Genomic organization, expression, and phylogenetic analysis of Ca2+ channel beta4 genes in 13 vertebrate species

Thyroid Hormone Receptor α Mutations Cause Heart Defects in Zebrafish

Background: Mutations of thyroid hormone receptor α1 (TRα1) cause resistance to thyroid hormone (RTHα). Patients exhibit growth retardation, delayed bone development, anemia, and bradycardia. By using mouse models of RTHα, much has been learned about the molecular actions of TRα1 mutants that underlie these abnormalities in adults. Using zebrafish models of RTHα that we have recently created, we aimed to understand how TRα1 mutants affect the heart function during this period. Methods: In contrast to human and mice, the thra gene is duplicated, thraa and thrab, in zebrafish. Using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated targeted mutagenesis, we created C-terminal mutations in each of two duplicated thra genes in zebrafish (thraa 8-bp insertion or thrab 1-bp insertion mutations). We recently showed that these mutant fish faithfully recapitulated growth retardation as found in patients and thra mutant mice. In the present study, we used histological analysis, gene expression profiles, confocal fluorescence, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to comprehensively analyze the phenotypic characteristics of mutant fish heart during development. Results: We found both a dilated atrium and an abnormally shaped ventricle in adult mutant fish. The retention of red blood cells in the two abnormal heart chambers, and the decreased circulating blood speed and reduced expression of contractile genes indicated weakened contractility in the heart of mutant fish. These abnormalities were detected in mutant fish as early as 35 days postfertilization (juveniles). Furthermore, the expression of genes associated with the sarcomere assembly was suppressed in the heart of mutant fish, resulting in abnormalities of sarcomere organization as revealed by TEM, suggesting that the abnormal sarcomere organization could underlie the bradycardia exhibited in mutant fish. Conclusions: Using a zebrafish model of RTHα, the present study demonstrated for the first time that TRα1 mutants could act to cause abnormal heart structure, weaken contractility, and disrupt sarcomere organization that affect heart functions. These findings provide new insights into the bradycardia found in RTHα patients.

Solution NMR and calorimetric analysis of Rem2 binding to the Ca2+ channel β4 subunit: a low affinity interaction is required for inhibition of Cav2.1 Ca2+ currents

Rem, Rad, Kir/Gem (RGK) proteins, including Rem2, mediate profound inhibition of high-voltage activated Ca(2+) channels containing intracellular regulatory β subunits. All RGK proteins bind to voltage-gated Ca(2+) channel β subunit (Cavβ) subunits in vitro, but the necessity of the interaction for current inhibition remains controversial. This study applies NMR and calorimetric techniques to map the binding site for Rem2 on human Cavβ4a and measure its binding affinity. Our experiments revealed 2 binding surfaces on the β4 guanylate kinase domain contributing to a 156 ± 18 µM Kd interaction: a hydrophobic pocket lined by 4 critical residues (L173, N261, H262, and V303), mutation of any of which completely disrupted binding, and a nearby surface containing 3 residues (D206, L209, and D258) that when individually mutated decreased affinity. Voltage-gated Ca(2+) channel α1A subunit (Cav2.1) Ca(2+) currents were completely inhibited by Rem2 when co-expressed with wild-type Cavβ4a, but were unaffected by Rem2 when coexpressed with a Cavβ4a site 1 (L173A/V303A) or site 2 (D258A) mutant. These results provide direct evidence for a low-affinity Rem2/Cavβ4 interaction and show definitively that the interaction is required for Cav2.1 inhibition.

Gene splicing of an invertebrate beta subunit (LCavβ) in the N-terminal and HOOK domains and its regulation of LCav1 and LCav2 calcium channels

The accessory beta subunit (Ca(v)β) of calcium channels first appear in the same genome as Ca(v)1 L-type calcium channels in single-celled coanoflagellates. The complexity of this relationship expanded in vertebrates to include four different possible Ca(v)β subunits (β1, β2, β3, β4) which associate with four Ca(v)1 channel isoforms (Ca(v)1.1 to Ca(v)1.4) and three Ca(v)2 channel isoforms (Ca(v)2.1 to Ca(v)2.3). Here we assess the fundamentally-shared features of the Ca(v)β subunit in an invertebrate model (pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis) that bears only three homologous genes: (LCa(v)1, LCa(v)2, and LCa(v)β). Invertebrate Ca(v)β subunits (in flatworms, snails, squid and honeybees) slow the inactivation kinetics of Ca(v)2 channels, and they do so with variable N-termini and lacking the canonical palmitoylation residues of the vertebrate β2a subunit. Alternative splicing of exon 7 of the HOOK domain is a primary determinant of a slow inactivation kinetics imparted by the invertebrate LCa(v)β subunit. LCa(v)β will also slow the inactivation kinetics of LCa(v)3 T-type channels, but this is likely not physiologically relevant in vivo. Variable N-termini have little influence on the voltage-dependent inactivation kinetics of differing invertebrate Ca(v)β subunits, but the expression pattern of N-terminal splice isoforms appears to be highly tissue specific. Molluscan LCa(v)β subunits have an N-terminal "A" isoform (coded by exons: 1a and 1b) that structurally resembles the muscle specific variant of vertebrate β1a subunit, and has a broad mRNA expression profile in brain, heart, muscle and glands. A more variable "B" N-terminus (exon 2) in the exon position of mammalian β3 and has a more brain-centric mRNA expression pattern. Lastly, we suggest that the facilitation of closed-state inactivation (e.g. observed in Ca(v)2.2 and Ca(v)β3 subunit combinations) is a specialization in vertebrates, because neither snail subunit (LCa(v)2 nor LCa(v)β) appears to be compatible with this observed property.

