BIN1 knockdown rescues systolic dysfunction in aging male mouse hearts.

Cardiac dysfunction is a hallmark of aging in humans and mice. Here we report that a two-week treatment to restore youthful Bridging Integrator 1 (BIN1) levels in the hearts of 24-month-old mice rejuvenates cardiac function and substantially reverses the aging phenotype. Our data indicate that age-associated overexpression of BIN1 occurs alongside dysregulated endosomal recycling and disrupted trafficking of cardiac CaV1.2 and type 2 ryanodine receptors. These deficiencies affect channel function at rest and their upregulation during acute stress. In vivo echocardiography reveals reduced systolic function in old mice. BIN1 knockdown using an adeno-associated virus serotype 9 packaged shRNA-mBIN1 restores the nanoscale distribution and clustering plasticity of ryanodine receptors and recovers Ca2+ transient amplitudes and cardiac systolic function toward youthful levels. Enhanced systolic function correlates with increased phosphorylation of the myofilament protein cardiac myosin binding protein-C. These results reveal BIN1 knockdown as a novel therapeutic strategy to rejuvenate the aging myocardium.

Acute phosphatidylinositol 4,5 bisphosphate depletion destabilizes sarcolemmal expression of cardiac L-type Ca2+ channel CaV1.2.

CaV1.2 channels are critical players in cardiac excitation-contraction coupling, yet we do not understand how they are affected by an important therapeutic target of heart failure drugs and regulator of blood pressure, angiotensin II. Signaling through Gq-coupled AT1 receptors, angiotensin II triggers a decrease in PIP2, a phosphoinositide component of the plasma membrane (PM) and known regulator of many ion channels. PIP2 depletion suppresses CaV1.2 currents in heterologous expression systems but the mechanism of this regulation and whether a similar phenomenon occurs in cardiomyocytes is unknown. Previous studies have shown that CaV1.2 currents are also suppressed by angiotensin II. We hypothesized that these two observations are linked and that PIP2 stabilizes CaV1.2 expression at the PM and angiotensin II depresses cardiac excitability by stimulating PIP2 depletion and destabilization of CaV1.2 expression. We tested this hypothesis and report that CaV1.2 channels in tsA201 cells are destabilized after AT1 receptor-triggered PIP2 depletion, leading to their dynamin-dependent endocytosis. Likewise, in cardiomyocytes, angiotensin II decreased t-tubular CaV1.2 expression and cluster size by inducing their dynamic removal from the sarcolemma. These effects were abrogated by PIP2 supplementation. Functional data revealed acute angiotensin II reduced CaV1.2 currents and Ca2+ transient amplitudes thus diminishing excitation-contraction coupling. Finally, mass spectrometry results indicated whole-heart levels of PIP2 are decreased by acute angiotensin II treatment. Based on these observations, we propose a model wherein PIP2 stabilizes CaV1.2 membrane lifetimes, and angiotensin II-induced PIP2 depletion destabilizes sarcolemmal CaV1.2, triggering their removal, and the acute reduction of CaV1.2 currents and contractility.

Molecular Pathology of Sodium Channel Beta-Subunit Variants.

The voltage-gated Na+ channel regulates the initiation and propagation of the action potential in excitable cells. The major cardiac isoform NaV1.5, encoded by SCN5A, comprises a monomer with four homologous repeats (I-IV) that each contain a voltage sensing domain (VSD) and pore domain. In native myocytes, NaV1.5 forms a macromolecular complex with NaVß subunits and other regulatory proteins within the myocyte membrane to maintain normal cardiac function. Disturbance of the NaV complex may manifest as deadly cardiac arrhythmias. Although SCN5A has long been identified as a gene associated with familial atrial fibrillation (AF) and Brugada Syndrome (BrS), other genetic contributors remain poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests that mutations in the non-covalently interacting NaVß1 and NaVß3 are linked to both AF and BrS. Here, we investigated the molecular pathologies of 8 variants in NaVß1 and NaVß3. Our results reveal that NaVß1 and NaVß3 variants contribute to AF and BrS disease phenotypes by modulating both NaV1.5 expression and gating properties. Most AF-linked variants in the NaVß1 subunit do not alter the gating kinetics of the sodium channel, but rather modify the channel expression. In contrast, AF-related NaVß3 variants directly affect channel gating, altering voltage-dependent activation and the time course of recovery from inactivation via the modulation of VSD activation.

