Deletion of 1-43 amino acids in cardiac myosin essential light chain blunts length dependency of Ca(2+) sensitivity and cross-bridge detachment kinetics

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.

Insights into myosin regulatory and essential light chains: a focus on their roles in cardiac and skeletal muscle function, development and disease

The activity of cardiac and skeletal muscles depends upon the ATP-coupled actin-myosin interactions to execute the power stroke and muscle contraction. The goal of this review article is to provide insight into the function of myosin II, the molecular motor of the heart and skeletal muscles, with a special focus on the role of myosin II light chain (MLC) components. Specifically, we focus on the involvement of myosin regulatory (RLC) and essential (ELC) light chains in striated muscle development, isoform appearance and their function in normal and diseased muscle. We review the consequences of isoform switching and knockout of specific MLC isoforms on cardiac and skeletal muscle function in various animal models. Finally, we discuss how dysregulation of specific RLC/ELC isoforms can lead to cardiac and skeletal muscle diseases and summarize the effects of most studied mutations leading to cardiac or skeletal myopathies.

Thick Filament Protein Network, Functions, and Disease Association

Sarcomeres consist of highly ordered arrays of thick myosin and thin actin filaments along with accessory proteins. Thick filaments occupy the center of sarcomeres where they partially overlap with thin filaments. The sliding of thick filaments past thin filaments is a highly regulated process that occurs in an ATP-dependent manner driving muscle contraction. In addition to myosin that makes up the backbone of the thick filament, four other proteins which are intimately bound to the thick filament, myosin binding protein-C, titin, myomesin, and obscurin play important structural and regulatory roles. Consistent with this, mutations in the respective genes have been associated with idiopathic and congenital forms of skeletal and cardiac myopathies. In this review, we aim to summarize our current knowledge on the molecular structure, subcellular localization, interacting partners, function, modulation via posttranslational modifications, and disease involvement of these five major proteins that comprise the thick filament of striated muscle cells. © 2018 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 8:631-709, 2018.

Cardiomyopathy-related mutation (A30V) in mouse cardiac troponin T divergently alters the magnitude of stretch activation in α- and β-myosin heavy chain fibers

The present study investigated the functional consequences of the human hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) mutation A28V in cardiac troponin T (TnT). The A28V mutation is located within the NH2 terminus of TnT, a region known to be important for full activation of cardiac thin filaments. The functional consequences of the A28V mutation in TnT remain unknown. Given how α- and β-myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms differently alter the functional effect of the NH2 terminus of TnT, we hypothesized that the A28V-induced effects would be differently modulated by α- and β-MHC isoforms. Recombinant wild-type mouse TnT (TnTWT) and the mouse equivalent of the human A28V mutation (TnTA30V) were reconstituted into detergent-skinned cardiac muscle fibers extracted from normal (α-MHC) and transgenic (β-MHC) mice. Dynamic and steady-state contractile parameters were measured in reconstituted muscle fibers. Step-like length perturbation experiments demonstrated that TnTA30V decreased the magnitude of the muscle length-mediated recruitment of new force-bearing cross bridges (ER) by 30% in α-MHC fibers. In sharp contrast, TnTA30V increased ER by 55% in β-MHC fibers. Inferences drawn from other dynamic contractile parameters suggest that directional changes in ER in TnTA30V + α-MHC and TnTA30V + β-MHC fibers result from a divergent impact on cross bridge-regulatory unit (troponin-tropomyosin complex) cooperativity. TnTA30V-mediated effects on Ca2+-activated maximal tension and instantaneous muscle fiber stiffness (ED) were also divergently affected by α- and β-MHC. Our study demonstrates that TnTA30V + α-MHC and TnTA30V + β-MHC fibers show contrasting contractile phenotypes; however, only the observations from β-MHC fibers are consistent with the clinical data for A28V in humans.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY

The differential impact of α- and β-myosin heavy chain (MHC) on contractile dynamics causes a mutant cardiac troponin T (TnTA30V) to differently modulate cardiac contractile function. TnTA30V attenuated Ca2+-activated maximal tension and length-mediated cross-bridge recruitment against α-MHC but augmented these parameters against β-MHC, suggesting divergent contractile phenotypes.

