Adaptations in titin's spring elements in normal and cardiomyopathic hearts

Tools

Item Type:	Article
Title:	Adaptations in titin's spring elements in normal and cardiomyopathic hearts
Creators Name:	Granzier, H., Labeit, D., Wu, Y., Witt, C., Watanabe, K., Lahmers, S., Gotthardt, M. and Labeit, S.
Abstract:	Titin (also known as connectin) is a giant elastic protein located in the striated-muscle sarcomere where it spans from Z-line to M-line. A large part of the I-band region of the titin molecule is extensible and functions as a molecular spring that underlies passive muscle stiffness when sarcomeres are stretched. This spring has a complex composition. In cardiac titin it consists of three extensible elements: tandem Ig segments, the PEVK segment and the N2B unique sequence. Here we discuss our recent work focused on understanding the molecular basis of titin's extensibility and in which force-extension curves were measured by using an atomic force microscope specialized for stretching single molecules. We will discuss results from recombinant proteins that represent the various elements of titin's extensible region. The obtained single molecule mechanical characteristics of titin's various spring elements explain well their measured extension in the cardiac sarcomere when stretched within their physiological length range. We also examined how titin's contribution to passive muscle stiffness may be adjusted. We discuss evidence that suggests that calcium/S100 may adjust titin-based stiffness and that phosphorylation of cardiac titin’s N2B spring elements reduces titin-based passive stiffness in cardiac muscle. Finally, we show that the cardiac sarcomere of large mammals co-expresses titin isoforms and that differential splicing of titin's spring elements is a long-term mechanism of adjustment, which plays a role in passive stiffness modulation during heart disease.
Keywords:	Actins, Alternative Splicing, Atomic Force Microscopy, Calcium, Cardiomyopathies, Connectin, Immunoelectron Microscopy, Muscle Proteins, Myocardium, Phosphorylation, Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis, Post-Translational Protein Processing, Protein Isoforms, Protein Kinases, Sarcomeres, Tertiary Protein Structure, Animals
Source:	Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
Series Name:	Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
Title of Book:	Molecular and Cellular Aspects of Muscle Contraction
ISSN:	0065-2598
ISBN:	978-1-46134764-4
Publisher:	Springer
Volume:	538
Number:	538
Page Range:	517-530; discussion 530-531
Number of Pages:	701
Date:	2003
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9029-7_46
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

Repository Staff Only: item control page