Bifunctional rhodamine probes of Myosin regulatory light chain orientation in relaxed skeletal muscle fibers

Myosin lever arm orientation in muscle determined with high angular resolution using bifunctional spin labels

High-resolution structural information is invaluable for understanding muscle function. Savich et al. use bifunctional spin labeling to determine the orientation of the myosin lever arm in muscle fibers at high resolution under ambient conditions, augmenting previous insights obtained from fluorescence and EM.

Despite advances in x-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), and fluorescence polarization, none of these techniques provide high-resolution structural information about the myosin light chain domain (LCD; lever arm) under ambient conditions in vertebrate muscle. Here, we measure the orientation of LCD elements in demembranated muscle fibers by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) using a bifunctional spin label (BSL) with an angular resolution of 4°. To achieve stereoselective site-directed labeling with BSL, we engineered a pair of cysteines in the myosin regulatory light chain (RLC), either on helix E or helix B, which are roughly parallel or perpendicular to the myosin lever arm, respectively. By exchanging BSL-labeled RLC onto oriented muscle fibers, we obtain EPR spectra from which the angular distributions of BSL, and thus the lever arm, can be determined with high resolution relative to the muscle fiber axis. In the absence of ATP (rigor), each of the two labeled helices exhibits both ordered (σ ∼9–11°) and disordered (σ > 38°) populations. Using these angles to determine the orientation of the lever arm (LCD combined with converter subdomain), we observe that the oriented population corresponds to a lever arm that is perpendicular to the muscle fiber axis and that the addition of ATP in the absence of Ca²⁺ (inducing relaxation) shifts the orientation to a much more disordered orientational distribution. Although the detected orientation of the myosin light chain lever arm is ∼33° different than predicted from a standard “lever arm down” model based on cryo-EM of actin decorated with isolated myosin heads, it is compatible with, and thus augments and clarifies, fluorescence polarization, x-ray interference, and EM data obtained from muscle fibers. These results establish feasibility for high-resolution detection of myosin LCD rotation during muscle contraction.

Using the SpyTag SpyCatcher system to label smooth muscle myosin II filaments with a quantum dot on the regulatory light chain

The regulatory light chain (RLC) of myosin is commonly tagged to monitor myosin behavior in vitro, in muscle fibers, and in cells. The goal of this study was to prepare smooth muscle myosin (SMM) filaments containing a single head labeled with a quantum dot (QD) on the RLC. We show that when the RLC is coupled to a QD at Cys-108 and exchanged into SMM, subsequent filament assembly is severely disrupted. To address this, we used a novel approach for myosin by implementing the SpyTag002 SpyCatcher002 system to prepare SMM incorporated with RLC constructs fused to SpyTag or SpyCatcher. We show that filament assembly, actin-activated steady-state ATPase activities, ability to be phosphorylated, and selected enzymatic and mechanical properties were essentially unaffected if either SpyTag or SpyCatcher were fused to the C-terminus of the RLC. Crucially for our application, we also show that a QD coupled to SpyCatcher can be covalently attached to a RLC-Spy incorporated into a SMM filament without disrupting the filament, and that the filaments can move along actin in vitro.

Omecamtiv mercabil and blebbistatin modulate cardiac contractility by perturbing the regulatory state of the myosin filament

Key points

Omecamtiv mecarbil and blebbistatin perturb the regulatory state of the thick filament in heart muscle.

Omecamtiv mecarbil increases contractility at low levels of activation by stabilizing the ON state of the thick filament.

Omecamtiv mecarbil decreases contractility at high levels of activation by disrupting the acto‐myosin ATPase cycle.

Blebbistatin reduces contractility by stabilizing the thick filament OFF state and inhibiting acto‐myosin ATPase.

Thick filament regulation is a promising target for novel therapeutics in heart disease.

Abstract

Contraction of heart muscle is triggered by a transient rise in intracellular free calcium concentration linked to a change in the structure of the actin‐containing thin filaments that allows the head or motor domains of myosin from the thick filaments to bind to them and induce filament sliding. It is becoming increasingly clear that cardiac contractility is also regulated through structural changes in the thick filaments, although the molecular mechanisms underlying thick filament regulation are still relatively poorly understood. Here we investigated those mechanisms using small molecules – omecamtiv mecarbil (OM) and blebbistatin (BS) – that bind specifically to myosin and respectively activate or inhibit contractility in demembranated cardiac muscle cells. We measured isometric force and ATP utilization at different calcium and small‐molecule concentrations in parallel with in situ structural changes determined using fluorescent probes on the myosin regulatory light chain in the thick filaments and on troponin C in the thin filaments. The results show that BS inhibits contractility and actin‐myosin ATPase by stabilizing the OFF state of the thick filament in which myosin head domains are more parallel to the filament axis. In contrast, OM stabilizes the ON state of the thick filament, but inhibits contractility at high intracellular calcium concentration by disrupting the actin‐myosin ATPase pathway. The effects of BS and OM on the calcium sensitivity of isometric force and filament structural changes suggest that the co‐operativity of calcium activation in physiological conditions is due to positive coupling between the regulatory states of the thin and thick filaments.

