Abstract 345: R403Q Mutation Increases the Rate of Force Redevelopment in 2 Month Mice

Abstract

Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a primary disease of the sarcomere. The R403Q mutation resides at the actin-interaction site on myosin and leads to progressive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which progresses towards heart failure. Along with deteriorating cardiac function, these hearts experience an overall change in metabolic landscape, suggesting altered energetic function in hearts that express the R403Q mutation. We tested the hypothesis that the R403Q mutation intrinsically increases the energetic cost of contraction. To do this, we determined myofilament function in demembranated cardiac trabeculae from male wild-type (WT) and R403Q mice at 2 months of age, prior to overt signs of cardiac pathology. Firstly, steady-state Ca2+ sensitivity of force generation was not significantly different between male R403Q (n=4) and WT counterparts (n=2) consistent with previous findings. Secondly, the rate of force redevelopment (ktr) in skinned cardiac tissue was measured following unloaded isotonic shortening and a rapid re-stretch to 15% of the original muscle length at a sarcomere length of 2.0μm. R403Q mice display an increased rate of force redevelopment (49.89 s-1 ± 8.13, n = 4) compared to WT counterparts (24.52 ± 4.29, n = 6) at maximal activation indicating an increase in the apparent rates of crossbridges entering and leaving force-generating states (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the R403Q mutation does not impact steady-state Ca2+ sensitivity of force but increases total crossbridge cycling rate suggesting a higher energy cost of force generation. Future studies are aimed at determining the energetic cost of contraction in R403Q hearts and how this increased energetic cost leads to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.