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Garg A, Jansen S, Zhang R, Lavine KJ, Greenberg MJ. Dilated cardiomyopathy-associated skeletal muscle actin (ACTA1) mutation R256H disrupts actin structure and function and causes cardiomyocyte hypocontractility. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.10.583979. [PMID: 38559046 PMCID: PMC10979883 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.10.583979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Skeletal muscle actin (ACTA1) mutations are a prevalent cause of skeletal myopathies consistent with ACTA1's high expression in skeletal muscle. Rare de novo mutations in ACTA1 associated with combined cardiac and skeletal myopathies have been reported, but ACTA1 represents only ~20% of the total actin pool in cardiomyocytes, making its role in cardiomyopathy controversial. Here we demonstrate how a mutation in an actin isoform expressed at low levels in cardiomyocytes can cause cardiomyopathy by focusing on a unique ACTA1 mutation, R256H. We previously identified this mutation in multiple family members with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), who had reduced systolic function without clinical skeletal myopathy. Using a battery of multiscale biophysical tools, we show that R256H has potent functional effects on ACTA1 function at the molecular scale and in human cardiomyocytes. Importantly, we demonstrate that R256H acts in a dominant manner, where the incorporation of small amounts of mutant protein into thin filaments is sufficient to disrupt molecular contractility, and that this effect is dependent on the presence of troponin and tropomyosin. To understand the structural basis of this change in regulation, we resolved a structure of R256H filaments using Cryo-EM, and we see alterations in actin's structure that have the potential to disrupt interactions with tropomyosin. Finally, we show that ACTA1R256H/+ human induced pluripotent stem cell cardiomyocytes demonstrate reduced contractility and sarcomeric disorganization. Taken together, we demonstrate that R256H has multiple effects on ACTA1 function that are sufficient to cause reduced contractility and establish a likely causative relationship between ACTA1 R256H and clinical cardiomyopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankit Garg
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine Johns Hopkins University Baltimore MD USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Silvia Jansen
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Rui Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Kory J. Lavine
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
| | - Michael J. Greenberg
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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2
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Garg A, Lavine KJ, Greenberg MJ. Assessing Cardiac Contractility From Single Molecules to Whole Hearts. JACC Basic Transl Sci 2024; 9:414-439. [PMID: 38559627 PMCID: PMC10978360 DOI: 10.1016/j.jacbts.2023.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Fundamentally, the heart needs to generate sufficient force and power output to dynamically meet the needs of the body. Cardiomyocytes contain specialized structures referred to as sarcomeres that power and regulate contraction. Disruption of sarcomeric function or regulation impairs contractility and leads to cardiomyopathies and heart failure. Basic, translational, and clinical studies have adapted numerous methods to assess cardiac contraction in a variety of pathophysiological contexts. These tools measure aspects of cardiac contraction at different scales ranging from single molecules to whole organisms. Moreover, these studies have revealed new pathogenic mechanisms of heart disease leading to the development of novel therapies targeting contractility. In this review, the authors explore the breadth of tools available for studying cardiac contractile function across scales, discuss their strengths and limitations, highlight new insights into cardiac physiology and pathophysiology, and describe how these insights can be harnessed for therapeutic candidate development and translational.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankit Garg
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Kory J. Lavine
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Michael J. Greenberg
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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3
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Pons A. The self-oscillation paradox in the flight motor of Drosophila melanogaster. J R Soc Interface 2023; 20:20230421. [PMID: 37963559 PMCID: PMC10645510 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2023.0421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Tiny flying insects, such as Drosophila melanogaster, fly by flapping their wings at frequencies faster than their brains are able to process. To do so, they rely on self-oscillation: dynamic instability, leading to emergent oscillation, arising from muscle stretch-activation. Many questions concerning this vital natural instability remain open. Does flight motor self-oscillation necessarily lead to resonance-a state optimal in efficiency and/or performance? If so, what state? And is self-oscillation even guaranteed in a motor driven by stretch-activated muscle, or are there limiting conditions? In this work, we use data-driven models of wingbeat and muscle behaviour to answer these questions. Developing and leveraging novel analysis techniques, including symbolic computation, we establish a fundamental condition for motor self-oscillation common to a wide range of motor models. Remarkably, D. melanogaster flight apparently defies this condition: a paradox of motor operation. We explore potential resolutions to this paradox, and, within its confines, establish that the D. melanogaster flight motor is probably not resonant with respect to exoskeletal elasticity: instead, the muscular elasticity plays a dominant role. Contrary to common supposition, the stiffness of stretch-activated muscle is an obstacle to, rather than an enabler of, the operation of the D. melanogaster flight motor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arion Pons