Comparison of elementary steps of the cross-bridge cycle in rat papillary muscle fibers expressing α- and β-myosin heavy chain with sinusoidal analysis

In mammalian ventricles, two myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms have been identified. Small animals express α-MHC, whereas large animals express β-MHC, which contribute to a large difference in the heart rate. Sprague-Dawley rats possessing ~99% α-MHC were treated with propylthiouracil to result in 100% β-MHC. Papillary muscles were skinned, dissected into small fibers, and used for experiments. To understand the functional difference between α-MHC and β-MHC, skinned-fibers were activated under the intracellular ionic conditions: 5 mM MgATP, 1 mM Mg²⁺, 8 mM Pi, 200 mM ionic strength, pH 7.00 at 25 °C. Small amplitude sinusoidal length oscillations were applied in the frequency range 0.13-100 Hz (corresponding time domain: 1.6-1200 ms), and effects of Ca²⁺, Pi, and ATP were studied. The results show that Ca²⁺ sensitivity was slightly less (10-15%) in β-MHC than α-MHC containing fibers. Sinusoidal analysis at pCa 4.66 (full Ca²⁺ activation) demonstrated that, the apparent rate constants were 2-4× faster in α-MHC containing fibers. The ATP study demonstrated that, in β-MHC containing fibers, K ₁ (ATP association constant) was greater (1.7×), k ₂ and k _-2 (cross-bridge detachment and its reversal rate constants) were smaller (×0.6). The Pi study demonstrated that, in β-MHC containing fibers, k ₄ (rate constant of the force-generation step) and k _-4 were smaller (0.75× and 0.25×, respectively), resulting in greater K ₄ (3×). There were no differences in active tension, rigor stiffness, or K ₂ (equilibrium constant of the cross-bridge detachment step). Our study further demonstrated that there were no differences in parameters between fibers obtained from left and right ventricles, but with an exception in K ₅ (Pi association constant).

Interplay between the effects of a Protein Kinase C phosphomimic (T204E) and a dilated cardiomyopathy mutation (K211Δ or R206W) in rat cardiac troponin T blunts the magnitude of muscle length-mediated crossbridge recruitment against the β-myosin heavy chain background

Failing hearts of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)-patients reveal systolic dysfunction and upregulation of several Protein Kinase C (PKC) isoforms. Recently, we demonstrated that the functional effects of T204E, a PKC phosphomimic of cardiac troponin T (TnT), were differently modulated by α- and β-myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms. Therefore, we hypothesized that the interplay between the effects of T204E and a DCM-linked mutation (K211Δ or R206W) in TnT would modulate contractile parameters linked-to systolic function in an MHC-dependent manner. To test our hypothesis, five TnT variants (wildtype, K211Δ, K211Δ + T204E, R206W, and R206W + T204E) were generated and individually reconstituted into demembranated cardiac muscle fibers from normal (α-MHC) and propylthiouracil-treated (β-MHC) rats. Steady-state and mechano-dynamic measurements were performed on reconstituted fibers. Myofilament Ca(2+) sensitivity (pCa50) was decreased by both K211Δ and R206W to a greater extent in α-MHC fibers (~0.15 pCa units) than in β-MHC fibers (~0.06 pCa units). However, T204E exacerbated the attenuating influence of both mutants on pCa50 only in β-MHC fibers. Moreover, the magnitude of muscle length (ML)-mediated crossbridge (XB) recruitment was decreased by K211Δ + T204E (~47 %), R206W (~34 %), and R206W + T204E (~36 %) only in β-MHC fibers. In relevance to human hearts, which predominantly express β-MHC, our data suggest that the interplay between the effects of DCM mutations, PKC phosphomimic in TnT, and β-MHC lead to systolic dysfunction by attenuating pCa50 and the magnitude of ML-mediated XB recruitment.

Interplay Between the Effects of Dilated Cardiomyopathy Mutation (R206L) and the Protein Kinase C Phosphomimic (T204E) of Rat Cardiac Troponin T Are Differently Modulated by α- and β-Myosin Heavy Chain Isoforms

Background

We hypothesized that the functional effects of R206L—a rat analog of the dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) mutation R205L in human cardiac troponin T (TnT)—were differently modulated by myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms and T204E, a protein kinase C (PKC) phosphomimic of TnT. Our hypothesis was based on two observations: (1) α‐ and β‐MHC differentially influence the functional effects of TnT; and (2) PKC isoforms capable of phosphorylating TnT are upregulated in failing human hearts.

Methods and Results

We generated 4 recombinant TnT variants: wild type; R206L; T204E; and R206L+T204E. Functional effects of the TnT variants were tested in cardiac muscle fibers (minimum 14 per group) from normal (α‐MHC) and propylthiouracil‐treated rats (β‐MHC) using steady‐state and dynamic contractile measurements. Notably, in α‐MHC fibers, Ca²⁺‐activated maximal tension was attenuated by R206L (≈32%), T204E (≈63%), and R206L+T204E (≈64%). In β‐MHC fibers, maximal tension was unaffected by R206L, but was attenuated by T204E (≈33%) and R206L+T204E (≈40%). Thus, β‐MHC differentially counteracted the attenuating effects of the TnT variants on tension. However, in β‐MHC fibers, R206L+T204E attenuated tension to a greater extent when compared to T204E alone. In β‐MHC fibers, R206L+T204E attenuated the magnitude of the length‐mediated recruitment of new cross‐bridges (≈28%), suggesting that the Frank‐Starling mechanism was impaired.