L-type CaV1.2 calcium channels: from in vitro findings to in vivo function

The L-type Cav1.2 calcium channel is present throughout the animal kingdom and is essential for some aspects of CNS function, cardiac and smooth muscle contractility, neuroendocrine regulation, and multiple other processes. The L-type CaV1.2 channel is built by up to four subunits; all subunits exist in various splice variants that potentially affect the biophysical and biological functions of the channel. Many of the CaV1.2 channel properties have been analyzed in heterologous expression systems including regulation of the L-type CaV1.2 channel by Ca(2+) itself and protein kinases. However, targeted mutations of the calcium channel genes confirmed only some of these in vitro findings. Substitution of the respective serines by alanine showed that β-adrenergic upregulation of the cardiac CaV1.2 channel did not depend on the phosphorylation of the in vitro specified amino acids. Moreover, well-established in vitro phosphorylation sites of the CaVβ2 subunit of the cardiac L-type CaV1.2 channel were found to be irrelevant for the in vivo regulation of the channel. However, the molecular basis of some kinetic properties, such as Ca(2+)-dependent inactivation and facilitation, has been approved by in vivo mutagenesis of the CaV1.2α1 gene. This article summarizes recent findings on the in vivo relevance of well-established in vitro results.

Differential gene expression of cardiac ion channels in human dilated cardiomyopathy

Background

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by idiopathic dilation and systolic contractile dysfunction of the cardiac chambers. The present work aimed to study the alterations in gene expression of ion channels involved in cardiomyocyte function.

Methods and Results

Microarray profiling using the Affymetrix Human Gene® 1.0 ST array was performed using 17 RNA samples, 12 from DCM patients undergoing cardiac transplantation and 5 control donors (CNT). The analysis focused on 7 cardiac ion channel genes, since this category has not been previously studied in human DCM. SCN2B was upregulated, while KCNJ5, KCNJ8, CLIC2, CLCN3, CACNB2, and CACNA1C were downregulated. The RT-qPCR (21 DCM and 8 CNT samples) validated the gene expression of SCN2B (p < 0.0001), KCNJ5 (p < 0.05), KCNJ8 (p < 0.05), CLIC2 (p < 0.05), and CACNB2 (p < 0.05). Furthermore, we performed an IPA analysis and we found a functional relationship between the different ion channels studied in this work.

Conclusion

This study shows a differential expression of ion channel genes involved in cardiac contraction in DCM that might partly underlie the changes in left ventricular function observed in these patients. These results could be the basis for new genetic therapeutic approaches.

The Ca2+ channel beta4c subunit interacts with heterochromatin protein 1 via a PXVXL binding motif

The β subunits of voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels are best known for their roles in regulating surface expression and gating of voltage-gated Ca(2+) channel α(1) subunits. Recent evidence, however, indicates that these proteins have a variety of Ca(2+) channel-independent functions. For example, on the molecular level, they regulate gene expression, and on the whole animal level, they regulate early cell movements in zebrafish development. In the present study, an alternatively spliced, truncated β4 subunit (β4c) is identified in the human brain and shown to be highly expressed in nuclei of vestibular neurons. Pull-down assays, nuclear magnetic resonance, and isothermal titration calorimetry demonstrate that the protein interacts with the chromo shadow domain (CSD) of heterochromatin protein 1γ. Site-directed mutagenesis reveals that the primary CSD interaction occurs through a β4c C-terminal PXVXL consensus motif, adding the β4c subunit to a growing PXVXL protein family with epigenetic responsibilities. These proteins have multiple nuclear functions, including transcription regulation (TIF1α) and nucleosome assembly (CAF1). An NMR-based two-site docking model of β4c in complex with dimerized CSD is presented. Possible roles for the interaction are discussed.