- Division of Fluid Dynamics, Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
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4
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Steffensen KE, Dawson JF. Actin's C-terminus coordinates actin structural changes and functions. Cytoskeleton (Hoboken) 2023; 80:313-329. [PMID: 37036084 DOI: 10.1002/cm.21757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023]
Abstract
Actin is essential to eukaryotic cellular processes. Actin's C-terminus appears to play a direct role in modulating actin's structure and properties, facilitating the binding and function of actin-binding proteins (ABPs). The structural and functional characterization of filamentous actin's C-terminus has been impeded by its inherent flexibility, as well as actin's resistance to crystallization for x-ray diffraction and the historical resolution constraints associated with electron microscopy. Many biochemical studies have established that actin's C-terminus must retain its flexibility and structural integrity to modulate actin's structure and functions. For example, C-terminal structural changes are known to affect nucleotide binding and exchange, as well as propagate actin structural changes throughout extensive allosteric networks, facilitating the binding and function of ABPs. Advances in electron microscopy have resulted in high-resolution structures of filamentous actin, providing insights into subtle structural changes that are mediated by actin's C-terminus. Here, we review existing knowledge establishing the importance of actin's C-terminus within actin structural changes and functions and discuss how modern structural characterization techniques provide the tools to understand the role of actin's C-terminus in cellular processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl E Steffensen
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - John F Dawson
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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5
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Molecular Dynamics Assessment of Mechanical Properties of the Thin Filaments in Cardiac Muscle. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054792. [PMID: 36902223 PMCID: PMC10003134 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Contraction of cardiac muscle is regulated by Ca2+ ions via regulatory proteins, troponin (Tn), and tropomyosin (Tpm) associated with the thin (actin) filaments in myocardial sarcomeres. The binding of Ca2+ to a Tn subunit causes mechanical and structural changes in the multiprotein regulatory complex. Recent cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) models of the complex allow one to study the dynamic and mechanical properties of the complex using molecular dynamics (MD). Here we describe two refined models of the thin filament in the calcium-free state that include protein fragments unresolved by cryo-EM and reconstructed using structure prediction software. The parameters of the actin helix and the bending, longitudinal, and torsional stiffness of the filaments estimated from the MD simulations performed with these models were close to those found experimentally. However, problems revealed from the MD simulation suggest that the models require further refinement by improving the protein-protein interaction in some regions of the complex. The use of relatively long refined models of the regulatory complex of the thin filament allows one to perform MD simulation of the molecular mechanism of Ca2+ regulation of contraction without additional constraints and study the effects of cardiomyopathy-associated mutation of the thin filament proteins of cardiac muscle.
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6
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Trujillo AS, Hsu KH, Viswanathan MC, Cammarato A, Bernstein SI. The R369 Myosin Residue within Loop 4 Is Critical for Actin Binding and Muscle Function in Drosophila. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23052533. [PMID: 35269675 PMCID: PMC8910226 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The myosin molecular motor interacts with actin filaments in an ATP-dependent manner to yield muscle contraction. Myosin heavy chain residue R369 is located within loop 4 at the actin-tropomyosin interface of myosin's upper 50 kDa subdomain. To probe the importance of R369, we introduced a histidine mutation of that residue into Drosophila myosin and implemented an integrative approach to determine effects at the biochemical, cellular, and whole organism levels. Substituting the similarly charged but bulkier histidine residue reduces maximal actin binding in vitro without affecting myosin ATPase activity. R369H mutants exhibit impaired flight ability that is dominant in heterozygotes and progressive with age in homozygotes. Indirect flight muscle ultrastructure is normal in mutant homozygotes, suggesting that assembly defects or structural deterioration of myofibrils are not causative of reduced flight. Jump ability is also reduced in homozygotes. In contrast to these skeletal muscle defects, R369H mutants show normal heart ultrastructure and function, suggesting that this residue is differentially sensitive to perturbation in different myosin isoforms or muscle types. Overall, our findings indicate that R369 is an actin binding residue that is critical for myosin function in skeletal muscles, and suggest that more severe perturbations at this residue may cause human myopathies through a similar mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana S. Trujillo
- Department of Biology, Molecular Biology Institute, Heart Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA; (A.S.T.); (K.H.H.)
| | - Karen H. Hsu
- Department of Biology, Molecular Biology Institute, Heart Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA; (A.S.T.); (K.H.H.)
| | - Meera C. Viswanathan
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (M.C.V.); (A.C.)
| | - Anthony Cammarato
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (M.C.V.); (A.C.)
| | - Sanford I. Bernstein
- Department of Biology, Molecular Biology Institute, Heart Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA; (A.S.T.); (K.H.H.)