Conclusions

Our findings are the first (to our knowledge) to demonstrate that the functional effects of a DCM‐linked TnT mutation are not only modulated by MHC isoforms, but also by the pathology‐associated post‐translational modifications of TnT.

N-Terminus of Cardiac Myosin Essential Light Chain Modulates Myosin Step-Size

Muscle myosin cyclically hydrolyzes ATP to translate actin. Ventricular cardiac myosin (βmys) moves actin with three distinct unitary step-sizes resulting from its lever-arm rotation and with step-frequencies that are modulated in a myosin regulation mechanism. The lever-arm associated essential light chain (vELC) binds actin by its 43 residue N-terminal extension. Unitary steps were proposed to involve the vELC N-terminal extension with the 8 nm step engaging the vELC/actin bond facilitating an extra ∼19 degrees of lever-arm rotation while the predominant 5 nm step forgoes vELC/actin binding. A minor 3 nm step is the unlikely conversion of the completed 5 to the 8 nm step. This hypothesis was tested using a 17 residue N-terminal truncated vELC in porcine βmys (Δ17βmys) and a 43 residue N-terminal truncated human vELC expressed in transgenic mouse heart (Δ43αmys). Step-size and step-frequency were measured using the Qdot motility assay. Both Δ17βmys and Δ43αmys had significantly increased 5 nm step-frequency and coincident loss in the 8 nm step-frequency compared to native proteins suggesting the vELC/actin interaction drives step-size preference. Step-size and step-frequency probability densities depend on the relative fraction of truncated vELC and relate linearly to pure myosin species concentrations in a mixture containing native vELC homodimer, two truncated vELCs in the modified homodimer, and one native and one truncated vELC in the heterodimer. Step-size and step-frequency, measured for native homodimer and at two or more known relative fractions of truncated vELC, are surmised for each pure species by using a new analytical method.

Length-dependent changes in contractile dynamics are blunted due to cardiac myosin binding protein-C ablation

Enhanced cardiac contractile function with increased sarcomere length (SL) is, in part, mediated by a decrease in the radial distance between myosin heads and actin. The radial disposition of myosin heads relative to actin is modulated by cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C), suggesting that cMyBP-C contributes to the length-dependent activation (LDA) in the myocardium. However, the precise roles of cMyBP-C in modulating cardiac LDA are unclear. To determine the impact of cMyBP-C on LDA, we measured isometric force, myofilament Ca²⁺-sensitivity (pCa₅₀) and length-dependent changes in kinetic parameters of cross-bridge (XB) relaxation (k_rel), and recruitment (k_df) due to rapid stretch, as well as the rate of force redevelopment (k_tr) in response to a large slack-restretch maneuver in skinned ventricular multicellular preparations isolated from the hearts of wild-type (WT) and cMyBP-C knockout (KO) mice, at SL's 1.9 μm or 2.1 μm. Our results show that maximal force was not significantly different between KO and WT preparations but length-dependent increase in pCa₅₀ was attenuated in the KO preparations. pCa₅₀ was not significantly different between WT and KO preparations at long SL (5.82 ± 0.02 in WT vs. 5.87 ± 0.02 in KO), whereas pCa₅₀ was significantly different between WT and KO preparations at short SL (5.71 ± 0.02 in WT vs. 5.80 ± 0.01 in KO; p < 0.05). The k_tr, measured at half-maximal Ca²⁺-activation, was significantly accelerated at short SL in WT preparations (8.74 ± 0.56 s⁻¹ at 1.9 μm vs. 5.71 ± 0.40 s⁻¹ at 2.1 μm, p < 0.05). Furthermore, k_rel and k_df were accelerated by 32% and 50%, respectively at short SL in WT preparations. In contrast, k_tr was not altered by changes in SL in KO preparations (8.03 ± 0.54 s⁻¹ at 1.9 μm vs. 8.90 ± 0.37 s⁻¹ at 2.1 μm). Similarly, KO preparations did not exhibit length-dependent changes in k_rel and k_df. Collectively, our data implicate cMyBP-C as an important regulator of LDA via its impact on dynamic XB behavior due to changes in SL.