The Therapeutic Landscape of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Current State and Future Directions.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating autoimmune disease with grave physical, emotional and socioeconomic consequences. Despite advances in targeted biologic and pharmacologic interventions that have recently come to market, many patients with RA continue to have inadequate response to therapies, or intolerable side effects, with resultant progression of their disease. In this review, we detail multiple biomolecular pathways involved in RA disease pathogenesis to elucidate and highlight pathways that have been therapeutic targets in managing this systemic autoimmune disease. Here we present an up-to-date accounting of both emerging and approved pharmacological treatments for RA, detailing their discovery, mechanisms of action, efficacy, and limitations. Finally, we turn to the emerging fields of bioengineering and cell therapy to illuminate possible future targeted therapeutic options that combine material and biological sciences for localized therapeutic action with the potential to greatly reduce side effects seen in systemically applied treatment modalities.

ß-Adrenergic control of sarcolemmal CaV1.2 abundance by small GTPase Rab proteins.

The number and activity of Cav1.2 channels in the cardiomyocyte sarcolemma tunes the magnitude of Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release and myocardial contraction. ß-Adrenergic receptor (ßAR) activation stimulates sarcolemmal insertion of CaV1.2. This supplements the preexisting sarcolemmal CaV1.2 population, forming large "superclusters" wherein neighboring channels undergo enhanced cooperative-gating behavior, amplifying Ca2+ influx and myocardial contractility. Here, we determine this stimulated insertion is fueled by an internal reserve of early and recycling endosome-localized, presynthesized CaV1.2 channels. ßAR-activation decreased CaV1.2/endosome colocalization in ventricular myocytes, as it triggered "emptying" of endosomal CaV1.2 cargo into the t-tubule sarcolemma. We examined the rapid dynamics of this stimulated insertion process with live-myocyte imaging of channel trafficking, and discovered that CaV1.2 are often inserted into the sarcolemma as preformed, multichannel clusters. Similarly, entire clusters were removed from the sarcolemma during endocytosis, while in other cases, a more incremental process suggested removal of individual channels. The amplitude of the stimulated insertion response was doubled by coexpression of constitutively active Rab4a, halved by coexpression of dominant-negative Rab11a, and abolished by coexpression of dominant-negative mutant Rab4a. In ventricular myocytes, ßAR-stimulated recycling of CaV1.2 was diminished by both nocodazole and latrunculin-A, suggesting an essential role of the cytoskeleton in this process. Functionally, cytoskeletal disruptors prevented ßAR-activated Ca2+ current augmentation. Moreover, ßAR-regulation of CaV1.2 was abolished when recycling was halted by coapplication of nocodazole and latrunculin-A. These findings reveal that ßAR-stimulation triggers an on-demand boost in sarcolemmal CaV1.2 abundance via targeted Rab4a- and Rab11a-dependent insertion of channels that is essential for ßAR-regulation of cardiac CaV1.2.

Predicting Patient Response to the Antiarrhythmic Mexiletine Based on Genetic Variation.

