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Nature Reviews. Cardiology Jun 2022Variants in >12 genes encoding sarcomeric proteins can cause various cardiomyopathies. The two most common are hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and dilated... (Review)
Review
Variants in >12 genes encoding sarcomeric proteins can cause various cardiomyopathies. The two most common are hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Current therapeutics do not target the root causes of these diseases, but attempt to prevent disease progression and/or to manage symptoms. Accordingly, novel approaches are being developed to treat the cardiac muscle dysfunction directly. Challenges to developing therapeutics for these diseases include the diverse mechanisms of pathogenesis, some of which are still being debated and defined. Four small molecules that modulate the myosin motor protein in the cardiac sarcomere have shown great promise in the settings of HCM and DCM, regardless of the underlying genetic pathogenesis, and similar approaches are being developed to target other components of the sarcomere. In the setting of HCM, mavacamten and aficamten bind to the myosin motor and decrease the ATPase activity of myosin. In the setting of DCM, omecamtiv mecarbil and danicamtiv increase myosin activity in cardiac muscle (but omecamtiv mecarbil decreases myosin activity in vitro). In this Review, we discuss the therapeutic strategies to alter sarcomere contractile activity and summarize the data indicating that targeting one protein in the sarcomere can be effective in treating patients with genetic variants in other sarcomeric proteins, as well as in patients with non-sarcomere-based disease.
Topics: Cardiomyopathies; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic; Humans; Mutation; Myocardium; Myosins; Sarcomeres
PubMed: 35304599
DOI: 10.1038/s41569-022-00682-0 -
Sub-cellular Biochemistry 2022Formation of cross-bridges between actin and myosin occurs ubiquitously in eukaryotic cells and mediates muscle contraction, intracellular cargo transport, and...
Formation of cross-bridges between actin and myosin occurs ubiquitously in eukaryotic cells and mediates muscle contraction, intracellular cargo transport, and cytoskeletal remodeling. Myosin motors repeatedly bind to and dissociate from actin filaments in a cycle that transduces the chemical energy from ATP hydrolysis into mechanical force generation. While the general layout of surface elements within the actin-binding interface is conserved among myosin classes, sequence divergence within these motifs alters the specific contacts involved in the actomyosin interaction as well as the kinetics of mechanochemical cycle phases. Additionally, diverse lever arm structures influence the motility and force production of myosin molecules during their actin interactions. The structural differences generated by myosin's molecular evolution have fine-tuned the kinetics of its isoforms and adapted them for their individual cellular roles. In this chapter, we will characterize the structural and biochemical basis of the actin-myosin interaction and explain its relationship with myosin's cellular roles, with emphasis on the structural variation among myosin isoforms that enables their functional specialization. We will also discuss the impact of accessory proteins, such as the troponin-tropomyosin complex and myosin-binding protein C, on the formation and regulation of actomyosin cross-bridges.
Topics: Actin Cytoskeleton; Actins; Actomyosin; Adenosine Triphosphate; Myosins; Protein Isoforms
PubMed: 36151385
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-00793-4_14 -
International Journal of Molecular... Nov 2019Muscular contraction is a fundamental phenomenon in all animals; without it life as we know it would be impossible. The basic mechanism in muscle, including heart... (Review)
Review
Muscular contraction is a fundamental phenomenon in all animals; without it life as we know it would be impossible. The basic mechanism in muscle, including heart muscle, involves the interaction of the protein filaments myosin and actin. Motility in all cells is also partly based on similar interactions of actin filaments with non-muscle myosins. Early studies of muscle contraction have informed later studies of these cellular actin-myosin systems. In muscles, projections on the myosin filaments, the so-called myosin heads or cross-bridges, interact with the nearby actin filaments and, in a mechanism powered by ATP-hydrolysis, they move the actin filaments past them in a kind of cyclic rowing action to produce the macroscopic muscular movements of which we are all aware. In this special issue the papers and reviews address different aspects of the actin-myosin interaction in muscle as studied by a plethora of complementary techniques. The present overview provides a brief and elementary introduction to muscle structure and function and the techniques used to study it. It goes on to give more detailed descriptions of what is known about muscle components and the cross-bridge cycle using structural biology techniques, particularly protein crystallography, electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. It then has a quick look at muscle mechanics and it summarises what can be learnt about how muscle works based on the other studies covered in the different papers in the special issue. A picture emerges of the main molecular steps involved in the force-producing process; steps that are also likely to be seen in non-muscle myosin interactions with cellular actin filaments. Finally, the remarkable advances made in studying the effects of mutations in the contractile assembly in causing specific muscle diseases, particularly those in heart muscle, are outlined and discussed.
Topics: Actins; Animals; Humans; Models, Biological; Muscle Contraction; Muscle, Striated; Muscles; Myosins; Protein Binding; Sarcomeres; Structure-Activity Relationship
PubMed: 31739584
DOI: 10.3390/ijms20225715 -
The Journal of General Physiology Nov 2023JGP study (In this issue, Osten et al. https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.202313377) suggests that, by altering mechanosensitive signaling pathways, replating stem cell-derived...