Omecamtiv mecarbil and blebbistatin perturb the regulatory state of the thick filament in heart muscle.

Omecamtiv mecarbil increases contractility at low levels of activation by stabilizing the ON state of the thick filament.

Omecamtiv mecarbil decreases contractility at high levels of activation by disrupting the acto‐myosin ATPase cycle.

Blebbistatin reduces contractility by stabilizing the thick filament OFF state and inhibiting acto‐myosin ATPase.

Thick filament regulation is a promising target for novel therapeutics in heart disease.

The Conformation of Myosin Heads in Relaxed Skeletal Muscle: Implications for Myosin-Based Regulation

In isolated thick filaments from many types of muscle, the two head domains of each myosin molecule are folded back against the filament backbone in a conformation called the interacting heads motif (IHM) in which actin interaction is inhibited. This conformation is present in resting skeletal muscle, but it is not known how exit from the IHM state is achieved during muscle activation. Here, we investigated this by measuring the in situ conformation of the light chain domain of the myosin heads in relaxed demembranated fibers from rabbit psoas muscle using fluorescence polarization from bifunctional rhodamine probes at four sites on the C-terminal lobe of the myosin regulatory light chain (RLC). The order parameter 〈P₂〉 describing probe orientation with respect to the filament axis had a roughly sigmoidal dependence on temperature in relaxing conditions, with a half-maximal change at ∼19°C. Either lattice compression by 5% dextran T500 or addition of 25 μM blebbistatin decreased the transition temperature to ∼14°C. Maximum entropy analysis revealed three preferred orientations of the myosin RLC region at 25°C and above, two with its long axis roughly parallel to the filament axis and one roughly perpendicular. The parallel orientations are similar to those of the so-called blocked and free heads in the IHM and are stabilized by either lattice compression or blebbistatin. In relaxed skeletal muscle at near-physiological temperature and myofilament lattice spacing, the majority of the myosin heads have their light chain domains in IHM-like conformations, with a minority in a distinct conformation with their RLC regions roughly perpendicular to the filament axis. None of these three orientation populations were present during active contraction. These results are consistent with a regulatory transition of the thick filament in skeletal muscle associated with a conformational equilibrium of the myosin heads.

Orientation of the N- and C-terminal lobes of the myosin regulatory light chain in cardiac muscle

The orientations of the N- and C-terminal lobes of the cardiac isoform of the myosin regulatory light chain (cRLC) in the fully dephosphorylated state in ventricular trabeculae from rat heart were determined using polarized fluorescence from bifunctional sulforhodamine probes. cRLC mutants with one of eight pairs of surface-accessible cysteines were expressed, labeled with bifunctional sulforhodamine, and exchanged into demembranated trabeculae to replace some of the native cRLC. Polarized fluorescence data from the probes in each lobe were combined with RLC crystal structures to calculate the lobe orientation distribution with respect to the filament axis. The orientation distribution of the N-lobe had three distinct peaks (N1–N3) at similar angles in relaxation, isometric contraction, and rigor. The orientation distribution of the C-lobe had four peaks (C1–C4) in relaxation and isometric contraction, but only two of these (C2 and C4) remained in rigor. The N3 and C4 orientations are close to those of the corresponding RLC lobes in myosin head fragments bound to isolated actin filaments in the absence of ATP (in rigor), but also close to those of the pair of heads folded back against the filament surface in isolated thick filaments in the so-called J-motif conformation. The N1 and C1 orientations are close to those expected for actin-bound myosin heads with their light chain domains in a pre-powerstroke conformation. The N2 and C3 orientations have not been observed previously. The results show that the average change in orientation of the RLC region of the myosin heads on activation of cardiac muscle is small; the RLC regions of most heads remain in the same conformation as in relaxation. This suggests that the orientation of the dephosphorylated RLC region of myosin heads in cardiac muscle is primarily determined by an interaction with the thick filament surface.

Phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain controls myosin head conformation in cardiac muscle

The effect of phosphorylation on the conformation of the regulatory light chain (cRLC) region of myosin in ventricular trabeculae from rat heart was determined by polarized fluorescence from thiophosphorylated cRLCs labelled with bifunctional sulforhodamine (BSR). Less than 5% of cRLCs were endogenously phosphorylated in this preparation, and similarly low values of basal cRLC phosphorylation were measured in fresh intact ventricle from both rat and mouse hearts. BSR-labelled cRLCs were thiophosphorylated by a recombinant fragment of human cardiac myosin light chain kinase, which was shown to phosphorylate cRLCs specifically at serine 15 in a calcium- and calmodulin-dependent manner, both in vitro and in situ. The BSR-cRLCs were exchanged into demembranated trabeculae, and polarized fluorescence intensities measured for each BSR-cRLC in relaxation, active isometric contraction and rigor were combined with RLC crystal structures to calculate the orientation distribution of the C-lobe of the cRLC in each state. Only two of the four C-lobe orientation populations seen during relaxation and active isometric contraction in the unphosphorylated state were present after cRLC phosphorylation. Thus cRLC phosphorylation alters the equilibrium between defined conformations of the cRLC regions of the myosin heads, rather than simply disordering the heads as assumed previously. cRLC phosphorylation also changes the orientation of the cRLC C-lobe in rigor conditions, showing that the orientation of this part of the myosin head is determined by its interaction with the thick filament even when the head is strongly bound to actin. These results suggest that cRLC phosphorylation controls the contractility of the heart by modulating the interaction of the cRLC region of the myosin heads with the thick filament backbone.

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The orientation of the phosphorylated cRLC was measured by polarized fluorescence.

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Phosphorylated myosin heads are not disordered on the level of the cRLC region.

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cRLC phosphorylation induces a new conformational state of myosin.

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cRLC phosphorylation controls contractility at the myosin head–backbone interface.

Time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy imaging

Fluorescence can be characterized by its intensity, position, wavelength, lifetime, and polarization. The more of these features are acquired in a single measurement, the more can be learned about the sample, i.e., the microenvironment of the fluorescence probe. Polarization-resolved fluorescence lifetime imaging-time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy imaging, TR-FAIM-allows mapping of viscosity or binding or of homo-FRET which can indicate dimerization or generally oligomerization.

Stiffness, working stroke, and force of single-myosin molecules in skeletal muscle: elucidation of these mechanical properties via nonlinear elasticity evaluation

In muscles, the arrays of skeletal myosin molecules interact with actin filaments and continuously generate force at various contraction speeds. Therefore, it is crucial for myosin molecules to generate force collectively and minimize the interference between individual myosin molecules. Knowledge of the elasticity of myosin molecules is crucial for understanding the molecular mechanisms of muscle contractions because elasticity directly affects the working and drag (resistance) force generation when myosin molecules are positively or negatively strained. The working stroke distance is also an important mechanical property necessary for elucidation of the thermodynamic efficiency of muscle contractions at the molecular level. In this review, we focus on these mechanical properties obtained from single-fiber and single-molecule studies and discuss recent findings associated with these mechanical properties. We also discuss the potential molecular mechanisms associated with reduction of the drag effect caused by negatively strained myosin molecules.

Orientation and rotational motions of single molecules by polarized total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (polTIRFM)

In this article, we describe methods to detect the spatial orientation and rotational dynamics of single molecules using polarized total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (polTIRFM). polTIRFM determines the three-dimensional angular orientation and the extent of wobble of a fluorescent probe bound to the macromolecule of interest. We discuss single-molecule versus ensemble measurements, as well as single-molecule techniques for orientation and rotation, and fluorescent probes for orientation studies. Using calmodulin (CaM) as an example of a target protein, we describe a method for labeling CaM with bifunctional rhodamine (BR). We also describe the physical principles and experimental setup of polTIRFM. We conclude with a brief introduction to assays using polTIRFM to assess the interaction of actin and myosin.

Orientation of the N-terminal lobe of the myosin regulatory light chain in skeletal muscle fibers

The orientation of the N-terminal lobe of the myosin regulatory light chain (RLC) in demembranated fibers of rabbit psoas muscle was determined by polarized fluorescence. The native RLC was replaced by a smooth muscle RLC with a bifunctional rhodamine probe attached to its A, B, C, or D helix. Fiber fluorescence data were interpreted using the crystal structure of the head domain of chicken skeletal myosin in the nucleotide-free state. The peak angle between the lever axis of the myosin head and the fiber or actin filament axis was 100-110° in relaxation, isometric contraction, and rigor. In each state the hook helix was at an angle of ∼40° to the lever/filament plane. The in situ orientation of the RLC D and E helices, and by implication of its N- and C-lobes, was similar in smooth and skeletal RLC isoforms. The angle between these two RLC lobes in rigor fibers was different from that in the crystal structure. These results extend previous crystallographic evidence for bending between the two lobes of the RLC to actin-attached myosin heads in muscle fibers, and suggest that such bending may have functional significance in contraction and regulation of vertebrate striated muscle.

