New insights into the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton by tropomyosin.

The actin cytoskeleton is regulated by a variety of actin-binding proteins including those constituting the tropomyosin family. Tropomyosins are coiled-coil dimers that bind along the length of actin filaments. In muscles, tropomyosin regulates the interaction of actin-containing thin filaments with myosin-containing thick filaments to allow contraction. In nonmuscle cells where multiple tropomyosin isoforms are expressed, tropomyosins participate in a number of cellular events involving the cytoskeleton. This chapter reviews the current state of the literature regarding tropomyosin structure and function and discusses the evidence that tropomyosins play a role in regulating actin assembly.

The C terminus of cardiac troponin I stabilizes the Ca2+-activated state of tropomyosin on actin filaments.

RATIONALE: Ca(2+) control of troponin-tropomyosin position on actin regulates cardiac muscle contraction. The inhibitory subunit of troponin, cardiac troponin (cTn)I is primarily responsible for maintaining a tropomyosin conformation that prevents crossbridge cycling. Despite extensive characterization of cTnI, the precise role of its C-terminal domain (residues 193 to 210) is unclear. Mutations within this region are associated with restrictive cardiomyopathy, and C-terminal deletion of cTnI, in some species, has been associated with myocardial stunning. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the effect of a cTnI deletion-removal of 17 amino acids from the C terminus- on the structure of troponin-regulated tropomyosin bound to actin. METHODS AND RESULTS: A truncated form of human cTnI (cTnI(1-192)) was expressed and reconstituted with troponin C and troponin T to form a mutant troponin. Using electron microscopy and 3D image reconstruction, we show that the mutant troponin perturbs the positional equilibrium dynamics of tropomyosin in the presence of Ca(2+). Specifically, it biases tropomyosin position toward an "enhanced C-state" that exposes more of the myosin-binding site on actin than found with wild-type troponin. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to its well-established role of promoting the so-called "blocked-state" or "B-state," cTnI participates in proper stabilization of tropomyosin in the "Ca(2+)-activated state" or "C-state." The last 17 amino acids perform this stabilizing role. The data are consistent with a "fly-casting" model in which the mobile C terminus of cTnI ensures proper conformational switching of troponin-tropomyosin. Loss of actin-sensing function within this domain, by pathological proteolysis or cardiomyopathic mutation, may be sufficient to perturb tropomyosin conformation.

Caldesmon and the regulation of cytoskeletal functions.

Caldesmon (CaD) is an extraordinary actin-binding protein, because in addition to actin, it also bindsmyosin, calmodulin and tropomyosin. As a component of the smoothmuscle and nonmuscle contractile apparatus CaD inhibits the actomyosin ATPase activity and its inhibitory action is modulated by both Ca2+ and phosphorylation. The multiplicity of binding partners and diverse biochemical properties suggest CaD is a potent and versatile regulatory protein both in contractility and cell motility. However, after decades ofinvestigation in numerous laboratories, hard evidence is still lacking to unequivocally identify its in vivo functions, although indirect evidence is mounting to support an important role in connection with the actin cytoskeleton. This chapter reviews the highlights of the past findings and summarizes the current views on this protein, with emphasis of its interaction with tropomyosin.

Erk1/2 MAPK and caldesmon differentially regulate podosome dynamics in A7r5 vascular smooth muscle cells.

We tested the hypothesis that the MEK/Erk/caldesmon phosphorylation cascade regulates PKC-mediated podosome dynamics in A7r5 cells. We observed the phosphorylation of MEK, Erk and caldesmon, and their translocation to the podosomes upon phorbol dibutyrate (PDBu) stimulation, together with the nuclear translocation of phospho-MEK and phospho-Erk. After MEK inhibition by U0126, Erk translocated to the interconnected actin-rich columns but failed to translocate to the nucleus, suggesting that podosomes served as a site for Erk phosphorylation. The interconnected actin-rich columns in U0126-treated, PDBu-stimulated cells contained alpha-actinin, caldesmon, vinculin, and metalloproteinase-2. Caldesmon and vinculin became integrated with F-actin at the columns, in contrast to their typical location at the ring of podosomes. Live-imaging experiments suggested the growth of these columns from podosomes that were slow to disassemble. The observed modulation of podosome size and life time in A7r5 cells overexpressing wild-type and phosphorylation-deficient caldesmon-GFP mutants in comparison to untransfected cells suggests that caldesmon and caldesmon phosphorylation modulate podosome dynamics in A7r5 cells. These results suggest that Erk1/2 and caldesmon differentially modulate PKC-mediated formation and/or dynamics of podosomes in A7r5 vascular smooth muscle cells.

Genetic ablation of zyxin causes Mena/VASP mislocalization, increased motility, and deficits in actin remodeling.