RATIONALE: Mutations in the SCN5A gene, encoding the α subunit of the Nav1.5 channel, cause a life-threatening form of cardiac arrhythmia, long QT syndrome type 3 (LQT3). Mexiletine, which is structurally related to the Na+ channel-blocking anesthetic lidocaine, is used to treat LQT3 patients. However, the patient response is variable, depending on the genetic mutation in SCN5A. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to understand the molecular basis of patients' variable responses and build a predictive statistical model that can be used to personalize mexiletine treatment based on patient's genetic variant. METHODS AND RESULTS: We monitored the cardiac Na+ channel voltage-sensing domain (VSD) conformational dynamics simultaneously with other gating properties for the LQT3 variants. To systematically identify the relationship between mexiletine block and channel biophysical properties, we used a system-based statistical modeling approach to connect the multivariate properties to patient phenotype. We found that mexiletine altered the conformation of the Domain III VSD, which is the same VSD that many tested LQT3 mutations affect. Analysis of 15 LQT3 variants showed a strong correlation between the activation of the Domain III-VSD and the strength of the inhibition of the channel by mexiletine. Based on this improved molecular-level understanding, we generated a systems-based model based on a dataset of 32 LQT3 patients, which then successfully predicted the response of 7 out of 8 patients to mexiletine in a blinded, retrospective trial. CONCLUSIONS: Our results imply that the modulated receptor theory of local anesthetic action, which confines local anesthetic binding effects to the channel pore, should be revised to include drug interaction with the Domain III-VSD. Using an algorithm that incorporates this mode of action, we can predict patient-specific responses to mexiletine, improving therapeutic decision making.

Mechanisms and models of cardiac sodium channel inactivation.

Shortly after cardiac Na+ channels activate and initiate the action potential, inactivation ensues within milliseconds, attenuating the peak Na+ current, INa, and allowing the cell membrane to repolarize. A very limited number of Na+ channels that do not inactivate carry a persistent INa, or late INa. While late INa is only a small fraction of peak magnitude, it significantly prolongs ventricular action potential duration, which predisposes patients to arrhythmia. Here, we review our current understanding of inactivation mechanisms, their regulation, and how they have been modeled computationally. Based on this body of work, we conclude that inactivation and its connection to late INa would be best modeled with a "feet-on-the-door" approach where multiple channel components participate in determining inactivation and late INa. This model reflects experimental findings showing that perturbation of many channel locations can destabilize inactivation and cause pathological late INa.

Mechanisms of noncovalent ß subunit regulation of NaV channel gating.

Voltage-gated Na+ (NaV) channels comprise a macromolecular complex whose components tailor channel function. Key components are the non-covalently bound ß1 and ß3 subunits that regulate channel gating, expression, and pharmacology. Here, we probe the molecular basis of this regulation by applying voltage clamp fluorometry to measure how the ß subunits affect the conformational dynamics of the cardiac NaV channel (NaV1.5) voltage-sensing domains (VSDs). The pore-forming NaV1.5 α subunit contains four domains (DI-DIV), each with a VSD. Our results show that ß1 regulates NaV1.5 by modulating the DIV-VSD, whereas ß3 alters channel kinetics mainly through DIII-VSD interaction. Introduction of a quenching tryptophan into the extracellular region of the ß3 transmembrane segment inverted the DIII-VSD fluorescence. Additionally, a fluorophore tethered to ß3 at the same position produced voltage-dependent fluorescence dynamics strongly resembling those of the DIII-VSD. Together, these results provide compelling evidence that ß3 binds proximally to the DIII-VSD. Molecular-level differences in ß1 and ß3 interaction with the α subunit lead to distinct activation and inactivation recovery kinetics, significantly affecting NaV channel regulation of cell excitability.

Regulation of Na+ channel inactivation by the DIII and DIV voltage-sensing domains.

Functional eukaryotic voltage-gated Na+ (NaV) channels comprise four domains (DI-DIV), each containing six membrane-spanning segments (S1-S6). Voltage sensing is accomplished by the first four membrane-spanning segments (S1-S4), which together form a voltage-sensing domain (VSD). A critical NaV channel gating process, inactivation, has previously been linked to activation of the VSDs in DIII and DIV. Here, we probe this interaction by using voltage-clamp fluorometry to observe VSD kinetics in the presence of mutations at locations that have been shown to impair NaV channel inactivation. These locations include the DIII-DIV linker, the DIII S4-S5 linker, and the DIV S4-S5 linker. Our results show that, within the 10-ms timeframe of fast inactivation, the DIV-VSD is the primary regulator of inactivation. However, after longer 100-ms pulses, the DIII-DIV linker slows DIII-VSD deactivation, and the rate of DIII deactivation correlates strongly with the rate of recovery from inactivation. Our results imply that, over the course of an action potential, DIV-VSDs regulate the onset of fast inactivation while DIII-VSDs determine its recovery.