Probing orientational behavior of MHC class I protein and lipid probes in cell membranes by fluorescence polarization-resolved imaging

Steady-state polarization-resolved fluorescence imaging is used to analyze the molecular orientational order behavior of rigidly labeled major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) proteins and lipid probes in cell membranes of living cells. These fluorescent probes report the orientational properties of proteins and their surrounding lipid environment. We present a statistical study of the molecular orientational order, modeled as the width of the angular distribution of the molecules, for the proteins in the cell endomembrane and plasma membrane, as well as for the lipid probes in the plasma membrane. We apply this methodology on cells after treatments affecting the actin and microtubule networks. We find in particular opposite orientational order changes of proteins and lipid probes in the plasma membrane as a response to the cytoskeleton disruption. This suggests that MHC I orientational order is governed by its interaction with the cytoskeleton, whereas the plasma membrane lipid order is governed by the local cell membrane morphology.

Site-directed spectroscopic probes of actomyosin structural dynamics

Spectroscopy of myosin and actin has entered a golden age. High-resolution crystal structures of isolated actin and myosin have been used to construct detailed models for the dynamic actomyosin interactions that move muscle. Improved protein mutagenesis and expression technologies have facilitated site-directed labeling with fluorescent and spin probes. Spectroscopic instrumentation has achieved impressive advances in sensitivity and resolution. Here we highlight the contributions of site-directed spectroscopic probes to understanding the structural dynamics of myosin II and its actin complexes in solution and muscle fibers. We emphasize studies that probe directly the movements of structural elements within the myosin catalytic and light-chain domains, and changes in the dynamics of both actin and myosin due to their alternating strong and weak interactions in the ATPase cycle. A moving picture emerges in which single biochemical states produce multiple structural states, and transitions between states of order and dynamic disorder power the actomyosin engine.

Single myosin lever arm orientation in a muscle fiber detected with photoactivatable GFP

Myosin 2 is the molecular motor in muscle. It binds actin and executes a power stroke by rotating its lever arm through an angle of approximately 70 degrees to translate actin against resistive force. Myosin 2 has evolved to function optimally under crowded conditions where rates and equilibria of macromolecular reactions undergo major shifts relative to those measured in dilute solution. Hence, an important research objective is to detect in situ the lever arm orientation. Single-molecule measurements are preferred because they clarify ambiguities that are unavoidable with ensemble measurements; however, detecting single molecules in the condensed tissue medium where the myosin concentration exceeds 100 muM is challenging. A myosin light chain (MLC) tagged with photoactivatable green fluorescent protein (PAGFP) was constructed. The recombinant MLC physically and functionally replaced native MLC on the myosin lever arm in a permeabilized skeletal muscle fiber. Probe illumination volume was minimized using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, and PAGFP was sparsely photoactivated such that polarized fluorescence identified a single probe orientation. Several physiological states of the muscle fiber were characterized, revealing two distinct orientation populations in all states called straight and bent conformations. Conformation occupancy probability varies among fiber states with rigor and isometric contraction at extremes where straight and bent conformations predominate, respectively. Comparison to previous work on single rigor cross-bridges at the A-band periphery where the myosin concentration is low suggests molecular crowding in the A-band promotes occupancy of the straight myosin conformation [Burghardt, T. P., et al. (2007) Biophys. J. 93, 2226]. The latter may have a role in contraction because it provides additional free energy favoring completion of the cross-bridge power stroke.

Orientation of the essential light chain region of myosin in relaxed, active, and rigor muscle

The orientation of the ELC region of myosin in skeletal muscle was determined by polarized fluorescence from ELC mutants in which pairs of introduced cysteines were cross-linked by BSR. The purified ELC-BSRs were exchanged for native ELC in demembranated fibers from rabbit psoas muscle using a trifluoperazine-based protocol that preserved fiber function. In the absence of MgATP (in rigor) the ELC orientation distribution was narrow; in terms of crystallographic structures of the myosin head, the LCD long axis linking heavy-chain residues 707 and 843 makes an angle (beta) of 120-125 degrees with the filament axis. This is approximately 30 degrees larger than the broader distribution determined previously from RLC probes, suggesting that, relative to crystallographic structures, the LCD is bent between its ELC and RLC regions in rigor muscle. The ELC orientation distribution in relaxed muscle had two broad peaks with beta approximately 70 degrees and approximately 110 degrees, which may correspond to the two head regions of each myosin molecule, in contrast with the single broad distribution of the RLC region in relaxed muscle. During isometric contraction the ELC orientation distribution peaked at beta approximately 105 degrees , similar to that determined previously for the RLC region.

