Calmodulin (CaM) is a highly conserved mediator of calcium (Ca2+)‐dependent signalling and modulates various cardiac ion channels. Genotyping has revealed several CaM mutations associated with long QT syndrome (LQTS). LQTS patients display prolonged ventricular recovery times (QT interval), increasing their risk of incurring life‐threatening arrhythmic events. Loss‐of‐function mutations to Kv7.1 (which drives the slow delayed rectifier potassium current, IKs, a key ventricular repolarising current) are the largest contributor to congenital LQTS (>50% of cases). CaM modulates Kv7.1 to produce a Ca2+‐sensitive IKs, but little is known about the consequences of LQTS‐associated CaM mutations on Kv7.1 function. Here, we present novel data characterising the biophysical and modulatory properties of three LQTS‐associated CaM variants (D95V, N97I and D131H). We showed that mutations induced structural alterations in CaM and reduced affinity for Kv7.1, when compared with wild‐type (WT). Using HEK293T cells expressing Kv7.1 channel subunits (KCNQ1/KCNE1) and patch‐clamp electrophysiology, we demonstrated that LQTS‐associated CaM variants reduced current density at systolic Ca2+ concentrations (1 μm), revealing a direct QT‐prolonging modulatory effect. Our data highlight for the first time that LQTS‐associated perturbations to CaM's structure impede complex formation with Kv7.1 and subsequently result in reduced IKs. This provides a novel mechanistic insight into how the perturbed structure–function relationship of CaM variants contributes to the LQTS phenotype.
imageKey points
Calmodulin (CaM) is a ubiquitous, highly conserved calcium (Ca2+) sensor playing a key role in cardiac muscle contraction.
Genotyping has revealed several CaM mutations associated with long QT syndrome (LQTS), a life‐threatening cardiac arrhythmia syndrome.
LQTS‐associated CaM variants (D95V, N97I and D131H) induced structural alterations, altered binding to Kv7.1 and reduced IKs.
Our data provide a novel mechanistic insight into how the perturbed structure–function relationship of CaM variants contributes to the LQTS phenotype.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.