Skeletal Muscle Myosin Light-chain Kinase Research Articles

Three-dimensional structure of the complex between calmodulin mutant lacking the c-terminal five residues and the calmodulin-binding peptide derived from skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase

In our previous study, functional ability and conformational stability had been examined for C-terminal deletion mutants of a 148-residue Ca2+-binding protein, chicken calmodulin (CaM). In that study, we had reported that a mutant named CCMΔ5, missing five residues at the C-terminus, activates CaM-target as much as full-length CaM does. This finding is intriguing because CCMΔ5 lacks the key residues, Met144 and Met145, for the target activation. To uncover why CCMΔ5 displays proper function, here we report the three-dimensional structure of CCMΔ5 bound to the peptide derived from skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase (skMLCK). The structure determination was achieved using multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The complex structure of CCM∆5-skMLCK was compared to that of wild CaM-skMLCK. The results showed that the orientation of helix-1 and helix-5 in CCM∆5 differs from those in wild CaM. Moreover, distinctive hydrophobic interaction manner was found in the binding between CCM∆5 and peptide; Phe141, Ala128, Met109, Leu105 and Phe92 of CCM∆5 contribute to the interaction with Trp4 of the skMLCK peptide. Abbreviations: CaM, calmodulin; CCMΔX, a deletion mutant of CaM that lacks X C-terminal residues; NMR, Nuclear magnetic resonance; PDB, Protein date bank; skMLCK, skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase; TOF-MS, Time-of-flight mass spectrometry; RMSD, root mean square deviation; SDS-PAGE, Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis Citation: Vu Van Dung, Umetsu Y., Ohki S., 2017. Three-dimensional structure of the complex between calmodulin mutant lacking the c-terminal five residues and the calmodulin-binding peptide derived from skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase. Tap chi Sinh hoc, 39(3): 309-319. DOI: 10.15625/0866-7160/v39n3.10111. *Corresponding author: vandungbio46@yahoo.com Received 19 June 2017, accepted 20 August 2017

Force And Unloaded Shortening Velocity During Fatigue In Skeletal Myosin Light Chain Kinase Deficient Muscles

The myosin regulatory light chain (R-LC) of type II fibers is phosphorylatable. Contraction-induced activation of a skeletal muscle specific Ca2+ - calmodulin-dependent myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) catalyzes the phosphorylation reaction, an event that may modulate myosin motor behavior. The influence of this molecular mechanism on the contractile performance of fatigued fast twitch skeletal muscle remains unclear, however. PURPOSE: To determine the effect of skeletal muscle MLCK gene ablation on the fatigability of force and velocity in mouse extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles. METHODS: Muscles from wildtype (WT) and skeletal MLCK knockout (KO) mice (n=10) were studied in vitro at 25° C during a fatigue protocol consisting of 5 minutes of repetitive high frequency stimulation (150 Hz for 1000 ms every 5 sec). Isometric twitch (Pt) and tetanic (Po) forces and unloaded shortening velocity (Vo) were assessed throughout the fatigue protocol. RESULTS: Pt was increased to a greater extent in WT than in KO muscles (36.8 ± 5.9% vs. 14.9 ± 2.7%, p < 0.05) during the initial stages of stimulation when Po was depressed less than 40% in both muscle types; thereafter, Pt declined to similar levels in both WT and KO muscles (to ∼ 35% of initial levels). On the other hand, values for Vo were greater for WT than for KO muscles (10.3 ± 0.90 vs. 8.4 ± 0.36 fiber lengths/s) during the final stages of stimulation, when Po was reduced ∼ 90% in both muscle types. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that MLCK gene ablation selectively impairs low frequency force during moderate fatigue and impairs unloaded shortening velocity during severe fatigue of fast twitch skeletal muscle. Supported by NSERC.

Abstract 1102: Cardiac-Specific Myosin Light Chain Kinase (MLCK), a Third Member of MLCK Family, Potentiates Sarcomere Formation and Cardiac Contraction