Focal adhesions are specialized regions of the cell surface where integrin receptors and associated proteins link the extracellular matrix to the actin cytoskeleton. To define the cellular role of the focal adhesion protein zyxin, we characterized the phenotype of fibroblasts in which the zyxin gene was deleted by homologous recombination. Zyxin-null fibroblasts display enhanced integrin-dependent adhesion and are more migratory than wild-type fibroblasts, displaying reduced dependence on extracellular matrix cues. We identified differences in the profiles of 75- and 80-kD tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in the zyxin-null cells. Tandem array mass spectrometry identified both modified proteins as isoforms of the actomyosin regulator caldesmon, a protein known to influence contractility, stress fiber formation, and motility. Zyxin-null fibroblasts also show deficits in actin stress fiber remodeling and exhibit changes in the molecular composition of focal adhesions, most notably by severely reduced accumulation of Ena/VASP proteins. We postulate that zyxin cooperates with Ena/VASP proteins and caldesmon to influence integrin-dependent cell motility and actin stress fiber remodeling.

A caldesmon peptide activates smooth muscle via a mechanism similar to ERK-mediated phosphorylation.

Caldesmon (CaD) is thought to regulate smooth muscle contraction, because it binds actin and inhibits actomyosin interactions. A synthetic actin-binding peptide (GS17C) corresponding to Gly666-Ser682 of chicken gizzard CaD has been shown to induce force development in permeabilized smooth muscle cells. The mechanism of GS17C's action remains unclear, although a structural effect was postulated. By photo-crosslinking and fluorescence quenching experiments with a gizzard CaD fragment (H32K; Met563-Pro771) and its mutants, we showed that GS17C indeed dissociated the C-terminal region of H32K from actin, in a manner similar to extracellular signal-regulated kinase-mediated phosphorylation, thereby reversing the CaD-imposed inhibition and enabling the actomyosin interaction.

Phosphorylated l-caldesmon is involved in disassembly of actin stress fibers and postmitotic spreading.

The function of the ubiquitous actin-binding protein, caldesmon (l-CaD) in mammalian non-muscle cells remains elusive. During mitosis, l-CaD becomes markedly phosphorylated at Ser497 and Ser527 (in the rat sequence), therefore, it has been suggested that l-CaD is involved in cytokinesis by inhibiting the actomyosin interaction until it is phosphorylated, although direct in vivo evidence is still missing. In the present study, we used F-actin staining and specific antibodies against these two phosphorylation sites of l-CaD to simultaneously monitor actin assembly and l-CaD phosphorylation. Our observations demonstrated that the level of l-CaD phosphorylation undergoes dynamic changes during the cell cycle. The spatial and temporal distributions of phospho-CaD do not correlate with cytokinesis per se, but rather, with the level of actin bundles in a reciprocal manner. The highest l-CaD phosphorylation level coincides with the disassembly of actin cytoskeleton during mitotic cell rounding. Ser-to-Ala mutations at these two positions prevent stress fibers from disassembly upon migratory stimulation. In addition, phospho-CaD appears to colocalize with nascent focal adhesion complexes during postmitotic spreading. These findings suggest that l-CaD phosphorylation plays an important role not only in cytoskeleton remodeling during cell shape changes, but also in cell spreading and migration.

Specific disruption of smooth muscle caldesmon expression in mice.

Caldesmon (CaD) is an actin-binding protein that is capable of inhibiting the actomyosin ATPase activity in vitro. CaD has a single gene that is alternatively spliced to generate the smooth muscle-specific form, h-CaD, and a shorter isoform, l-CaD, that is present only in non-muscle cells. The difference between h- and l-CaD is a highly charged repeating sequence, corresponding to a 35 nm-long single helical region that separates the N-terminal domain from the C-terminal domain of h-CaD. To test whether such an elongated h-CaD is essential for smooth muscles to function properly, we have specifically abrogated its expression in the mouse by targeting h-CaD without affecting the expression of l-CaD. After genotyping, we have obtained homozygous knockout mice that indeed lack h-CaD, but nevertheless express varying amounts of l-CaD in a tissue-dependent fashion. The contractility of smooth muscles isolated from the knockout animals is currently under investigation.

Modes of caldesmon binding to actin: sites of caldesmon contact and modulation of interactions by phosphorylation.

