Interplay of actin, ADP and Mg2+ interactions with striated muscle myosin: Implications of their roles in ATPase.

The effects of Mg2+ on the interaction between ADP, a product of the ATPase reaction, and striated muscle myosin-subfragment 1 (S1) were investigated with both functional and spectroscopic methods. Mg2+ inhibited striated muscle myosin ATPase in the presence of F-actin. Significant effects of Mg2+ were observed in both rate constants of NOE build-up and maximal intensities in WaterLOGSY NMR experiments as F-actin concentration increased. In the absence of F-actin, myosin S1 with Mg2+ bound to a fluorescent ADP analog about five-times tighter than without Mg2+. In the presence of F-actin, the affinity of myosin S1 toward the ADP analog significantly decreased both with and without Mg2+. The equilibrium titration of myosin-S1 into F-actin revealed that in the presence of ADP the apparent dissociation constant (Kd) without Mg2+ was more than five-fold smaller than with Mg2+. Further, we examined effects of F-actin, ADP and Mg2+ binding to myosin on the tertiary structure of myosin-S1 using near UV circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Both in the presence and absence of ADP, there was a Mg2+-dependent difference in the near UV CD spectra of actomyosin. Our results show that Mg2+ affects myosin-ADP and actin-myosin interactions which may be reflected in myosin ATPase activity.

Cardiac muscle activation blunted by a mutation to the regulatory component, troponin T.

The striated muscle thin filament comprises actin, tropomyosin, and troponin. The Tn complex consists of three subunits, troponin C (TnC), troponin I (TnI), and troponin T (TnT). TnT may serve as a bridge between the Ca(2+) sensor (TnC) and the actin filament. In the short helix preceding the IT-arm region, H1(T2), there are known dilated cardiomyopathy-linked mutations (among them R205L). Thus we hypothesized that there is an element in this short helix that plays an important role in regulating the muscle contraction, especially in Ca(2+) activation. We mutated Arg-205 and several other amino acid residues within and near the H1(T2) helix. Utilizing an alanine replacement method to compare the effects of the mutations, the biochemical and mechanical impact on the actomyosin interaction was assessed by solution ATPase activity assay, an in vitro motility assay, and Ca(2+) binding measurements. Ca(2+) activation was markedly impaired by a point mutation of the highly conserved basic residue R205A, residing in the short helix H1(T2) of cTnT, whereas the mutations to nearby residues exhibited little effect on function. Interestingly, rigor activation was unchanged between the wild type and R205A TnT. In addition to the reduction in Ca(2+) sensitivity observed in Ca(2+) binding to the thin filament, myosin S1-ADP binding to the thin filament was significantly affected by the same mutation, which was also supported by a series of S1 concentration-dependent ATPase assays. These suggest that the R205A mutation alters function through reduction in the nature of cooperative binding of S1.

Conserved Asp-137 is important for both structure and regulatory functions of cardiac α-tropomyosin (α-TM) in a novel transgenic mouse model expressing α-TM-D137L.

α-Tropomyosin (α-TM) has a conserved, charged Asp-137 residue located in the hydrophobic core of its coiled-coil structure, which is unusual in that the residue is found at a position typically occupied by a hydrophobic residue. Asp-137 is thought to destabilize the coiled-coil and so impart structural flexibility to the molecule, which is believed to be crucial for its function in the heart. A previous in vitro study indicated that the conversion of Asp-137 to a more typical canonical Leu alters flexibility of TM and affects its in vitro regulatory functions. However, the physiological importance of the residue Asp-137 and altered TM flexibility is unknown. In this study, we further analyzed structural properties of the α-TM-D137L variant and addressed the physiological importance of TM flexibility in cardiac function in studies with a novel transgenic mouse model expressing α-TM-D137L in the heart. Our NMR spectroscopy data indicated that the presence of D137L introduced long range rearrangements in TM structure. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements demonstrated that α-TM-D137L has higher thermal stability compared with α-TM, which correlated with decreased flexibility. Hearts of transgenic mice expressing α-TM-D137L showed systolic and diastolic dysfunction with decreased myofilament Ca(2+) sensitivity and cardiomyocyte contractility without changes in intracellular Ca(2+) transients or post-translational modifications of major myofilament proteins. We conclude that conversion of the highly conserved Asp-137 to Leu results in loss of flexibility of TM that is important for its regulatory functions in mouse hearts. Thus, our results provide insight into the link between flexibility of TM and its function in ejecting hearts.

New insights into the functional significance of the acidic region of the unique N-terminal extension of cardiac troponin I.