Background: Two myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) proteins, skeletal (encoded by mylk2 gene) and smooth muscle MLCK (encoded by mylk1 gene) have been shown to be expressed in mammals. Human mylk2 has been mapped as a disease locus for familial cardiac hypertrophy (OMIM 606566 ), suggesting that abnormal function of skeletal MLCK stimulates cardiac hypertrophy. While phosphorylation of the putative substrate of skeletal MLCK, myosin light chain 2 (MLC2), is recognized as a key regulator of cardiac contraction, the abundance of skeletal MLCK in the heart is controversial, suggesting the existence of an additional MLCK that is preferentially expressed in cardiac muscle. Methods and Results: We characterized a new kinase named cardiac MLCK that is encoded by a gene homologous to mylk1 and 2 and is specifically expressed in the heart in both atrium and ventricle. Expression of cardiac MLCK was highly regulated by the cardiac homeobox transcription factor, Nkx2.5, in neonatal cardiomyocytes. The overall structure of cardiac MLCK protein is conserved with skeletal and smooth muscle MLCK including putative catalytic and adjacent Ca2+/calmodulin binding domains at the carboxyl-terminus. The amino-terminus is unique without significant homology to other known proteins. Cardiac MLCK phosphorylated MLC2v with a catalytic value of Km=4.3 micro M (Lineweaver-Burk analysis) indicating high affinity of cardiac MLCK to MLC2v, similar to the affinity of skeletal muscle MLCK to skeletal muscle MLC2 and smooth muscle MLCK to smooth muscle MLC2. Adenoviral-mediated overexpression of cardiac MLCK and knockdown of cardiac MLCK using RNAi in cultured cardiomyocytes revealed that cardiac MLCK regulates MLC2v phosphorylation, sarcomere organization and cardiac myocyte contraction. Expression of cardiac MLCK protein was significantly decreased in severe heart failure in vivo (post-myocardial infarction heart failure mouse model). Conclusion: Cardiac MLCK is a new key regulator of cardiac contraction and sarcomere organization. Reduction of cardiac MLCK function leading to decreased phosphorylation of MLC2v may contribute to compromised contractile function in the failing heart.

22] Affinity purification of recombinant proteins fused to calmodulin or to calmodulin-binding peptides

The interaction between calmodulin (CaM) and its various ligands has been exploited for the affinity purification of recombinant proteins from Escherichia coli extracts in a number of systems. CaM is a calcium-binding protein that plays a central role in regulating a wide range of calcium dependent intracellular processes. This chapter focuses on the purification of fusion proteins containing the 26 amino acid calmodulin-binding peptide (CBP) derived from the C terminus of skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase using a solid support resin containing covalently bound calmodulin (CaM). Several alternative systems in which CaM is employed as a fusion partner are also described in the chapter. The high degree of specificity of CBP for CaM together with the stringent wash conditions, allowed because of the strength of the CBP-CaM interaction, results in the consistent recovery of highly purified CBP fusions. The small size of the peptide (<4 kDa) allows the recovery of soluble proteins of greater size than is attainable with the the currently popular protein tags. In addition, the CBP is less likely to affect the biological function of the protein of interest compared with the larger tags. It has been found that the CBP is translated efficiently in E. coli, and thus a wide range of proteins are consistently expressed to high levels when the CBP is positioned at the N terminus of the fusion.

Metal ion selectivity for formation of the calmodulin–metal–target peptide ternary complex studied by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy

Ion selectivities for Ca 2+ signaling pathways of 33 metal ions were examined based on the Ca 2+-dependent on/off switching mechanism of calmodulin (CaM): Ca 2+ ion-induced selective binding of CaM–Ca 2+ ion complex to the target peptide was observed as an increase in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) signals. As the target peptide, M13 of 26-amino-acid residues derived from skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase was immobilized in the dextran matrix, over which sample solutions containing CaM and each metal ion were injected in a flow system. Large changes in SPR signals were also observed for Sr 2+, Ba 2+, Cd 2+, Pb 2+, Y 3+ and trivalent lanthanide ions, thereby indicating that not only Ca 2+ but also these metal ions induce the formation of CaM–M13–metal ion ternary complex. No SPR signal was, however, induced by Mg 2+, Co 2+, Ni 2+, Cu 2+, Zn 2+ and all monovalent metal ions examined. The latter silent SPR signal indicates that these ions, even if they bind to CaM, are incapable of forming the CaM–M13–metal ion ternary complex. Comparing the obtained SPR results with ionic radii of those metal ions, it was found that all cations examined with ionic radii close to or greater than that of Ca 2+ induced the formation of the CaM–metal–M13 ternary complex, whereas those with smaller ionic radii were not effective, or much less so. Since these results are so consistent with earlier systematic data for the effects of various metal ions on the conformational changes of CaM, it is concluded that the present SPR analysis may be used for a simple screening and evaluating method for physiologically relevant metal ion selectivity for the Ca 2+ signaling via CaM based on CaM/peptide interactions.

