Article
Cell Biology
Daren Elkrief, Yu-Shu Cheng, Oleg S. Matusovsky, Dilson E. Rassier
Summary: The interaction between actin and myosin is crucial for muscle contraction and force production. Oxidation of actin and myosin has been found to weaken the myofibrils in healthy and diseased muscles. This study shows that exposure to a chemical compound can affect the interactions between actin and myosin, leading to decreased velocity and force. Oxidation of both actin and myosin contributes to a decrease in contractile activity in muscles.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alf Mansson, Dilson E. Rassier
Summary: Bottom-up mechanokinetic models predict ensemble function of actin and myosin based on parameter values derived from studies using isolated proteins. This study tests the prediction capability of a model for different drugs and concentrations, and finds that it qualitatively predicts the effects of most drugs but quantitatively fails to account for the effects of one specific drug. By adjusting key model parameters, the modified model not only improves the prediction of the effects of the specific drug, but also maintains good prediction accuracy for normal physiological ensemble function.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Marko Usaj, Luisa Moretto, Venukumar Vemula, Aseem Salhotra, Alf Mansson
Summary: The benefits of single molecule studies of biomolecules include the need for minimal amounts of material and the potential to reveal phenomena hidden in ensembles. However, recent single molecule studies of fluorescent ATP turnover by myosin are difficult to reconcile with ensemble studies, with key reasons being complexities due to dye photophysics and fluorescent contaminants. After eliminating these complexities, the distributions of ATP binding dwell times on myosin are best described by 2 to 3 exponential processes, providing new insights into ATP turnover mechanisms.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Li Zhu, Maicon Landim-Vieira, Michelle Rodriguez Garcia, Jose R. Pinto, Joseph M. Chalovich
Summary: The basic C-terminal region of human troponinT (TnT) plays a crucial role in regulating actomyosin ATPase activity in response to calcium levels. Phosphomimetic-like mutants of TnT were generated to identify key basic residues in this region. The S275D and T277D mutants showed the highest level of ATPase activation, while the T284D mutant had the smallest effect. These findings suggest that negative charge placement in the C-terminal region of TnT, particularly near the IT helix and adjacent to basic residues, significantly impacts its regulatory function.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Irene Pertici, Lorenzo Bongini, Marco Caremani, Massimo Reconditi, Marco Linari, Gabriella Piazzesi, Vincenzo Lombardi, Pasquale Bianco
Summary: The study analyzes the mechanical performances of vertebrate skeletal muscle during isometric and isotonic contractions, and their corresponding energy consumption, to define the coupling between mechanical and biochemical steps in the myosin-actin energy transduction cycle. The emergent properties of a simplified synthetic nanomachine, consisting of eight HMM molecules and an actin filament, are also assessed. The study predicts the relationships between energetic and mechanical properties of fast skeletal muscle, both in vivo and in vitro, through a three-state model of myosin-actin interaction.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Joseph A. Cirilo, Laura K. Gunther, Christopher M. Yengo
Summary: Cytoskeletal motors, particularly myosins, play crucial roles in various mechanical functions in cells, such as muscle contraction and cargo transport. Class III myosins, MYO3A and MYO3B, have been shown to regulate stereocilia lengths in auditory and vestibular inner ear hair cells, with mutations in these myosins leading to hearing loss. Research on these myosins and other stereocilia-associated myosins is important and may lead to novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of hearing loss.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Denis Noble
Summary: The 1968 review article accurately identified the major steps in muscle contraction and successfully identified the role of troponin, inspiring mathematical models of muscle activity to this day.
PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Josh Baker
Summary: Most muscle contraction models in literature are molecular power stroke models, but they contradict centuries of science, 85 years of unrefuted evidence, and a quarter century of observations that suggest muscle contraction is a molecular switch mechanism. The use of these models has muddled our understanding of muscle function and it is time to hold proponents accountable and test both corpuscular and thermodynamic mechanisms.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Peter Franz, Wiebke Ewert, Matthias Preller, Georgios Tsiavaliaris
Summary: Mutant analysis identified the W-helix as a crucial hub coupling structural changes of myosin switch elements during ATP hydrolysis to controlled interactions with actin. Disturbing the W-helix/transducer pathway reduced motor performance and increased actin-activated ATP turnover, resulting in a high-duty-ratio motor with prolonged strongly actin-attached states. This kinetic signature of the mutant provided evidence that myosin populates a cleft-closure state during the weak-to-strong transition before executing the power stroke.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
David J. Coughlin, Kathleen A. Hittle, Megan Kitchin, Elizabeth S. Kwon, Elisa McCann, Abigail Sheerer, Emma B. Wilcock
Summary: With the alteration of thermal environment due to climate change, increasing interest has been drawn towards understanding how animals can mitigate the physiological impact of such changes. This study focuses on the thermal acclimation of brook trout, examining swimming performance, muscle contraction kinetics, and histology. The results show that brook trout exhibited significant acclimation responses to warm water, leading to lower aerobic swimming performance and decreased muscle shortening velocity. The changes in myosin expression were found to underly the thermal acclimation. These findings provide insights into the robust acclimation response to a warming environment.