Previous structural studies indicated a special functional role for an acidic region composed of residues 1-10 in the unique N-terminal peptide of cardiac troponin I (cTnI). Employing LC-MS/MS, we determined the presence of phosphorylation sites at S5/S6 in cTnI from wild type mouse hearts as well as in hearts of mice chronically expressing active protein kinase C-ε (PKCε) and exhibiting severe dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). To determine the functional significance of these phosphorylations, we cloned and expressed wild-type cTnI, (Wt), and cTnI variants expressing pseudo-phosphorylation cTnI-(S5D), cTnI(S6D), as well as cTnI(S5A) and cTnI(S6A). We exchanged native Tn of detergent-extracted (skinned) fiber bundles with Tn reconstituted with the variant cTnIs and measured tension and cross-bridge dynamics. Compared to controls, myofilaments controlled by cTnI with pseudo-phosphorylation (S6D) or Ala substitution (S6A) demonstrated a significant depression in maximum tension, ATPase rate, and ktr, but no change in half-maximally activating Ca(2+). In contrast, pseudo-phosphorylation at position 5 (S5D) had no effects, although S5A induced an increase in Ca(2+)-sensitivity with no change in maximum tension or ktr. We further tested the impact of acidic domain modifications on myofilament function in studies examining the effects of cTnI(A2V), a mutation linked to DCM. This mutation significantly altered the inhibitory activity of cTnI as well as cooperativity of activation of myofilament tension, but not when S23/S24 were pseudo-phosphorylated. Our data indicate a new functional and pathological role of amino acid modifications in the N-terminal acidic domain of cTnI that is modified by phosphorylations at cTnI(S23/S24). This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cardiomyocyte Biology: Cardiac Pathways of Differentiation, Metabolism and Contraction.

Structural basis for calcium and phosphatidylserine regulation of phospholipase C δ1.

Many membrane-associated enzymes, including those of the phospholipase C (PLC) superfamily, are regulated by specific interactions with lipids. Previously, we have shown that the C2 domain of PLC δ1 is required for phosphatidylserine (PS)-dependent enzyme activation and that activation requires the presence of Ca(2+). To identify the site of interaction and the role of Ca(2+) in the activation mechanism, we mutagenized three highly conserved Ca(2+) binding residues (Asp-653, Asp-706, and Asp-708) to Gly in the C2 domain of PLC δ1. The PS-dependent Ca(2+) binding affinities of the mutant enzymes D653G, D706G, and D708G were reduced by 1 order of magnitude, and the maximal level of Ca(2+) binding was reduced to half of that of the native enzyme. The level of Ca(2+)-dependent PS binding was also reduced in the mutant enzymes. Under basal conditions, the Ca(2+) dependence and the maximal level of hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate were not altered in the mutants. However, the Ca(2+)-dependent PS stimulation was severely defective. PS reduces the K(m) of the native enzyme almost 20-fold, but far less for the mutants. Replacing Asp-653, Asp-706, and Asp-708 simultaneously with glycine in the C2 domain of PLC δ1 leads to a complete and selective loss of the stimulation and binding by PS. These results show that D653, D706, and D708 are required for Ca(2+) binding in the C2 domain and demonstrate a mechanism by which C2 domains can mediate regulation of enzyme activity by specific lipid ligands.

Molecular dynamics provides new insights into the mechanism of calcium signal transduction and interdomain interactions in cardiac troponin.

Understanding the regulation of cardiac muscle contraction at a molecular level is crucial for the development of therapeutics for heart conditions. Despite the availability of atomic structures of the protein components of cardiac muscle thin filaments, detailed insights into their dynamics and response to calcium are yet to be fully depicted. In this study, we used molecular dynamics simulations of the core domains of the cardiac muscle protein troponin to characterize the equilibrium dynamics of its calcium-bound and calcium-free forms, with a focus on elements of cardiac muscle contraction activation and deactivation, that is, calcium binding to the cardiac troponin Ca2+ -binding subunit (TnC) and the release of the switch region of the troponin inhibitory subunit (TnI) from TnC. The process of calcium binding to the TnC binding site is described as a three-step process commencing with calcium capture by the binding site residues, followed by cooperative residue interplay bringing the calcium ion to the binding site, and finally, calcium-water exchange. Furthermore, we uncovered a set of TnC-TnI interdomain interactions that are critical for TnC N-lobe hydrophobic pocket dynamics. Absence of these interactions allows the closure of the TnC N-lobe hydrophobic pocket while the TnI switch region remains expelled, whereas if the interactions are maintained, the hydrophobic pocket remains open. Modification of these interactions may fine-tune the ability of the TnC N-lobe hydrophobic pocket to close or remain open, modulate cardiac contractility and present potential therapy-relevant targets.

Ala scanning of the inhibitory region of cardiac troponin I.

In skeletal and cardiac muscles, troponin (Tn), which resides on the thin filament, senses a change in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration. Tn is composed of TnC, TnI, and TnT. Ca(2+) binding to the regulatory domain of TnC removes the inhibitory effect by TnI on the contraction. The inhibitory region of cardiac TnI spans from residue 138 to 149. Upon Ca(2+) activation, the inhibitory region is believed to be released from actin, thus triggering actin-activation of myosin ATPase. In this study, we created a series of Ala-substitution mutants of cTnI to delineate the functional contribution of each amino acid in the inhibitory region to myofilament regulation. We found that most of the point mutations in the inhibitory region reduced the ATPase activity in the presence of Ca(2+), which suggests the same region also acts as an activator of the ATPase. The thin filaments can also be activated by strong myosin head (S1)-actin interactions. The binding of N-ethylmaleimide-treated myosin subfragment 1 (NEM-S1) to actin filaments mimics such strong interactions. Interestingly, in the absence of Ca(2+) NEM-S1-induced activation of S1 ATPase was significantly less with the thin filaments containing TnI(T144A) than that with the wild-type TnI. However, in the presence of Ca(2+), there was little difference in the activation of ATPase activity between these preparations.

