Nebulin is a giant filamentous protein that is coextensive with the actin filaments of the skeletal muscle sarcomere. Nebulin mutations are the main cause of nemaline myopathy (NEM), with typical adult patients having low expression of nebulin, yet the roles of nebulin in adult muscle remain poorly understood. To establish nebulin's functional roles in adult muscle, we studied a novel conditional nebulin KO (Neb cKO) mouse model in which nebulin deletion was driven by the muscle creatine kinase (MCK) promotor. Neb cKO mice are born with high nebulin levels in their skeletal muscles, but within weeks after birth nebulin expression rapidly falls to barely detectable levels Surprisingly, a large fraction of the mice survive to adulthood with low nebulin levels (<5% of control), contain nemaline rods and undergo fiber-type switching toward oxidative types. Nebulin deficiency causes a large deficit in specific force, and mechanistic studies provide evidence that a reduced fraction of force-generating cross-bridges and shortened thin filaments contribute to the force deficit. Muscles rich in glycolytic fibers upregulate proteolysis pathways (MuRF-1, Fbxo30/MUSA1, Gadd45a) and undergo hypotrophy with smaller cross-sectional areas (CSAs), worsening their force deficit. Muscles rich in oxidative fibers do not have smaller weights and can even have hypertrophy, offsetting their specific-force deficit. These studies reveal nebulin as critically important for force development and trophicity in adult muscle. The Neb cKO phenocopies important aspects of NEM (muscle weakness, oxidative fiber-type predominance, variable trophicity effects, nemaline rods) and will be highly useful to test therapeutic approaches to ameliorate muscle weakness.
Nebulin--a giant sarcomeric protein--plays a pivotal role in skeletal muscle contractility by specifying thin filament length and function. Although mutations in the gene encoding nebulin (NEB) are a frequent cause of nemaline myopathy, the most common non-dystrophic congenital myopathy, the mechanisms by which mutations in NEB cause muscle weakness remain largely unknown. To better understand these mechanisms, we have generated a mouse model in which Neb exon 55 is deleted (Neb(ΔExon55)) to replicate a founder mutation seen frequently in patients with nemaline myopathy with Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. Neb(ΔExon55) mice are born close to Mendelian ratios, but show growth retardation after birth. Electron microscopy studies show nemaline bodies--a hallmark feature of nemaline myopathy--in muscle fibres from Neb(ΔExon55) mice. Western blotting studies with nebulin-specific antibodies reveal reduced nebulin levels in muscle from Neb(ΔExon55) mice, and immunofluorescence confocal microscopy studies with tropomodulin antibodies and phalloidin reveal that thin filament length is significantly reduced. In line with reduced thin filament length, the maximal force generating capacity of permeabilized muscle fibres and single myofibrils is reduced in Neb(ΔExon55) mice with a more pronounced reduction at longer sarcomere lengths. Finally, in Neb(ΔExon55) mice the regulation of contraction is impaired, as evidenced by marked changes in crossbridge cycling kinetics and by a reduction of the calcium sensitivity of force generation. A novel drug that facilitates calcium binding to the thin filament significantly augmented the calcium sensitivity of submaximal force to levels that exceed those observed in untreated control muscle. In conclusion, we have characterized the first nebulin-based nemaline myopathy model, which recapitulates important features of the phenotype observed in patients harbouring this particular mutation, and which has severe muscle weakness caused by thin filament dysfunction.
During postnatal development, major changes in mechanical properties of skeletal muscle occur. We investigated passive properties of skeletal muscle in mice and rabbits that varied in age from 1 day to approximately 1 year. Neonatal skeletal muscle expressed large titin isoforms directly after birth, followed by a gradual switch toward progressively smaller isoforms that required weeks-to-months to be completed. This suggests an extremely high plasticity of titin splicing during skeletal muscle development. Titin exon microarray analysis showed increased expression of a large group of exons in neonatal muscle, when compared to adult muscle transcripts, with the majority of upregulated exons coding for the elastic proline-glutamate-valine-lysine (PEVK) region of titin. Protein analysis supported expression of a significantly larger PEVK segment in neonatal muscle. In line with these findings, we found >50% lower titin-based passive stiffness of neonatal muscle when compared to adult muscle. Inhibiting 3,5,3'-tri-iodo-L-thyronine and 3,5,3',5'-tetra-iodo-L-thyronine secretion did not alter isoform switching, suggesting no major role for thyroid hormones in regulating differential titin splicing during postnatal development. In summary, our work shows that stiffening of skeletal muscle during postnatal development occurs through a decrease in titin isoform size, due mainly to a marked restructuring of the PEVK region of titin.
BackgroundNemaline myopathy—the most common non-dystrophic congenital myopathy—is caused by mutations in thin filament genes, of which the nebulin gene is the most frequently affected one. The nebulin gene codes for the giant sarcomeric protein nebulin, which plays a crucial role in skeletal muscle contractile performance. Muscle weakness is a hallmark feature of nemaline myopathy patients with nebulin mutations, and is caused by changes in contractile protein function, including a lower calcium-sensitivity of force generation. To date no therapy exists to treat muscle weakness in nemaline myopathy. Here, we studied the ability of the novel fast skeletal muscle troponin activator, CK-2066260, to augment force generation at submaximal calcium levels in muscle cells from nemaline myopathy patients with nebulin mutations.MethodsContractile protein function was determined in permeabilised muscle cells isolated from frozen patient biopsies. The effect of 5 µM CK-2066260 on force production was assessed.ResultsNebulin protein concentrations were severely reduced in muscle cells from these patients compared to controls, while myofibrillar ultrastructure was largely preserved. Both maximal active tension and the calcium-sensitivity of force generation were lower in patients compared to controls. Importantly, CK-2066260 greatly increased the calcium-sensitivity of force generation—without affecting the cooperativity of activation—in patients to levels that exceed those observed in untreated control muscle.ConclusionsFast skeletal troponin activation is a therapeutic mechanism to augment contractile protein function in nemaline myopathy patients with nebulin mutations and with other neuromuscular diseases.
We studied differential splicing of nebulin, a giant filamentous F-actin binding protein (M r ~700-800 kDa) that is found in skeletal muscle. Nebulin spans the thin filament length, its C-terminus is anchored in the Z-disc, and its N-terminal region is located toward the thin filament pointed end. Various lines of evidence indicate that nebulin plays important roles in thin filament and Z-disc structure in skeletal muscle. In the present work we studied nebulin in a range of muscle types during postnatal development and performed transcript studies with a mouse nebulin exon microarray, developed by us, whose results were confirmed by RT-PCR. We also performed protein studies with high-resolution SDS-agarose gels and Western blots, and structural studies with electron microscopy. We found during postnatal development of the soleus muscle major changes in splicing in both the super-repeat region and the Z-disc region of nebulin; interestingly, these changes were absent in other muscle types. Three novel Z-disc exons, previously described in the mouse gene, were upregulated during postnatal development of soleus muscle and this was correlated with a significant increase in Z-disc width. These findings support the view that nebulin plays an important role in Z-disc width regulation. In summary, we discovered changes in both the super-repeat region and the Z-disc region of nebulin, that these changes are muscle-type specific, and that they correlate with differences in sarcomere structure.
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.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.