Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) contain a wide variety of posttranscriptional modifications that are important for accurate decoding. Mammalian mitochondrial tRNAs (mt-tRNAs) are modified by nuclear-encoded tRNA-modifying enzymes; however, the physiological roles of these modifications remain largely unknown. In this study, we report that Cdk5 regulatory subunit-associated protein 1 (Cdk5rap1) is responsible for 2-methylthio (ms(2)) modifications of mammalian mt-tRNAs for Ser(UCN), Phe, Tyr, and Trp codons. Deficiency in ms(2) modification markedly impaired mitochondrial protein synthesis, which resulted in respiratory defects in Cdk5rap1 knockout (KO) mice. The KO mice were highly susceptive to stress-induced mitochondrial remodeling and exhibited accelerated myopathy and cardiac dysfunction under stressed conditions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the ms(2) modifications of mt-tRNAs were sensitive to oxidative stress and were reduced in patients with mitochondrial disease. These findings highlight the fundamental role of ms(2) modifications of mt-tRNAs in mitochondrial protein synthesis and their pathological consequences in mitochondrial disease.

The heart has a dynamic compensatory mechanism for haemodynamic stress. However, the molecular details of how mechanical forces are transduced in the heart are unclear. Here we show that the transient receptor potential, vanilloid family type 2 (TRPV2) cation channel is critical for the maintenance of cardiac structure and function. Within 4 days of eliminating TRPV2 from hearts of the adult mice, cardiac function declines severely, with disorganization of the intercalated discs that support mechanical coupling with neighbouring myocytes and myocardial conduction defects. After 9 days, cell shortening and Ca2+ handling by single myocytes are impaired in TRPV2-deficient hearts. TRPV2-deficient neonatal cardiomyocytes form no intercalated discs and show no extracellular Ca2+-dependent intracellular Ca2+ increase and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) secretion in response to stretch stimulation. We further demonstrate that IGF-1 receptor/PI3K/Akt pathway signalling is significantly downregulated in TRPV2-deficient hearts, and that IGF-1 administration partially prevents chamber dilation and impairment in cardiac pump function in these hearts. Our results improve our understanding of the molecular processes underlying the maintenance of cardiac structure and function.

A cardioprotective response that alters ventricular contractility or promotes cardiomyocyte enlargement occurs with increased workload in conditions such as hypertension. When that response is excessive, pathological cardiac remodelling occurs, which can progress to heart failure, a leading cause of death worldwide. Mechanisms underlying this response are not fully understood. Here, we report that expression of angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2) increases in pathologically-remodeled hearts of mice and humans, while decreased cardiac ANGPTL2 expression occurs in physiological cardiac remodelling induced by endurance training in mice. Mice overexpressing ANGPTL2 in heart show cardiac dysfunction caused by both inactivation of AKT and sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA)2a signalling and decreased myocardial energy metabolism. Conversely, Angptl2 knockout mice exhibit increased left ventricular contractility and upregulated AKT-SERCA2a signalling and energy metabolism. Finally, ANGPTL2-knockdown in mice subjected to pressure overload ameliorates cardiac dysfunction. Overall, these studies suggest that therapeutic ANGPTL2 suppression could antagonize development of heart failure.

We developed a mechano-cell model incorporating a cell membrane, a nuclear envelope, and actin filaments to simulate the mechanical behavior of a cell during tensile tests. The computational model depicts a cell as a combination of various spring elements in the framework of the minimum energy concept. A cell membrane and a nuclear envelope are both modeled as shells of a spring network that express elastic resistance to changes in bending, stretching, and surface area. A bundle of actin filaments is represented by a mechanical spring that generates a force as a function of its extension. The interaction between the nuclear envelope and the cell membrane is expressed by a potential energy function with respect to the distance between them. Incompressibility of a cell is assured by a volume elastic energy function. The cell shape during a tensile test is determined by a quasi-static approach, such that the total elastic energy converges to the minimum. The load-deformation curve obtained from the simulation shows a significant increase in stretching load with deformation of the cell and lies within a range of experimentally obtained load-deformation curves. The total elastic energy is dominated by the energy stored in the actin fibers. Actin fibers that are randomly oriented before loading tend to become aligned, passively, in the stretched direction. These results attribute the non-linearity in the load-deformation curve to passive reorientation of actin fibers in the stretched direction.