Spectroscopic characterization of the EF-hand domain of phospholipase C delta1: identification of a lipid interacting domain.

The interaction of the isolated EF-hand domain of phospholipase C delta1 with arachidonic acid (AA) was characterized using circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy. The far-UV CD spectral changes indicate that AA binds to the EF domain. The near-UV CD spectra suggest that the orientations of aromatic residues in the peptide are affected when AA binds to the protein. The fluorescence of the single intrinsic tryptophan located in EF1 was enhanced by the addition of dodecylmaltoside (DDM) and AA suggesting that this region of the protein is involved in hydrophobic interactions. In the presence of a low concentration of DDM it was found that AA induced a change in fluorescence resonance energy transfer, which is indicative of a conformational change. The lipid induced conformational change may play a role in calcium binding because the isolated EF-hand domain did not bind Ca2+ in the absence of lipids, but Ca2+-dependent changes in the intrinsic tryptophan emission were observed when free fatty acids were present. These studies identify specific EF-hand domains as allosteric regulatory domains that require hydrophobic ligands such as lipids.

Stability of the Rel homology domain is critical for generation of NF-kappa B p50 subunit.

The NF-kappa B transcription factor p50 and the Rel protein-specific transcription inhibitor p105 are both encoded by the nfkb1 gene. The p50 protein is incorporated within the N-terminal portion of p105 and is a unique product of proteasomal processing. Because proteasome-mediated proteolysis generally results in complete degradation of the substrate, how p50 survives the proteasomal processing remains unknown. Survival of proteasomal processing has also been observed recently for the yeast transcription factors SPT23 and MGA2, but the mechanism is also unclear. Here we show evidence that stability of the Rel homology domain (RHD) within the N-terminal portion of the NF-kappa B 1 protein is required for p50 generation. We demonstrated that proteolysis initiated at an internal location of the NF-kappa B 1 protein, which normally generates p50, degrades the N-terminal portion of the NF-kappa B 1 protein when the RHD is destabilized. Our findings highlight the critical role of the unique structure of the RHD for the survival of p50 during proteosomal processing.

A p105-based inhibitor broadly represses NF-kappa B activities.

An IkappaBalpha-based NF-kappaB super repressor (sr) has been used widely for studying genes regulated by NF-kappaB transcription factors. Repression of NF-kappaB by IkappaBalpha(sr) also facilitates tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced apoptosis in the cell. However, IkappaBalpha primarily targets RelA and c-Rel-containing complexes, leaving other NF-kappaB/Rel protein complexes, such as p50 and p52 homodimers, and RelB heterodimers uninhibited. Because these atypical NF-kappaB complexes also contribute to gene regulation and are activated in pathological conditions, broad inhibition of all NF-kappaB species is of significant pharmacological and clinical interests. We have designed, generated, and tested a p105-based NF-kappaB super repressor. We showed that p105(sr), which no longer generates p50 and undergoes signal-induced degradation, effectively inhibits all NF-kappaB activities. In addition, we also demonstrated that p105(sr) significantly enhances tumor necrosis factor alpha-mediated killing of MT1/2 skin papilloma cells where p50 homodimer activity is elevated. Our results suggest that p105(sr) is a broader range and effective NF-kappaB super repressor and can potentially be used in cells where a noncanonical NF-kappaB activity is dominant or multiple NF-kappaB activities are activated.

Identification of hydrophobic interactions between proteins and lipids: free fatty acids activate phospholipase C delta1 via allosterism.

Lipids are well recognized ligands that bind to proteins in a specific manner and regulate their function. Most attention has been placed on the headgroup of phospholipids, and little is known about the role of the acyl chains in mediating any effects of lipids on proteins. In this report, free fatty acids (FFA) were found to bind and activate phospholipase C delta1(PLC delta1). The unsaturated FFA arachidonic acid (AA) and oleic acid were able to stimulate PLC delta1 up to 30-fold in a dose-dependent manner. The saturated FFA stearic acid and palmitic acid were less efficacious than unsaturated FFA, activating the enzyme up to 8-fold. The mechanism of activation appears to be due to a change in K(m) for substrate; 50 microM arachidonate reduced the K(m) for the soluble PLC substrate diC(4)PI from 1.7 +/- 0.6 mM to 0.24 +/- 0.04 mM (7-fold reduction). V(max) was not significantly altered. PLC delta1 bound to sucrose-loaded vesicles that contained AA in a concentration-dependent manner. A fragment of PLC delta1 that encompasses the EF-hand domain also bound to micelles containing AA using nondenaturing PAGE. This same fragment also inhibited AA activation of PLC delta1 in a competition assay. These results suggest that the function of the EF-hand domain of PLC delta1 is to bind lipid and to allosterically regulate catalysis. These results also suggest that esterified and nonesterified fatty acids can bind to and regulate protein function, identifying a functional role for hydrophobic interactions between lipids and proteins.