JGP study (In this issue, Osten et al. https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.202313377) suggests that, by altering mechanosensitive signaling pathways, replating stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes changes myosin expression and contractile function.
Topics: Muscle Contraction; Myosins; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 37847309
DOI: 10.1085/jgp.202313491 -
Journal of the American College of... Jul 2022Septal reduction therapy (SRT), surgical myectomy or alcohol ablation, is recommended for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM) patients with intractable... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND
Septal reduction therapy (SRT), surgical myectomy or alcohol ablation, is recommended for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM) patients with intractable symptoms despite maximal medical therapy, but is associated with morbidity and mortality.
OBJECTIVES
This study sought to determine whether the oral myosin inhibitor mavacamten enables patients to improve sufficiently to no longer meet guideline criteria or choose to not undergo SRT.
METHODS
Patients with left ventricular (LV) outflow tract (LVOT) gradient ≥50 mm Hg at rest/provocation who met guideline criteria for SRT were randomized, double blind, to mavacamten, 5 mg daily, or placebo, titrated up to 15 mg based on LVOT gradient and LV ejection fraction. The primary endpoint was the composite of the proportion of patients proceeding with SRT or who remained guideline-eligible after 16 weeks' treatment.
RESULTS
One hundred and twelve oHCM patients were enrolled, mean age 60 ± 12 years, 51% men, 93% New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III/IV, with a mean post-exercise LVOT gradient of 84 ± 35.8 mm Hg. After 16 weeks, 43 of 56 placebo patients (76.8%) and 10 of 56 mavacamten patients (17.9%) met guideline criteria or underwent SRT, difference (58.9%; 95% CI: 44.0%-73.9%; P < 0.001). Hierarchical testing of secondary outcomes showed significant differences (P < 0.001) favoring mavacamten, mean differences in post-exercise peak LVOT gradient -37.2 mm Hg; ≥1 NYHA functional class improvement 41.1%; improvement in patient-reported outcome 9.4 points; and NT-proBNP and cardiac troponin I between-groups geometric mean ratio 0.33 and 0.53.
CONCLUSIONS
In oHCM patients with intractable symptoms, mavacamten significantly reduced the fraction of patients meeting guideline criteria for SRT after 16 weeks. Long-term freedom from SRT remains to be determined. (A Study to Evaluate Mavacamten in Adults With Symptomatic Obstructive HCM Who Are Eligible for Septal Reduction Therapy [VALOR-HCM]; NCT04349072).
Topics: Aged; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Myosins; Stroke Volume; Treatment Outcome; Ventricular Function, Left
PubMed: 35798455
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2022.04.048 -
Cells Dec 2022The shape and load bearing strength of cells are determined by the complex protein network comprising the actin-myosin cytoskeleton [...].
The shape and load bearing strength of cells are determined by the complex protein network comprising the actin-myosin cytoskeleton [...].
Topics: Actins; Cytoskeleton; Actin Cytoskeleton; Myosins
PubMed: 36611802
DOI: 10.3390/cells12010009 -
Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology Sep 2023Actin plays many well-known roles in cells, and understanding any specific role is often confounded by the overlap of multiple actin-based structures in space and time.... (Review)
Review
Actin plays many well-known roles in cells, and understanding any specific role is often confounded by the overlap of multiple actin-based structures in space and time. Here, we review our rapidly expanding understanding of actin in mitochondrial biology, where actin plays multiple distinct roles, exemplifying the versatility of actin and its functions in cell biology. One well-studied role of actin in mitochondrial biology is its role in mitochondrial fission, where actin polymerization from the endoplasmic reticulum through the formin INF2 has been shown to stimulate two distinct steps. However, roles for actin during other types of mitochondrial fission, dependent on the Arp2/3 complex, have also been described. In addition, actin performs functions independent of mitochondrial fission. During mitochondrial dysfunction, two distinct phases of Arp2/3 complex-mediated actin polymerization can be triggered. First, within 5 min of dysfunction, rapid actin assembly around mitochondria serves to suppress mitochondrial shape changes and to stimulate glycolysis. At a later time point, at more than 1 h post-dysfunction, a second round of actin polymerization prepares mitochondria for mitophagy. Finally, actin can both stimulate and inhibit mitochondrial motility depending on the context. These motility effects can either be through the polymerization of actin itself or through myosin-based processes, with myosin 19 being an important mitochondrially attached myosin. Overall, distinct actin structures assemble in response to diverse stimuli to affect specific changes to mitochondria.
Topics: Actins; Mitochondria; Formins; Myosins; Endoplasmic Reticulum
PubMed: 37277471
DOI: 10.1038/s41580-023-00613-y -
Circulation Mar 2020Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is caused by pathogenic variants in sarcomere protein genes that evoke hypercontractility, poor relaxation, and increased energy...