Remodeling of the heart in hypertrophy in animal models with myosin essential light chain mutations

Cardiac hypertrophy represents one of the most important cardiovascular problems yet the mechanisms responsible for hypertrophic remodeling of the heart are poorly understood. In this report we aimed to explore the molecular pathways leading to two different phenotypes of cardiac hypertrophy in transgenic mice carrying mutations in the human ventricular myosin essential light chain (ELC). Mutation-induced alterations in the heart structure and function were studied in two transgenic (Tg) mouse models carrying the A57G (alanine to glycine) substitution or lacking the N-terminal 43 amino acid residues (Δ43) from the ELC sequence. The first model represents an HCM disease as the A57G mutation was shown to cause malignant HCM outcomes in humans. The second mouse model is lacking the region of the ELC that was shown to be important for a direct interaction between the ELC and actin during muscle contraction. Our earlier studies demonstrated that >7 month old Tg-Δ43 mice developed substantial cardiac hypertrophy with no signs of histopathology or fibrosis. Tg mice did not show abnormal cardiac function compared to Tg-WT expressing the full length human ventricular ELC. Previously reported pathological morphology in Tg-A57G mice included extensive disorganization of myocytes and interstitial fibrosis with no abnormal increase in heart mass observed in >6 month-old animals. In this report we show that strenuous exercise can trigger hypertrophy and pathologic cardiac remodeling in Tg-A57G mice as early as 3 months of age. In contrast, no exercise-induced changes were noted for Tg-Δ43 hearts and the mice maintained a non-pathological cardiac phenotype. Based on our results, we suggest that exercise-elicited heart remodeling in Tg-A57G mice follows the pathological pathway leading to HCM, while it induces no abnormal response in Tg-Δ43 mice.

Ventricular myosin modifies in vitro step-size when phosphorylated

Cardiac and skeletal muscle myosins have the central role in contraction transducing ATP free energy into the mechanical work of moving actin. Myosin has a motor domain containing ATP and actin binding sites and a lever-arm that undergoes rotation impelling bound actin. The lever-arm converts torque generated in the motor into the linear displacement known as step-size. The myosin lever-arm is stabilized by bound essential and regulatory light chains (ELC and RLC). RLC phosphorylation at S15 is linked to modified lever-arm mechanical characteristics contributing to myosin filament based contraction regulation and to the response of the muscle to disease. Myosin step-size was measured using a novel quantum dot (Qdot) assay that previously confirmed a 5nm step-size for fast skeletal myosin and multiple unitary steps, most frequently 5 and 8nm, and a rare 3nm displacement for β cardiac myosin (βMys). S15 phosphorylation in βMys is now shown to change step-size distribution by advancing the 8nm step frequency. After phosphorylation, the 8nm step is the dominant myosin step-size resulting in significant gain in the average step-size. An increase in myosin step-size will increase the amount of work produced per ATPase cycle. The results indicate that RLC phosphorylation modulates work production per ATPase cycle suggesting the mechanism for contraction regulation by the myosin filament.

Distinct interactions between actin and essential myosin light chain isoforms

Binding of the utmost N-terminus of essential myosin light chains (ELC) to actin slows down myosin motor function. In this study, we investigated the binding constants of two different human cardiac ELC isoforms with actin. We employed circular dichroism (CD) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy to determine structural properties and protein-protein interaction of recombinant human atrial and ventricular ELC (hALC-1 and hVLC-1, respectively) with α-actin as well as α-actin with alanin-mutated ELC binding site (α-actin(ala3)) as control. CD spectroscopy showed similar secondary structure of both hALC-1 and hVLC-1 with high degree of α-helicity. SPR spectroscopy revealed that the affinity of hALC-1 to α-actin (KD=575 nM) was significantly (p<0.01) lower compared with the affinity of hVLC-1 to α-actin (KD=186 nM). The reduced affinity of hALC-1 to α-actin was mainly due to a significantly (p<0.01) lower association rate (kon: 1,018 M(-1)s(-1)) compared with kon of the hVLC-1/α-actin complex interaction (2,908 M(-1)s(-1)). Hence, differential expression of ELC isoforms could modulate muscle contractile activity via distinct α-actin interactions.