Smooth muscle caldesmon binds actin and inhibits actomyosin ATPase activity. Phosphorylation of caldesmon by extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) reverses this inhibitory effect and weakens actin binding. To better understand this function, we have examined the phosphorylation-dependent contact sites of caldesmon on actin by low dose electron microscopy and three-dimensional reconstruction of actin filaments decorated with a C-terminal fragment, hH32K, of human caldesmon containing the principal actin-binding domains. Helical reconstruction of negatively stained filaments demonstrated that hH32K is located on the inner portion of actin subdomain 1, traversing its upper surface toward the C-terminal segment of actin, and forms a bridge to the neighboring actin monomer of the adjacent long pitch helical strand by connecting to its subdomain 3. Such lateral binding was supported by cross-linking experiments using a mutant isoform, which was capable of cross-linking actin subunits. Upon ERK phosphorylation, however, the mutant no longer cross-linked actin to polymers. Three-dimensional reconstruction of ERK-phosphorylated hH32K indeed indicated loss of the interstrand connectivity. These results, together with fluorescence quenching data, are consistent with a phosphorylation-dependent conformational change that moves the C-terminal end segment of caldesmon near the phosphorylation site but not the upstream region around Cys(595), away from F-actin, thus neutralizing its inhibitory effect on actomyosin interactions. The binding pattern of hH32K suggests a mechanism by which unphosphorylated, but not ERK-phosphorylated, caldesmon could stabilize actin filaments and resist F-actin severing or depolymerization in both smooth muscle and nonmuscle cells.

Caldesmon binding to actin is regulated by calmodulin and phosphorylation via different mechanisms.

Smooth muscle caldesmon (CaD) binds F-actin and inhibits actomyosin ATPase activity. The inhibition is reversed by Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM). CaD is also phosphorylated upon stimulation at sites specific for mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Because of these properties, CaD is thought to be involved in the regulation of smooth muscle contraction. The molecular mechanism of the reversal of inhibition is not well understood. We have expressed His6-tagged fragments containing the sequence of the C-terminal region of human (from M563 to V793) and chicken (from M563 to P771) CaD as well as a variant of the chicken isoform with a Q766C point mutation. By cleavages with proteases, followed by high-speed cosedimentation with F-actin and mass spectrometry, we found that within the C-terminal region of CaD there are multiple actin contact points forming two clusters. Intramolecular fluorescence resonance energy transfer between probes attached to cysteine residues (the endogenous C595 and the engineered C766) located in these two clusters revealed that the C-terminal region of CaD is elongated, but it becomes more compact when bound to actin. Binding of CaM restores the elongated conformation and facilitates dissociation of the C-terminal CaD fragment from F-actin. When the CaD fragment was phosphorylated with a MAPK, only one of the two actin-binding clusters dissociated from F-actin, whereas the other remained bound. Taken together, these results demonstrate that while both Ca2+/CaM and MAPK phosphorylation govern CaD's function via a conformational change, the regulatory mechanisms are different.

Crystal structures of S100A6 in the Ca(2+)-free and Ca(2+)-bound states: the calcium sensor mechanism of S100 proteins revealed at atomic resolution.

S100A6 is a member of the S100 family of Ca(2+) binding proteins, which have come to play an important role in the diagnosis of cancer due to their overexpression in various tumor cells. We have determined the crystal structures of human S100A6 in the Ca(2+)-free and Ca(2+)-bound states to resolutions of 1.15 A and 1.44 A, respectively. Ca(2+) binding is responsible for a dramatic change in the global shape and charge distribution of the S100A6 dimer, leading to the exposure of two symmetrically positioned target binding sites. The results are consistent with S100A6, and most likely other S100 proteins, functioning as Ca(2+) sensors in a way analogous to the prototypical sensors calmodulin and troponin C. The structures have important implications for our understanding of target binding and cooperativity of Ca(2+) binding in the S100 family.

Activation of p38 MAP-kinase and caldesmon phosphorylation are essential for urokinase-induced human smooth muscle cell migration.

We have explored intracellular pathways involved in the urokinase type plasminogen activator (urokinase or uPA)-stimulated migration of human airway smooth muscle cells (hAWSMC). Using a set of uPA mutants we found that protease activity, growth factor-like and kringle domains of uPA differentially contribute to activation of p42/p44erk1,2 and p38 MAP-kinases. Consistent with our earlier data [Mukhina et al., J. Biol. Chem. 275 (2000), 16450-16458], the kringle domain of uPA was sufficient and required to stimulate cell motility. Here we report that uPA mutants containing the kringle domain specifically activate the p38 MAP-kinase pathway and actomyosin by increasing phosphorylation of the critical Ser-19 on the myosin regulatory light chain and MAP-kinase sites of the actin-associated regulatory protein caldesmon. While pharmacological inhibition of p38 MAP-kinase activation did not affect myosin light chain phosphorylation, it blocked the increase in caldesmon phosphorylation and uPA-stimulated migration of hAWSMC on a collagen-coated surface. We conclude that activation of p38 MAP-kinase and downstream phosphorylation of non-muscle caldesmon is essential for urokinase-stimulated smooth muscle cell migration.