Myosin light chain kinase from skeletal muscle regulates an ATP-dependent interaction between actin and myosin by binding to actin.

Myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) has been purified from various muscles as an enzyme to phosphorylate myosin light chains. While the regulatory role of smooth muscle MLCK is well understood, the role of skeletal muscle MLCK in the regulation of contraction has not been fully characterized. Such characterization of skeletal muscle MLCK is difficult because skeletal muscle myosin interacts with actin whether or not the myosin is phosphorylated. Taking the hint from our recent finding that smooth muscle MLCK inhibits the actin-myosin interaction by binding to actin (Kohama et al., Biochem Biophys Res Commun 184: 1204-1211, 1992), we investigated the regulatory role of the actin-binding activity of MLCK from chicken breast muscle in the actin-myosin interaction. The amount of MLCK that bound to actin increased with increases in the concentration of MLCK. However, MLCK hardly bound to myosin. The actin-binding activity of MLCK was affected when Ca2+ and calmodulin (Ca2+ -CaM) were present. The effect of MLCK on the actin-myosin interaction was examined by an in vitro motility assay; the movement of actin-filaments on a myosin-coated glass surface was inhibited by increasing the concentration of MLCK. When CaM was present, the inhibition was overcome in a Ca2+ -dependent manner at microM levels. The inhibition of the movement by MLCK and the recovery from the inhibition by Ca2+ -CaM were not altered whether we use phosphorylated or unphosphorylated myosin for the assay, ruling out the involvement of the kinase activity of MLCK.

An optical method for evaluating ion selectivity for calcium signaling pathways in the cell.

A method for evaluating a physiologically relevant ion selectivity of Ca2+ signaling pathways in biological cells based on a Ca(2+)-dependent on/off switch for cellular processes via calmodulin (CaM) chemistry is described. CaM serves as a primary ion receptor for Ca2+ and a given CaM-binding peptide as a target for a CaM-Ca2+ complex. Upon accommodating four Ca2+ ions in its binding sites, CaM undergoes a conformational change to form a CaM-Ca(2+)-target peptide ternary complex. This Ca(2+)-induced selective binding of the Ca(2+)-CaM complex to the target peptide was monitored by a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique. As a target peptide, a 26-amino acid residue of M13 derived from skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase was used. The target peptide was covalently immobilized in the dextran matrix on top of gold, over which sample solutions containing Ca2+ and CaM were injected in a flow system. Ca(2+)-dependent SPR signals were observed for Ca2+ concentrations from 3.2 x 10(-8) to 1.1 x 10(-5) M and it leveled off. The observed SPR signals were explained as due to an increase in the refractive indexes caused by a Ca2+ ion-switched protein/ peptide interaction, i.e., Ca2+ ion to CaM and subsequent additional binding of the thus formed complex with immobilized M13. No SPR signals were however, induced by Mg2+, K+, and Li+ at concentrations as high as 1.0 x 10(-1) M; these results and previous spectroscopic data taken together conclude that these ions do not induce CaM/peptide interaction. Large changes in SPR signals were observed with a Sr2+ ion concentration over 5.1 x 10(-4) M; Sr2+ ion behaved in this case as a strong agonist toward the Ca(2+)-dependent on/off switch of CaM. The present system thus exhibited "physiologically more relevant" ion selectivity in that relevant metal ions could switch on the CaM/peptide or -protein interaction rather than merely be bound to CaM causing no further signal transduction. The potential use of this finding for more widely evaluating cation selectivity toward the Ca2+ signaling process was discussed.

Identification of Mg2+-binding sites and the role of Mg2+ on target recognition by calmodulin.

The binding of Mg2+ to calmodulin (CaM) and the effect of Mg2+ on the binding of Ca2+-CaM to target peptides were examined using two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. We found that Mg2+ preferentially binds to Ca2+-binding sites I and IV of CaM in the absence of Ca2+ and that Ca2+-binding site III displays the lowest affinity for Mg2+. In contrast to the marked structural transitions induced by Ca2+ binding, Mg2+ binding causes only localized conformational changes within the four Ca2+-binding loops of CaM. Therefore, Mg2+ does not seem to be able to cause significant structural effects required for the interaction of CaM with target proteins. The presence of excess Mg2+ (up to 10 mM) does not change the order and cooperativity of Ca2+ binding to CaM, and as expected, the structure of Ca2+-saturated CaM is not affected by the presence of Mg2+. However, we found that the binding of Ca2+-saturated CaM to target peptides is affected by Mg2+ with the binding affinity decreasing as the Mg2+ concentration increases. Three different peptides, corresponding to the CaM binding domain of skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK), CaM-dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE), and smooth muscle caldesmon (CaD), were examined and show different reductions in their affinities toward CaM. The CaM-binding affinity of the MLCK peptide in the presence of 50 mM Mg2+ is approximately 40-fold lower than that seen in the absence of Mg2+, and a similar response was observed for the PDE peptide. The affinity of the CaD peptide for CaM also shows a Mg2+ dependence, though to a much lower magnitude. The Mg2+-dependent decrease in the affinities between CaM and its target peptides is an intrinsic property of Mg2+ rather than a nonspecific ionic effect, as other metal ions such as Na+ do not completely replicate the effect of Mg2+. The inhibitory effect of Mg2+ on the formation of complexes between CaM and its targets may contribute to the specificity of CaM in target activation in response to cellular Ca2+ concentration fluctuations.

