Abstract P200: Transcriptional Regulation of tcap Conveys an Inhibitory Mechanotransductive Response to Modulate Cardiomyocyte Size

Abstract

To sense and to respond to mechanical stimuli is a fundamental process of cardiomyocytes during both heart development and diseases. However, how mechanical stimuli control cardiomyocyte size remains elusive. Here, we report a novel inhibitory mechanotransductive response suggested by loss-of-functions studies of α-Actinin2 (Actn2), a predominant sarcomeric Z-disc protein. During zebrafish cardiogenesis, depletion of Actn2 results in a defective Z-disc, while other sarcomeric substructures remain normal. As a consequence, ventricle chamber size is severely reduced. Interestingly, this chamber size reduction can be rescued by the cessation of heart contraction, suggesting the involvement of an inhibitory mechanotransductive reponse. At the molecular level, both tcapa and tcapb, two zebrafish tcap homologues that are transcriptionally responsive to stretch, are transcriptionally activated in actn2 knockdown embryos while activation of these gene results in smaller cardiomyocytes. Depletion of either gene rescues the reduced cardiomyocyte size in actn2 knockdown embryos. Consistent to embryonic studies, tcaps are transcriptionally activated during pathogenesis of anemia-induced cardiomyopathy, while over expression of tcapa via transgenics exerts a cardioprotective effect. Together, we conclude that transcriptional regulation of tcaps conveys a novel inhibitory mechanotransductive response that modulates cardiomyocyte size during both zebrafish cardiogenesis and adult cardiac remodeling.