BACKGROUND
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is caused by pathogenic variants in sarcomere protein genes that evoke hypercontractility, poor relaxation, and increased energy consumption by the heart and increased patient risks for arrhythmias and heart failure. Recent studies show that pathogenic missense variants in myosin, the molecular motor of the sarcomere, are clustered in residues that participate in dynamic conformational states of sarcomere proteins. We hypothesized that these conformations are essential to adapt contractile output for energy conservation and that pathophysiology of HCM results from destabilization of these conformations.
METHODS
We assayed myosin ATP binding to define the proportion of myosins in the super relaxed state (SRX) conformation or the disordered relaxed state (DRX) conformation in healthy rodent and human hearts, at baseline and in response to reduced hemodynamic demands of hibernation or pathogenic HCM variants. To determine the relationships between myosin conformations, sarcomere function, and cell biology, we assessed contractility, relaxation, and cardiomyocyte morphology and metabolism, with and without an allosteric modulator of myosin ATPase activity. We then tested whether the positions of myosin variants of unknown clinical significance that were identified in patients with HCM, predicted functional consequences and associations with heart failure and arrhythmias.
RESULTS
Myosins undergo physiological shifts between the SRX conformation that maximizes energy conservation and the DRX conformation that enables cross-bridge formation with greater ATP consumption. Systemic hemodynamic requirements, pharmacological modulators of myosin, and pathogenic myosin missense mutations influenced the proportions of these conformations. Hibernation increased the proportion of myosins in the SRX conformation, whereas pathogenic variants destabilized these and increased the proportion of myosins in the DRX conformation, which enhanced cardiomyocyte contractility, but impaired relaxation and evoked hypertrophic remodeling with increased energetic stress. Using structural locations to stratify variants of unknown clinical significance, we showed that the variants that destabilized myosin conformations were associated with higher rates of heart failure and arrhythmias in patients with HCM.
CONCLUSIONS
Myosin conformations establish work-energy equipoise that is essential for life-long cellular homeostasis and heart function. Destabilization of myosin energy-conserving states promotes contractile abnormalities, morphological and metabolic remodeling, and adverse clinical outcomes in patients with HCM. Therapeutic restabilization corrects cellular contractile and metabolic phenotypes and may limit these adverse clinical outcomes in patients with HCM.
Topics: Adenosine Triphosphatases; Animals; Cardiac Myosins; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic; Cells, Cultured; Energy Metabolism; Humans; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells; Mice; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Muscle Relaxation; Mutation, Missense; Myocardial Contraction; Myocytes, Cardiac; Myosin Heavy Chains; Protein Conformation; Sarcomeres
PubMed: 31983222
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.042339 -
Cell Jan 2024During development, morphogens pattern tissues by instructing cell fate across long distances. Directly visualizing morphogen transport in situ has been inaccessible, so...
During development, morphogens pattern tissues by instructing cell fate across long distances. Directly visualizing morphogen transport in situ has been inaccessible, so the molecular mechanisms ensuring successful morphogen delivery remain unclear. To tackle this longstanding problem, we developed a mouse model for compromised sonic hedgehog (SHH) morphogen delivery and discovered that endocytic recycling promotes SHH loading into signaling filopodia called cytonemes. We optimized methods to preserve in vivo cytonemes for advanced microscopy and show endogenous SHH localized to cytonemes in developing mouse neural tubes. Depletion of SHH from neural tube cytonemes alters neuronal cell fates and compromises neurodevelopment. Mutation of the filopodial motor myosin 10 (MYO10) reduces cytoneme length and density, which corrupts neuronal signaling activity of both SHH and WNT. Combined, these results demonstrate that cytoneme-based signal transport provides essential contributions to morphogen dispersion during mammalian tissue development and suggest MYO10 is a key regulator of cytoneme function.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Biological Transport; Cell Membrane Structures; Hedgehog Proteins; Myosins; Pseudopodia; Signal Transduction; Neural Tube
PubMed: 38171360
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.12.003 -
Cells & Development Dec 2021Muscles generate forces for animal locomotion. The contractile apparatus of muscles is the sarcomere, a highly regular array of large actin and myosin filaments linked... (Review)
Review
Muscles generate forces for animal locomotion. The contractile apparatus of muscles is the sarcomere, a highly regular array of large actin and myosin filaments linked by gigantic titin springs. During muscle development many sarcomeres assemble in series into long periodic myofibrils that mechanically connect the attached skeleton elements. Thus, ATP-driven myosin forces can power movement of the skeleton. Here we review muscle and myofibril morphogenesis, with a particular focus on their mechanobiology. We describe recent progress on the molecular structure of sarcomeres and their mechanical connections to the skeleton. We discuss current models predicting how tension coordinates the assembly of key sarcomeric components to periodic myofibrils that then further mature during development. This requires transcriptional feedback mechanisms that may help to coordinate myofibril assembly and maturation states with the transcriptional program. To fuel the varying energy demands of muscles we also discuss the close mechanical interactions of myofibrils with mitochondria and nuclei to optimally support powerful or enduring muscle fibers.
Topics: Animals; Biophysics; Morphogenesis; Myofibrils; Myosins; Sarcomeres
PubMed: 34863916
DOI: 10.1016/j.cdev.2021.203760