- Correspondence:
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7
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Ma W, Gong H, Jani V, Lee KH, Landim-Vieira M, Papadaki M, Pinto JR, Aslam MI, Cammarato A, Irving T. Myofibril orientation as a metric for characterizing heart disease. Biophys J 2022; 121:565-574. [PMID: 35032456 PMCID: PMC8874025 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Myocyte disarray is a hallmark of many cardiac disorders. However, the relationship between alterations in the orientation of individual myofibrils and myofilaments to disease progression has been largely underexplored. This oversight has predominantly been because of a paucity of methods for objective and quantitative analysis. Here, we introduce a novel, less-biased approach to quantify myofibrillar and myofilament orientation in cardiac muscle under near-physiological conditions and demonstrate its superiority as compared with conventional histological assessments. Using small-angle x-ray diffraction, we first investigated changes in myofibrillar orientation at increasing sarcomere lengths in permeabilized, relaxed, wild-type mouse myocardium from the left ventricle by assessing the angular spread of the 1,0 equatorial reflection (angle σ). At a sarcomere length of 1.9 μm, the angle σ was 0.23 ± 0.01 rad, decreased to 0.19 ± 0.01 rad at a sarcomere length of 2.1 μm, and further decreased to 0.15 ± 0.01 rad at a sarcomere length of 2.3 μm (p < 0.0001). Angle σ was significantly larger in R403Q, a MYH7 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy model, porcine myocardium (0.24 ± 0.01 rad) compared with wild-type myocardium (0.14 ± 0.005 rad; p < 0.0001), as well as in human heart failure tissue (0.19 ± 0.006 rad) when compared with nonfailing samples (0.17 ± 0.007 rad; p = 0.01). These data indicate that diseased myocardium suffers from greater myofibrillar disorientation compared with healthy controls. Finally, we showed that conventional, histology-based analysis of disarray can be subject to user bias and/or sampling error and lead to false positives. Our method for directly assessing myofibrillar orientation avoids the artifacts introduced by conventional histological approaches that assess myocyte orientation and only indirectly evaluate myofibrillar orientation, and provides a precise and objective metric for phenotypically characterizing myocardium. The ability to obtain excellent x-ray diffraction patterns from frozen human myocardium provides a new tool for investigating structural anomalies associated with cardiac diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weikang Ma
- BioCAT, Department of Biology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois.
| | - Henry Gong
- BioCAT, Department of Biology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Vivek Jani
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Kyoung Hwan Lee
- Division of Cell Biology and Imaging, Department of Radiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Maicon Landim-Vieira
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
| | - Maria Papadaki
- Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Jose R Pinto
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
| | - M Imran Aslam
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Anthony Cammarato
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Physiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Thomas Irving
- BioCAT, Department of Biology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois
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8
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Suresh R, Diaz RJ. The remodelling of actin composition as a hallmark of cancer. Transl Oncol 2021; 14:101051. [PMID: 33761369 PMCID: PMC8008238 DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2021.101051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Actin is a key structural protein that makes up the cytoskeleton of cells, and plays a role in functions such as division, migration, and vesicle trafficking. It comprises six different cell-type specific isoforms: ACTA1, ACTA2, ACTB, ACTC1, ACTG1, and ACTG2. Abnormal actin isoform expression has been reported in many cancers, which led us to hypothesize that it may serve as an early biomarker of cancer. We show an overview of the different actin isoforms and highlight mechanisms by which they may contribute to tumorigenicity. Furthermore, we suggest how the aberrant expression of actin subunits can confer cells with greater proliferation ability, increased migratory capability, and chemoresistance through incorporation into the normal cellular F-actin network and altered actin binding protein interaction. Studying this fundamental change that takes place within cancer cells can further our understanding of neoplastic transformation in multiple tissue types, which can ultimately aid in the early-detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahul Suresh
- Montreal Neurological Institute, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Roberto J Diaz
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
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9