Interplay between the overlapping ends of tropomyosin and the N terminus of cardiac troponin T affects tropomyosin states on actin

The functional significance of the molecular swivel at the head-to-tail overlapping ends of contiguous tropomyosin (Tm) dimers in striated muscle is unknown. Contractile measurements were made in muscle fibers from transgenic (TG) mouse hearts that expressed a mutant α-Tm (Tm(H276N)). We also reconstituted mouse cardiac troponin T (McTnT) N-terminal deletion mutants, McTnT(1-44Δ) and McTnT(45-74Δ), into muscle fibers from Tm(H276N). For controls, we used the wild-type (WT) McTnT because altered effects could be correlated with the mutant forms of McTnT. Tm(H276N) slowed crossbridge (XB) detachment rate (g) by 19%. McTnT(1-44Δ) attenuated Ca(2+)-activated maximal tension against Tm(WT) (36%) and Tm(H276N) (38%), but sped g only against Tm(H276N) by 35%. The rate of tension redevelopment decreased (17%) only in McTnT(1-44Δ) + Tm(H276N) fibers. McTnT(45-74Δ) attenuated tension (19%) and myofilament Ca(2+) sensitivity (pCa50=5.93 vs. 6.00 in the control fibers) against Tm(H276N), but not against Tm(WT) background. Thus, altered XB cycling kinetics decreased the fraction of strongly bound XBs in McTnT(1-44Δ) + Tm(H276N) fibers, whereas diminished thin-filament cooperativity attenuated tension in McTnT(45-74Δ) + Tm(H276N) fibers. In summary, our study is the first to show that the interplay between the N terminus of cTnT and the overlapping ends of contiguous Tm effectuates different states of Tm on the actin filament.

Discrete effects of A57G-myosin essential light chain mutation associated with familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

The functional consequences of the familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy A57G (alanine-to-glycine) mutation in the myosin ventricular essential light chain (ELC) were assessed in vitro and in vivo using previously generated transgenic (Tg) mice expressing A57G-ELC mutant vs. wild-type (WT) of human cardiac ELC and in recombinant A57G- or WT-protein-exchanged porcine cardiac muscle strips. Compared with the Tg-WT, there was a significant increase in the Ca²⁺ sensitivity of force (ΔpCa₅₀ ≅ 0.1) and an ~1.3-fold decrease in maximal force per cross section of muscle observed in the mutant preparations. In addition, a significant increase in passive tension in response to stretch was monitored in Tg-A57G vs. Tg-WT strips indicating a mutation-induced myocardial stiffness. Consistently, the hearts of Tg-A57G mice demonstrated a high level of fibrosis and hypertrophy manifested by increased heart weight-to-body weight ratios and a decreased number of nuclei indicating an increase in the two-dimensional size of Tg-A57G vs. Tg-WT myocytes. Echocardiography examination showed a phenotype of eccentric hypertrophy in Tg-A57G mice, enhanced left ventricular (LV) cavity dimension without changes in LV posterior/anterior wall thickness. Invasive hemodynamics data revealed significantly increased end-systolic elastance, defined by the slope of the pressure-volume relationship, indicating a mutation-induced increase in cardiac contractility. Our results suggest that the A57G allele causes disease by means of a discrete modulation of myofilament function, increased Ca²⁺ sensitivity, and decreased maximal tension followed by compensatory hypertrophy and enhanced contractility. These and other contributing factors such as increased myocardial stiffness and fibrosis most likely activate cardiomyopathic signaling pathways leading to pathologic cardiac remodeling.

Characterizations of myosin essential light chain's N-terminal truncation mutant Δ43 in transgenic mouse papillary muscles by using tension transients in response to sinusoidal length alterations

Cross-bridge kinetics were studied at 20 °C in cardiac muscle strips from transgenic (Tg) mice expressing N-terminal 43 amino acid truncation mutation (Δ43) of myosin essential light chain (ELC), and the results were compared to those from Tg-wild type (WT) mice. Sinusoidal length changes were applied to activated skinned papillary muscle strips to induce tension transients, from which two exponential processes were deduced to characterize the cross-bridge kinetics. Their two rate constants were studied as functions of ATP, phosphate (Pi), ADP, and Ca(2+) concentrations to characterize elementary steps of the cross-bridge cycle consisting of six states. Our results demonstrate for the first time that the cross-bridge kinetics of Δ43 are accelerated owing to an acceleration of the rate constant k 2 of the cross-bridge detachment step, and that the number of strongly attached cross-bridges are decreased because of a reduction of the equilibrium constant K 4 of the force generation step. The isometric tension and stiffness of Δ43 are diminished compared to WT, but the force per cross-bridge is not changed. Stiffness measurement during rigor induction demonstrates a reduction in the stiffness in Δ43, indicating that the N-terminal extension of ELC forms an extra linkage between the myosin cross-bridge and actin. The tension-pCa study demonstrates that there is no Ca(2+) sensitivity change with Δ43, but the cooperativity is diminished. These results demonstrate the importance of the N-terminal extension of ELC in maintaining the myosin motor function during force generation and optimal cardiac performance.