scholarly journals Alternatively spliced exons of the beta tropomyosin gene exhibit different affinities for F-actin and effects with nonmuscle caldesmon

1995 ◽  
Vol 108 (10) ◽  
pp. 3253-3265 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.F. Pittenger ◽  
A. Kistler ◽  
D.M. Helfman

The rat beta-tropomyosin (TM) gene expresses two isoforms via alternative RNA splicing, namely skeletal muscle beta-TM and fibroblast TM-1. The latter is also expressed in smooth muscle where it corresponds to smooth muscle beta-TM. Skeletal muscle beta-TM contains exons 7 and 10, whereas exons 6 and 11 are used in fibroblasts and smooth muscle. In order to study the properties of the alternatively spliced proteins, recombinant TMs derived from bacterial and insect cell expression systems were produced, including the normal beta gene products, fibroblast TM-1 and beta skeletal muscle TM, two carboxy-terminal chimeric TMs, TM-6/10 and TM-7/11, as well as a carboxyl-truncated version of each, TM-6Cla and TM-7Cla. The purified TM isoforms were used in actin filament association studies. The apparent TM association constants (Ka) were taken as the free concentration at half saturation and were found to be 6 microM for beta Sk TM, 8.5 for TM-6/10, 25 microM for TM-1, and 30 microM for TM-7/11 at an F-actin concentration of 42 microM. For the truncated TMs, the values determined were higher still but the binding was not carried out to full saturation. Isoforms were also produced using the baculovirus-insect cell system which produces proteins with an acetylated amino terminus as is normally found in vivo. This modification significantly enhanced the F-actin association of TM-1 but not the beta skeletal TM or the other isoforms. Fibroblast TM-2 or TM-3, both products of the alpha gene, enhanced the affinity of TM-1 for F-actin, demonstrating different isoforms can act cooperatively on binding to actin. This effect was not detected with the other expressed beta gene products. The presence of 83 kDa nonmuscle caldesmon was found to enhance the binding of TM-1 for F-actin. This effect was dependent on the presence of both exons 6 and 11, as caldesmon had little effect on the other beta gene products. Collectively these results demonstrate TMs differ in their affinity for F-actin, which can be altered by other TMs or actin-binding proteins. The beta tropomyosin isoforms were fluorescently-tagged and microinjected into cultured cells to study their in vivo localization where it was found that each of the full-length TMs bound to microfilaments but, at the light microscopy level, the isoforms were not differentially localized in these fibroblasts.

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3805-3817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos ◽  
Shu-Ching Huang ◽  
Edward J. Benz

The ∼80-kDa erythroid 4.1R protein is a major component of the erythrocyte cytoskeleton, where it links transmembrane proteins to the underlying spectrin/actin complexes. A diverse collection of 4.1R isoforms has been described in nonerythroid cells, ranging from ∼30 to ∼210 kDa. In the current study, we identified the number and primary structure of 4.1R isoforms expressed in adult skeletal muscle and characterized the localization patterns of 4.1R message and protein. Skeletal muscle 4.1R appears to originate solely from the upstream translation initiation codon (AUG-1) residing in exon 2′. Combinations of alternatively spliced downstream exons generate an array of distinct 4.1R spliceoforms. Two major isoform classes of ∼105/110 and ∼135 kDa are present in muscle homogenates. 4.1R transcripts are distributed in highly ordered signal stripes, whereas 4.1R protein(s) decorate the sarcoplasm in transverse striations that are in register with A-bands. An ∼105/110-kDa 4.1R isoform appears to occur in vivo in a supramolecular complex with major sarcomeric proteins, including myosin, α-actin, and α-tropomyosin. In vitro binding assays showed that 4.1R may interact directly with the aforementioned contractile proteins through its 10-kDa domain. All of these observations suggest a topological model whereby 4.1R may play a scaffolding role by anchoring the actomyosin myofilaments and possibly modulating their displacements during contraction/relaxation.


1991 ◽  
Vol 280 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Makuch ◽  
K Birukov ◽  
V Shirinsky ◽  
R Dabrowska

Calponin and caldesmon, constituents of smooth-muscle thin filaments, are considered to be potential modulators of smooth-muscle contraction. Both of them interact with actin and inhibit ATPase activity of smooth- and skeletal-muscle actomyosin. Here we show that calponin and caldesmon could bind simultaneously to F-actin when used in subsaturating amounts, whereas each one used in excess caused displacement of the other from the complex with F-actin. Calponin was more effective than caldesmon in this competition: when F-actin was saturated with calponin the binding of caldesmon was eliminated almost completely, whereas even at high molar excess of caldesmon one-third of calponin (relative to the saturation level) always remained bound to actin. The inhibitory effects of low concentrations of calponin and caldesmon on skeletal-muscle actomyosin ATPase were additive, whereas the maximum inhibition of the ATPase attained at high concentration of each of them was practically unaffected by the other one. These data suggest that calponin and caldesmon cannot operate on the same thin filaments. CA(2+)-calmodulin competed with actin for calponin binding, and at high molar excess dissociated the calponin-actin complex and reversed the calponin-induced inhibition of actomyosin ATPase activity.


