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Functional analysis of point mutants of cardiac actin involved in dilative and hypertrophic cardiomyopathies

Fachliche Zuordnung Nuklearmedizin, Strahlentherapie, Strahlenbiologie
Förderung Förderung von 2012 bis 2018
Projektkennung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 230430460
 
Erstellungsjahr 2019

Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse

In this project we purified alpha cardiac actin variants, which have been made responsible for the generation of cardiomyopathies: wild type, one causing HCM: A295S and two causing DCM: R312K/H and E361G. These actin variants were expressed by the insect cell Sf9/baculovirus system and purified to homogeneity by affinity adsorption to gelsolin G4-6. Unfortunately, it was not possible to isolate the actins after N-terminal His-tagging. We purified cardiac actin form either bovine or pig heart acetone powder and compared the conventionally prepared with recombinant wt cardiac actin and did not find differences in the biochemical assays. The biochemical analyses of the isolated cardiac actin variants indicated that the HCM related A295S mutant possessed a decreased ability to polymerize and to stimulate the myosin-S1 ATPase. Similarly, both DCM related mutants possessed a reduced ability to polymerize and after decoration with tropomyosin and troponin complex both exhibited reduced calcium-ion sensitivity. In addition, the cooperativity of myosin-S1 binding to thin filaments containing the R312H mutant was clearly reduced probably due to the fact that the mutated residue is located with the tropomyosin-binding region. After infection of neonatal cardiomyocytes with adenovirus particles conferring these actins their incorporation into nascent thin filaments was observed. Wt and R312H actins appeared to be incorporated at their natural sites, the Z-lines, whereas the E361G mutant was preferentially incorporated at the thin filament minus ends, i.e. close to the middle of the sarcomeres. This behaviour might be due to the location of the mutated residue within the α-actinin binding region and suggest a cause for the reduced sarcomere mechanostability typical of DCM affected hearts. In addition, we investigated the effects of mutations of the TnI subunit of troponin complex that were recently identified in two newborns suffering of restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM), which in most cases has a poor prognosis unless heart transplantation can be preformed. Both mutated TnIs resulted in an increased calcium-ion sensitivity as typically observed in RCM hearts. Structurally they led to thin filament bending and breakage when analysed with reconstituted thin filaments, however, these alterations were at least partially reversed by addition of the actin-binding domain of MyBP-C. Furthermore, we showed that FHOD1 (a member of the formin family that usually promote actin filament formation) is specifically located within the intercalated discs (ICDs) that represent membrane specialisations involved in connecting cardiac muscle cells. Into the ICDs terminate the last half sarcomeres of the cardiac muscle myofibrils and FHOD1 might well have an important role in conferring sarcomere stability. It will be interesting to analyse the interactions of FHOD1 with cardiac actin and its different mutants. As an extension to the cardiovascular system we participated in a study about the degradation of neutrophil released extracellular traps (NETs). Under pathological inflammatory conditions massive release of NETs by neutrophil leucocytes can lead to vascular occlusion. In order to overcome a dangerous obstruction of blood circulation the degradation of NETs must occur to prevent tissue damage. Using mice deficient in the two endonucleases present in blood plasma (DNase I and DNase 1-like3) it was shown that the presence or administration of either of these endonucleases leads to NET degradation and survival of the animals. Since NET formation has also been shown to occur in coronary vessels during infarction the therapeutic use of endonuclease administration might be considered.

Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)

 
 

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