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Prolonged myosin binding increases muscle stiffness in Drosophila models of Freeman-Sheldon syndrome. Biophys J 2021; 120:844-854. [PMID: 33524372 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2020.12.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Freeman-Sheldon syndrome (FSS) is characterized by congenital contractures resulting from dominant point mutations in the embryonic isoform of muscle myosin. To investigate its disease mechanism, we used Drosophila models expressing FSS myosin mutations Y583S or T178I in their flight and jump muscles. We isolated these muscles from heterozygous mutant Drosophila and performed skinned fiber mechanics. The most striking mechanical alteration was an increase in active muscle stiffness. Y583S/+ and T178I/+ fibers' elastic moduli increased 70 and 77%, respectively. Increased stiffness contributed to decreased power generation, 49 and 66%, as a result of increased work absorbed during the lengthening portion of the contractile cycle. Slower muscle kinetics also contributed to the mutant phenotype, as shown by 17 and 32% decreases in optimal frequency for power generation, and 27 and 41% slower muscle apparent rate constant 2πb. Combined with previous measurements of slower in vitro actin motility, our results suggest a rate reduction of at least one strongly bound cross-bridge cycle transition that increases the time myosin spends strongly bound to actin, ton. Increased ton was further supported by decreased ATP affinity and a 16% slowing of jump muscle relaxation rate in T178I heterozygotes. Impaired muscle function caused diminished flight and jump ability of Y583S/+ and T178I/+ Drosophila. Based on our results, assuming that our model system mimics human skeletal muscle, we propose that one mechanism driving FSS is elevated muscle stiffness arising from prolonged ton in developing muscle fibers.
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10
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Hashem S, Davies WG, Fornili A. Heart Failure Drug Modifies the Intrinsic Dynamics of the Pre-Power Stroke State of Cardiac Myosin. J Chem Inf Model 2020; 60:6438-6446. [PMID: 33283509 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c00953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Omecamtiv mecarbil (OM), currently investigated for the treatment of heart failure, is the first example of a new class of drugs (cardiac myotropes) that can modify muscle contractility by directly targeting sarcomeric proteins. Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the binding of OM to the pre-power stroke state of cardiac myosin inhibits the functional motions of the protein and potentially affects Pi release from the nucleotide binding site. We also show that the changes in myosin ATPase activity induced by a set of OM analogues can be predicted from their relative affinity to the pre-power stroke state compared to the near rigor one, indicating that conformational selectivity plays an important role in determining the activity of these compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaima Hashem
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - William George Davies
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - Arianna Fornili
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom.,The Thomas Young Centre for Theory and Simulation of Materials, London WC1E 6BN, United Kingdom
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11
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Teng GZ, Dawson JF. The Dark Side of Actin: Cardiac actin variants highlight the role of allostery in disease development. Arch Biochem Biophys 2020; 695:108624. [PMID: 33049292 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2020.108624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Mutations in the α-cardiac actin ACTC1 gene cause dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. These diseases are the result of changes in protein interactions between ACTC protein and force-generating β-myosin or the calcium-dependent cardiac-tropomyosin (cTm) and cardiac troponin (cTn) regulatory complex, altering the overall contractile force. The T126I and S271F ACTC variants possess amino acid substitutions on the other side of actin relative to the myosin or regulatory protein binding sites on what we call the "dark side" of actin. The T126I change results in hyposensitivity to calcium, in accordance with the calcium sensitivity pathway of cardiomyopathy development while the S271F change alters the maximum in vitro motility sliding speed, reflecting a change in maximum force. These results demonstrate the role of actin allostery in the cardiac disease development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace Zi Teng
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Centre for Cardiovascular Investigations, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - John F Dawson
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Centre for Cardiovascular Investigations, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
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12
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Schmidt W, Madan A, Foster DB, Cammarato A. Lysine acetylation of F-actin decreases tropomyosin-based inhibition of actomyosin activity. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:15527-15539. [PMID: 32873710 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.015277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent proteomics studies of vertebrate striated muscle have identified lysine acetylation at several sites on actin. Acetylation is a reversible post-translational modification that neutralizes lysine's positive charge. Positively charged residues on actin, particularly Lys326 and Lys328, are predicted to form critical electrostatic interactions with tropomyosin (Tpm) that promote its binding to filamentous (F)-actin and bias Tpm to an azimuthal location where it impedes myosin attachment. The troponin (Tn) complex also influences Tpm's position along F-actin as a function of Ca2+ to regulate exposure of myosin-binding sites and, thus, myosin cross-bridge recruitment and force production. Interestingly, Lys326 and Lys328 are among the documented acetylated residues. Using an acetic anhydride-based labeling approach, we showed that excessive, nonspecific actin acetylation did not disrupt characteristic F-actin-Tpm binding. However, it significantly reduced Tpm-mediated inhibition of myosin attachment, as reflected by increased F-actin-Tpm motility that persisted in the presence of Tn and submaximal Ca2+ Furthermore, decreasing the extent of chemical acetylation, to presumptively target highly reactive Lys326 and Lys328, also resulted in less inhibited F-actin-Tpm, implying that modifying only these residues influences Tpm's location and, potentially, thin filament regulation. To unequivocally determine the residue-specific consequences of acetylation on Tn-Tpm-based regulation of actomyosin activity, we assessed the effects of K326Q and K328Q acetyl (Ac)-mimetic actin on Ca2+-dependent, in vitro motility parameters of reconstituted thin filaments (RTFs). Incorporation of K328Q actin significantly enhanced Ca2+ sensitivity of RTF activation relative to control. Together, our findings suggest that actin acetylation, especially Lys328, modulates muscle contraction via disrupting inhibitory Tpm positioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Schmidt
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Aditi Madan
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - D Brian Foster
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Anthony Cammarato
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
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13
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Madan A, Viswanathan MC, Woulfe KC, Schmidt W, Sidor A, Liu T, Nguyen TH, Trinh B, Wilson C, Madathil S, Vogler G, O'Rourke B, Biesiadecki BJ, Tobacman LS, Cammarato A. TNNT2 mutations in the tropomyosin binding region of TNT1 disrupt its role in contractile inhibition and stimulate cardiac dysfunction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:18822-18831. [PMID: 32690703 PMCID: PMC7414051 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2001692117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Muscle contraction is regulated by the movement of end-to-end-linked troponin-tropomyosin complexes over the thin filament surface, which uncovers or blocks myosin binding sites along F-actin. The N-terminal half of troponin T (TnT), TNT1, independently promotes tropomyosin-based, steric inhibition of acto-myosin associations, in vitro. Recent structural models additionally suggest TNT1 may restrain the uniform, regulatory translocation of tropomyosin. Therefore, TnT potentially contributes to striated muscle relaxation; however, the in vivo functional relevance and molecular basis of this noncanonical role remain unclear. Impaired relaxation is a hallmark of hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathies (HCM and RCM). Investigating the effects of cardiomyopathy-causing mutations could help clarify TNT1's enigmatic inhibitory property. We tested the hypothesis that coupling of TNT1 with tropomyosin's end-to-end overlap region helps anchor tropomyosin to an inhibitory position on F-actin, where it deters myosin binding at rest, and that, correspondingly, cross-bridge cycling is defectively suppressed under diastolic/low Ca2+ conditions in the presence of HCM/RCM lesions. The impact of TNT1 mutations on Drosophila cardiac performance, rat myofibrillar and cardiomyocyte properties, and human TNT1's propensity to inhibit myosin-driven, F-actin-tropomyosin motility were evaluated. Our data collectively demonstrate that removing conserved, charged residues in TNT1's tropomyosin-binding domain impairs TnT's contribution to inhibitory tropomyosin positioning and relaxation. Thus, TNT1 may modulate acto-myosin activity by optimizing F-actin-tropomyosin interfacial contacts and by binding to actin, which restrict tropomyosin's movement to activating configurations. HCM/RCM mutations, therefore, highlight TNT1's essential role in contractile regulation by diminishing its tropomyosin-anchoring effects, potentially serving as the initial trigger of pathology in our animal models and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditi Madan
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Meera C Viswanathan
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Kathleen C Woulfe
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO 80045
| | - William Schmidt
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Agnes Sidor
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Ting Liu
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Tran H Nguyen
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Bosco Trinh
- Development, Aging and Regeneration Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Cortney Wilson
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO 80045
| | - Sineej Madathil
- Department of Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60612
| | - Georg Vogler
- Development, Aging and Regeneration Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Brian O'Rourke
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Brandon J Biesiadecki
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
- The Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Larry S Tobacman
- Department of Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60612
| | - Anthony Cammarato
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205;
- Department of Physiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
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