1987 ◽  
Vol 243 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Kilgour ◽  
R G Vernon

Changes are described in the total pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) activity, the proportion of PDH in the active state and its control by insulin and noradrenaline in vivo, in white adipose tissue, liver, skeletal muscle and mammary gland with pregnancy, lactation and on weaning. Lactation resulted in a decrease in total PDH in white adipose tissue and an increase in the mammary gland, whereas the proportion in the active state decreased in muscle and increased in the mammary gland. The ability of insulin to activate PDH of white adipose tissue was lost during lactation, whereas it was retained by the other tissues. The ability of noradrenaline to activate PDH was decreased in white adipose tissue but increased in liver during lactation. These various adaptations should limit the use of glucose and lactate carbon by adipose tissue and skeletal muscle during lactation and thereby facilitate their preferential utilization by the mammary gland.


1991 ◽  
Vol 280 (3) ◽  
pp. 631-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
G W Mayr ◽  
R Thieleczek

The masses of inositol phosphates have been determined in isolated skeletal muscles from Xenopus laevis (sartorius, tibialis anterior and iliofibularis) and rat (gastrocnemius and soleus) which were quick-frozen in the resting state and at different stages of an isometric (Xenopus) or isotonic (rat) tetanus. The isomeric spectrum of inositol phosphates detected was similar to that in other tissues and cell types. The total sarcoplasmic concentrations of the isomers Ins-(1,4,5,6)P4/Ins(3,4,5,6)P4 (0.2-0.9 microM), Ins(1,3,4,6)P4 (not detectable), Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 (about 1 microM) and InsP6 (3.2-4.6 microM) were lower than in other cell types. Variations in these concentrations were due to the muscle type rather than to the donor species. The putative second messenger Ins(1,4,5)P3, as well as its dephosphorylation product Ins(1,4)P2, were present at surprisingly high total myoplasmic resting concentrations, ranging from 1.2 to 2.5 microM and 3.5 to 6.9 microM respectively. Upon tetanic stimulation these two inositol phosphates in particular exhibited significantly increased total sarcoplasmic concentrations, up to 4.2 microM and 11.3 microM respectively, with a time scale of seconds. From the initial rate of increase in the total sarcoplasmic concentrations of Ins(1,4,5)P3 and its rapidly formed metabolic products, a minimal phosphoinositidase C (PIC) activity in tetanically activated Xenopus skeletal muscle of about 1.7-2.6 microM/s can be estimated. This PIC activity observed in vivo seems to be far too low to account for a functional role for Ins(1,4,5)P3 as a chemical transmitter in the fast excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) process in skeletal muscle. The presence of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 in all muscle types is indicative of a Ca(2+)-activated Ins(1,4,5)P3 3-kinase activity. The rapid transient increases in Ins(1,3,4)P3 and Ins(1,3)P2 in isometrically contracting Xenopus muscles suggest that corresponding Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 phosphatases are operating in skeletal muscle as well. In all muscles investigated except rat soleus, the fructose 1,6-bisphosphate [Fru(1,6)P2] concentration increased substantially during a tetanus, up to about 2 mM. This increase is correlated with a simultaneous decrease in phosphocreatine, whereas the energy charge of the muscles was essentially unaffected by the applied tetani. The time course of the rise in Fru(1,6)P2 was used to model changes in the free concentrations of high-affinity aldolase-binding inositol phosphates during the course of a tetanus. These calculations demonstrate that the free concentration of Ins(1,4,5)P3 and other aldolase-bound inositol phosphates can increase much faster and to a larger extent than the corresponding total concentrations as a result of their competitive displacement from aldolase-binding sites by the rapidly rising concentration of Fru(1,6)P2.


1993 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 1159-1167 ◽  
Author(s):  
A J North ◽  
B Galazkiewicz ◽  
T J Byers ◽  
J R Glenney ◽  
J V Small

The sarcolemma of the smooth muscle cell displays two alternating structural domains in the electron microscope: densely-staining plaques that correspond to the adherens junctions and intervening uncoated regions which are rich in membrane invaginations, or caveolae. The adherens junctions serve as membrane anchorage sites for the actin cytoskeleton and are typically marked by antibodies to vinculin. We show here by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy that dystrophin is specifically localized in the caveolae-rich domains of the smooth muscle sarcolemma, together with the caveolae-associated molecule caveolin. Additional labeling experiments revealed that beta 1 integrin and fibronectin are confined to the adherens junctions, as indicated by their codistribution with vinculin and tensin. Laminin, on the other hand, is distributed around the entire cell perimeter. The sarcolemma of the smooth muscle cell is thus divided into two distinct domains, featuring different and mutually exclusive components. This simple bipartite domain organization contrasts with the more complex organization of the skeletal muscle sarcolemma: smooth muscle thus offers itself as a useful system for localizing, among other components, potential interacting partners of dystrophin.


