Troponin I mutations R146G and R21C alter cardiac troponin function, contractile properties, and modulation by protein Kinase A (PKA)-mediated phosphorylation

Abstract

Two hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-associated cardiac troponin I (cTnI) mutations, R146G and R21C, are located in different regions of cTnI, the inhibitory peptide and the cardiac-specific N terminus. We recently reported that these regions may interact when Ser-23/Ser-24 are phosphorylated, weakening the interaction of cTnI with cardiac TnC. Little is known about how these mutations influence the affinity of cardiac TnC for cTnI (KC-I) or contractile kinetics during β-adrenergic stimulation. Here, we tested how cTnIR146G or cTnIR21C influences contractile activation and relaxation and their response to protein kinase A (PKA). Both mutations significantly increased Ca2+ binding affinity to cTn (KCa) and KC-I. PKA phosphorylation resulted in a similar reduction of KCa for all complexes, but K C-I was reduced only with cTnIWT. cTnIWT, cTnIR146G, and cTnIR21C were complexed into cardiac troponin and exchanged into rat ventricular myofibrils, and contraction/relaxation kinetics were measured ± PKA phosphorylation. Maximal tension (Tmax) was maintained for cTnIR146G- and cTnIR21C-exchanged myofibrils, and Ca2+ sensitivity of tension (pCa50) was increased. PKA phosphorylation decreased pCa50 for cTnIWT-exchanged myofibrils but not for either mutation. PKA phosphorylation accelerated the early slow phase relaxation for cTnIWT myofibrils, especially at Ca2+ levels that the heart operates in vivo. Importantly, this effect was blunted for cTnIR146G-and cTnIR21C-exchanged myofibrils. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest both mutations inhibit formation of intra-sub-unit contacts between the N terminus and the inhibitory peptide of cTnI that is normally seen with WT-cTn upon PKA phosphorylation. Together, our results suggest that cTnIR146G and cTnIR21C blunt PKA modulation of activation and relaxation kinetics by prohibiting cardiac-specific N-terminal interaction with the cTnI inhibitory peptide.