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR & INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Physiology
Carlton D. Fox, Paulo H. C. Mesquita, Joshua S. Godwin, Vitor Angleri, Felipe Damas, Bradley A. Ruple, Casey L. Sexton, Michael D. Brown, Andreas N. Kavazis, Kaelin C. Young, Carlos Ugrinowitsch, Cleiton A. Libardi, Michael D. Roberts
Summary: The study aimed to investigate how manipulating resistance training variables would affect the expression of sarcoplasmic and myofibril proteins as well as myofibril spacing. The results showed that different training protocols led to increased muscle fiber cross-sectional area but had minimal effects on proteins related to energy metabolism.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daria S. Yampolskaya, Galina V. Kopylova, Daniil Shchepkin, Salavat R. Nabiev, Larisa V. Nikitina, Jonathan Walklate, Rustam H. Ziganshin, Sergey Y. Bershitsky, Michael A. Geeves, Alexander M. Matyushenko, Dmitrii I. Levitsky
Summary: The study aimed to investigate the effects of phosphorylation of myosin essential light chain (LC1) on the functional properties of the myosin molecule. Mass-spectrometry was used to identify phosphorylated peptides of LC1 in different skeletal muscles. Mutations mimicking natural phosphorylation were produced and their effects on the entire myosin molecule and isolated myosin head (S1) were studied. The results showed that pseudo-phosphorylation of LC1 differentially affected the properties of the whole myosin molecule and its isolated head.
BIOPHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yinna Wang, Guoning Liao, Ruping Wang, Dale D. Tang
Summary: Actin cytoskeletal reorganization is crucial for regulating smooth muscle contraction, with Abi1 playing a key role in this process through acetylation at K416. The interaction between Abi1 and N-WASP enhances actin polymerization, ultimately promoting smooth muscle contraction. Additionally, the localization of p300 in the cytoplasm of smooth muscle cells suggests a novel mechanism for the acetylation-dependent regulation of the actin cytoskeleton.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
R. John Solaro
Summary: This article discusses the significant contributions of Michael B'ar'any and his colleagues in understanding myosin motors, with two of their papers being highly cited. The impact of these papers on the current understanding of myosin ATPase activity regulation is summarized, particularly in the context of cardiac homeostasis and diseases.
ARCHIVES OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Shiri Avivi Kela, Kriti Sethi, Pei Yi Tan, Danesha Suresh, Hui Ting Ong, Perla G. Castaneda, Mustafi R. Amin, Tal Laviv, Erin J. Cram, Jan Faix, Ronen Zaidel-Bar
Summary: This study identified a novel mechanotransduction pathway in the C. elegans spermatheca, which involves tension-dependent localization of a RhoGEF and a positive feedback loop for RHO-1-MyosinII activation. It provides insights into how epithelial tubes can sense and adjust their contractility in response to internal pressure.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Richard K. Brizendine, Gabriel G. Sheehy, Diego B. Alcala, Sabrina I. Novenschi, Josh E. Baker, Christine R. Cremo
Article
Cell Biology
Richard K. Brizendine, Murali Anuganti, Christine R. Cremo
Article
Physiology
Richard K. Brizendine, Murali Anuganti, Christine R. Cremo
Summary: The study investigates the interactions between myosin and actin at different ATP concentrations and confirms the influence of the flexibility and length of 5S2 on its movement ability. It also proposes the dwell and jump actions of the head region when bound to actin. Results demonstrate that the working heads in the filament can provide sufficient force to overcome the stiffness imposed by filament-S2 interactions.
JOURNAL OF GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Richard K. Brizendine, Erika Erickson, Stefan J. Haugen, Kelsey J. Ramirez, Joel Miscall, Davinia Salvachua, Andrew R. . Pickford, Margaret J. Sobkowicz, John E. McGeehan, Gregg T. Beckham
Summary: Enzymatic depolymerization of PET is a potential method for PET recycling, but extensive thermomechanical preprocessing is often conducted. In this study, the effect of PET particle size and crystallinity on the performance of a specific enzyme was investigated using different types of PET. The results show that particle size reduction can increase the reaction rate for high-crystallinity PET, but has little effect on the overall conversion extent. Amorphization of PET is necessary for enzymatic PET recycling, while particle size reduction may not be required.
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING
(2022)