1995 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 697-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
K S Warren ◽  
J L Lin ◽  
J P McDermott ◽  
J J Lin

Human fibroblasts generate at least eight tropomyosin (TM) isoforms (hTM1, hTM2, hTM3, hTM4, hTM5, hTM5a, hTM5b, and hTMsm alpha) from four distinct genes, and we have previously demonstrated that bacterially produced chimera hTM5/3 exhibits an unusually high affinity for actin filaments and a loss of the salt dependence typical for TM-actin binding (Novy, R.E., J. R. Sellers, L.-F. Liu, and J.J.-C. Lin, 1993. Cell Motil. & Cytoskeleton. 26: 248-261). To examine the functional consequences of expressing this mutant TM isoform in vivo, we have transfected CHO cells with the full-length cDNA for hTM5/3 and compared them to cells transfected with hTM3 and hTM5. Immunofluorescence microscopy reveals that stably transfected CHO cells incorporate force-expressed hTM3 and hTM5 into stress fibers with no significant effect on general cell morphology, microfilament organization or cytokinesis. In stable lines expressing hTM5/3, however, cell division is slow and sometimes incomplete. The doubling time and the incidence of multinucleate cells in the stable hTM5/3 lines roughly parallel expression levels. A closely related chimeric isoform hTM5/2, which differs only in the internal, alternatively spliced exon also produces defects in cytokinesis, suggesting that normal TM function may involve coordination between the amino and carboxy terminal regions. This coordination may be prevented in the chimeric mutants. As bacterially produced hTM5/3 and hTM5/2 can displace hTM3 and hTM5 from actin filaments in vitro, it is likely that CHO-expressed hTM5/3 and hTM5/2 can displace endogenous TMs to act dominantly in vivo. These results support a role for nonmuscle TM isoforms in the fine tuning of microfilament organization during cytokinesis. Additionally, we find that overexpression of TM does not stabilize endogenous microfilaments, rather, the hTM-expressing cells are actually more sensitive to cytochalasin B. This suggests that regulation of microfilament integrity in vivo requires stabilizing factors other than, or in addition to, TM.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thieu X. Phan ◽  
Hoai T. Ton ◽  
Hajnalka Gulyás ◽  
Róbert Pórszász ◽  
Attila Tóth ◽  
...  

AbstractThe capsaicin receptor, TRPV1, is a key ion channel involved in inflammatory pain signaling. Although mainly studied in sensory nerves, there are reports of TRPV1 expression in isolated segments of the vasculature, but whether the channel localizes to vascular endothelium or smooth muscle is controversial and the distribution and functional roles of TRPV1 in arteries remain unknown. We mapped functional TRPV1 expression throughout the mouse arterial circulation. Analysis of reporter mouse lines TRPV1PLAP-nlacZ and TRPV1-Cre:tdTomato combined with Ca2+ imaging revealed specific localization of TRPV1 to smooth muscle of terminal arterioles in the heart, fat and skeletal muscle. Capsaicin evoked inward currents and raised intracellular Ca2+ levels in arterial smooth muscle cells, constricted arterioles ex vivo and in vivo and increased systemic blood pressure in mice and rats. Further, capsaicin markedly and dose-dependently reduced coronary flow. Pharmacologic and/or genetic disruption of TRPV1 abolished all these effects of capsaicin as well as vasoconstriction triggered by lysophosphatidic acid, a bioactive lipid generated by platelets and atherogenic plaques. Notably, ablation of sensory nerves did not affect the responses to capsaicin revealing a vascular smooth muscle-restricted signaling mechanism. Moreover, unlike in sensory nerves, TRPV1 function in arteries was resistant to activity-induced desensitization. Thus, TRPV1 activation in vascular myocytes of resistance arterioles enables a persistent depolarizing current, leading to constriction of coronary, skeletal muscle, and adipose arterioles and a sustained increase in systemic blood pressure.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (1) ◽  
pp. L115-L123 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Pohl ◽  
S. J. Winder ◽  
B. G. Allen ◽  
M. P. Walsh ◽  
J. R. Sellers ◽  
...  

Calponin is an actin-binding protein known to be a substrate in vitro for several protein kinases and phosphoprotein phosphatases. We tested the hypothesis that calponin is phosphorylated in vivo using canine tracheal smooth muscle strips metabolically labeled with 32Pi. Calponin was gel purified from muscles stimulated with 1 microM carbachol. Phosphorylation increased to 2.0 times the basal level of 178 +/- 26 counts per minute (cpm)/microgram calponin within 30 s to 350 +/- 64 cpm/micrograms. Two-dimensional nonequilibrium pH gradient gel electrophoresis resolved four charge isoforms of calponin in unstimulated muscle. Stimulation with carbachol induced an additional more acidic isoform. Phosphorylation of calponin in vitro with protein kinase C (PKC) also induced formation of additional acidic isoforms. The functional effect of phosphorylation was demonstrated using an in vitro motility assay in which unphosphorylated calponin (2 microM) caused a profound inhibition of actin sliding. Calponin phosphorylated by PKC did not inhibit actin sliding. The results show that phosphorylation of calponin occurs in intact tracheal smooth muscle and that phosphorylation of calponin in vitro alleviates the inhibitory effect of calponin on actomyosin function.


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