Interlobe communication in multiple calcium-binding site mutants of Drosophila calmodulin.

We have generated mutants of Drosophila calmodulin in which pairs of calcium-binding sites are mutated so as to prevent calcium binding. In all sites, the mutation involves replacement of the -Z position glutamate residue with glutamine. Mutants inactivated in both N-terminal sites (B12Q) or both C-terminal sites (B34Q), and two mutants with one N- and one C-terminal site inactivated (B13Q and B24Q) were generated. The quadruple mutant with all four sites mutated was also studied. UV-difference spectroscopy and near-UV CD were used to examine the influence of these mutations upon the single tyrosine (Tyr-138) of the protein. These studies uncovered four situations in which Tyr-138 in the C-terminal lobe responds to a change to the calcium-binding properties of the N-terminal lobe. Further, they suggest that N-terminal calcium-binding events contribute strongly to the aberrant behavior of Tyr-138 seen in mutants with a single functional C-terminal calcium-binding site. The data also indicate that loss of calcium binding at site 1 adjusts the aberrant conformation of Tyr-138 produced by mutation of site 3 toward the wild-type structure. However, activation studies for skeletal muscle myosin light chain kinase (SK-MLCK) established that all of the multiple binding site mutants are poor activators of SK-MLCK. Thus, globally, the calcium-induced conformation of B13Q is not closer to wild type than that of either the site 1 or the site 3 mutant. The positioning of Tyr-138 within the crystal structure of calmodulin suggests that effects of the N-terminal lobe on this residue may be mediated via changes to the central linker region of the protein.

Intrasteric Regulation of Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases

Phosphorylase kinase can be activated in a variety of ways; by phosphorylation by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, by partial proteolysis with chymotrypsin, and by calcium. These experimental observations suggested that phosphorylase kinase existed in a latent inactive form that required either Ca 2+ or cAMP as signals for activation. The first crystal structure of a protein kinase that of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase with its bound inhibitor peptide provided compelling evidence that inhibition could occur by a pseudosubstrate mechanism. The first crystal structure of an autoinhibitory protein kinase, which of twitchin kinase, showed that the autoinhibitory sequence makes a number of important contacts in the active site and does not just resemble a substrate. Intrasteric regulation describes the regulation in which the regulatory sequence acts directly at the active site taking advantage of its specific features. Intrasteric regulation can be extended to include pseudosubstrate binding or phosphorylation events within the active site that are typically catalyzed by distinct protein kinases. The phosphorylation of bacterial isocitrate dehydrogenase at its active site is a good example of intrasteric regulation. Interestingly, chimeric enzymes in which the calmodulin-binding sequences of skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase or the multifunctional calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase) have been substituted into the smooth muscle myosin light-chain kinase reveal CaM-dependent activity. Although the three calmodulin domains vary considerably, all share a hydrophobic residue at the position normally occupied by Trp800. The CaM-dependent protein kinase family represents a diverse array of important regulatory enzymes that impinge on the control of almost all known physiological processes. Protein crystallography studies have provided important insights into the mechanism of autoinhibition of this family of protein kinases and the mechanism of how calmodulin binds peptide sequences.

