cooperativity); and 3) the affinity of troponin for calcium is modulated by the number of strong XBs (XB -Ca cooperativity). The relative role of the various energy-regulating mechanisms is not well defined. The hypotheses were tested by coupling calcium kinetics with XB cycling. All three hypotheses yield identical steady-state characteristics: 1) hyperbolic force-velocity relationship; 2) quasi-linear stiffness-force relationship; and 3) biphasic EVR, where Ė declines at high V due to decrease in the number of cycling XBs or in the weak-to-strong transition rate. The hypotheses differ in the ability to describe the existence of both monotonic and biphasic EVRs and in the effect of intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) on the EVR peak. Monotonic and biphasic EVRs with a shift in EVR peak to higher velocity at higher [Ca2+]iare obtained only by XB -Ca cooperativity. XB -XB cooperativity provides only biphasic EVRs. A direct effect of V on XB kinetics predicts that EVR peak is obtained at the same velocity independently of [Ca2+]i. The study predicts that measuring the dependence of the EVR on [Ca2+]iallows us to test the hypotheses and to identify the dominant energy-regulating mechanism. The established XB -XB and XB -Ca mechanisms provide alternative explanations to the various reported EVRs.