GFP-tagged regulatory light chain monitors single myosin lever-arm orientation in a muscle fiber

Myosin is the molecular motor in muscle-binding actin and executing a power stroke by rotating its lever arm through an angle of approximately 70 degrees to translate actin against resistive force. A green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged human cardiac myosin regulatory light chain (HCRLC) was constructed to study in situ lever arm orientation one molecule at a time by polarized fluorescence emitted from the GFP probe. The recombinant protein physically and functionally replaced the native RLC on myosin lever arms in the thick filaments of permeabilized skeletal muscle fibers. Detecting single molecules in fibers where myosin concentration reaches 300 microM is accomplished using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. With total internal reflection fluorescence, evanescent field excitation, supercritical angle fluorescence detection, and CCD detector pixel size limits detection volume to just a few attoliters. Data analysis manages both the perturbing effect of the TIR interface on probe emission and the effect of high numerical aperture collection of light. The natural myosin concentration gradient in a muscle fiber allows observation of fluorescence polarization from C-term GFP-tagged HCRLC exchanged myosin from regions in the thick filament containing low and high myosin concentrations. In rigor, cross-bridges at low concentration at the end of the thick filament maintain GFP dipole moments at two distinct polar angles relative to the fiber symmetry axis. The lower angle, where the dipole is nearly parallel to fiber axis, is more highly populated than the alternative, larger angle. Cross-bridges at higher concentration in the center of the thick filament are oriented in a homogeneous band at approximately 45 degrees to the fiber axis. The data suggests molecular crowding impacts myosin conformation, implying mutual interactions between cross-bridges alter how the muscle generates force. The GFP-tagged RLC is a novel probe to assess single-lever-arm orientation characteristics in situ.

Toward protein structure in situ: comparison of two bifunctional rhodamine adducts of troponin C

As part of a program to develop methods for determining protein structure in situ, sTnC was labeled with a bifunctional rhodamine (BR or BSR), cross-linking residues 56 and 63 of its C-helix. NMR spectroscopy of the N-terminal domain of BSR-labeled sTnC in complex with Ca(2+) and the troponin I switch peptide (residues 115-131) showed that BSR labeling does not significantly affect the secondary structure of the protein or its dynamics in solution. BR-labeling was previously shown to have no effect on the solution structure of this complex. Isometric force generation in isolated demembranated fibers from rabbit psoas muscle into which BR- or BSR-labeled sTnC had been exchanged showed reduced Ca(2+)-sensitivity, and this effect was larger with the BSR label. The orientation of rhodamine dipoles with respect to the fiber axis was determined by polarized fluorescence. The mean orientations of the BR and BSR dipoles were almost identical in relaxed muscle, suggesting that both probes accurately report the orientation of the C-helix to which they are attached. The BSR dipole had smaller orientational dispersion, consistent with less flexible linkers between the rhodamine dipole and cysteine-reactive groups.

Myosin lever disposition during length oscillations when power stroke tilting is reduced

M3 reflection intensity (IM3) from tetanized, intact skeletal muscle fiber bundles was measured during sinusoidal length oscillations at 2.8 kHz, a frequency at which the myosin motor’s power stroke is greatly reduced. IM3 signals were approximately sinusoidal, but showed a “double peak” distortion previously observed only at lower oscillation frequencies. A tilting lever arm model simulated this distortion, where IM3 was calculated from the molecular structure of myosin subfragment 1 (S1). Simulations showed an isometric lever arm disposition close to normal to the filament axis at isometric tension, similar to that found using lower oscillation frequencies, where the power stroke contributes more toward total S1 movement. Inclusion of a second detached S1 in each actin-bound myosin dimer increased simulated IM3 signal amplitude and improved agreement with the experimental data. The best agreement was obtained when detached heads have a fixed orientation, insensitive to length changes, and similar to that of attached heads at tetanus plateau. This configuration also accounts for the variations in relative intensity of the two main peaks of the M3 reflection substructure after a length change. This evidence of an IM3 signal distortion when power stroke tilting is suppressed, provided that a large enough amplitude of length oscillation is used, is consistent with the tilting lever arm model of the power stroke.