The Human Myosin Light Chain Kinase (MLCK) from Hippocampus: Cloning, Sequencing, Expression, and Localization to 3qcen–q21

Myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), a key enzyme in muscle contraction, has been shown by immunohistology to be present in neurons and glia. We describe here the cloning of the cDNA for human MLCK from hippocampus, encoding a protein sequence 95% similar to smooth muscle MLCKs but less than 60% similar to skeletal muscle MLCKs. The cDNA clone detected two RNA transcripts in human frontal and entorhinal cortex, in hippocampus, and in jejunum, one corresponding to MLCK and the other probably to telokin, the carboxy-terminal 154 codons of MLCK expressed as an independent protein in smooth muscle. Levels of expression were lower in brain compared to smooth muscle. We show that within the protein sequence, a motif of 28 or 24 residues is repeated five times, the second repeat ending with the putative methionine start codon. These repeats overlap with a second previously reported module of 12 residues repeated five times in the human sequence. In addition, the acidic C-terminus of all MLCKs from both brain and smooth muscle resembles the C-terminus of tubulins. The chromosomal localization of the gene for human MLCK is shown to be at 3qcen–q21, as determined by PCR and Southern blotting using two somatic cell hybrid panels.

Fluorescence energy transfer analysis of calmodulin-peptide complexes.

The interactions between calmodulin and the tryptophan residues of synthetic peptides corresponding to the calmodulin binding domains of skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase and the plasma membrane calcium pump were examined. The single tryptophan residue contained in each peptide became relatively immobilized and inaccessible to iodide ion upon binding to calmodulin, indicating that the indole side chain was inserted into a hydrophobic cleft in the surface of calmodulin. Fluorescence energy transfer from peptidyl tryptophan residues to an AEDANS moiety attached to cysteine-26 of spinach calmodulin was measured. Included in these analyses was a tryptophan-containing peptide analog of the calmodulin binding domain of neuromodulin. These data indicated that the indole ring of each peptide inserted 32-35 A away from cysteine-26 and may therefore interact with the carboxyl-terminal lobe of CaM in its "bent" conformation [Persechini & Kretsinger (1988a) J. Cardiovasc. Pharmacol. 12 (Suppl 5), S1-S12; Ikura et al. (1992) Science 256, 632-638; Vorherr et al. (1992) Eur. J. Biochem. 204, 931-937]. The interchange of tryptophan-3 and phenylalanine-21 of the calcium pump peptide increased the efficiency of energy transfer to the AEDANS-moiety approximately 12-fold, reducing the calculated distance to 20 A. These data suggest that phenylalanine-21 of the calcium pump peptide interacts with the hydrophobic cleft in the amino-terminal lobe of CaM.

Triple-resonance multidimensional NMR study of calmodulin complexed with the binding domain of skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase: indication of a conformational change in the central helix

Heteronuclear 3D and 4D NMR experiments have been used to obtain 1H, 13C, and 15N backbone chemical shift assignments in Ca(2+)-loaded calmodulin complexed with a 26-residue synthetic peptide (M13) corresponding to the calmodulin-binding domain (residues 577-602) of rabbit skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase. Comparison of the chemical shift values with those observed in peptide-free calmodulin [Ikura, M., Kay, L. E., & Bax, A. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 4659-4667] shows that binding of M13 peptide induces substantial chemical shift changes that are not localized in one particular region of the protein. The largest changes are found in the first helix of the Ca(2+)-binding site I (E11-E14), the N-terminal portion of the central helix (M72-D78), and the second helix of the Ca(2+)-binding site IV (F141-M145). Analysis of backbone NOE connectivities indicates a change from alpha-helical to an extended conformation for residues 75-77 upon complexation with M13. This conformational change is supported by upfield changes in the C alpha and carbonyl chemical shifts of these residues relative to M13-free calmodulin and by hydrogen-exchange experiments that indicate that the amide protons of residues 75-82 are in fast exchange (kexch greater than 10 s-1 at pH 7, 35 degrees C) with the solvent. No changes in secondary structure are observed for the first helix of site I or the C-terminal helix of site IV. Upon complexation with M13, a significant decrease in the amide exchange rate is observed for residues T110, L112, G113, and E114 at the end of the second helix of site III.

113Cd-NMR evidence for cooperative interaction between amino- and carboxyl-terminal domains of calmodulin

113Cd-NMR experiments were performed to characterize the nature of Cd 2+ binding to calmodulin in the presence of a tetradecapeptide mastoparan or a 26-residue peptide M13 (calmodulin-binding region of skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase). The results indicate that binding of these peptides to calmodulin induces a positive cooperativity between Ca 2+ binding to C- and N-terminal domains. The results imply that the activation of myosin light-chain kinase caused by the increase in Ca 2+ concentration occurs as a result of cooperative interactions not only between two Ca 2+ binding sites in each domain but also between the two domains. The inter-domain interaction manifests itself only in the presence of such peptides.