Immunolocalization of caveolin-1 and caveolin-3 in monkey skeletal,cardiac and uterine smooth muscles

Caveolin, a 20-24 kDa integral membrane protein, is a principal component of caveolar domains. Caveolin-1 is expressed predominantly in endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and adipocytes, while the expression of caveolin-3 is confined to muscle cells. However, their localization in various muscles has not been well documented. Using double-immunofluorescence labeling and confocal laser microscopy, we examined the localization of caveolins-1 and 3 in adult monkey skeletal, cardiac and uterine smooth muscles and the co-immunolocalization of these caveolins with dystrophin, which is a product of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene. In the skeletal muscle tissue, caveolin-3 was localized along the sarcolemma except for the transverse tubules, and co-immunolocalized with dystrophin, whereas caveolin-1 was absent except in the blood vessels of the muscle tissue. In cardiac muscle cells, caveolins-1 and -3 and dystrophin were co-immunolocalized on the sarcolemma and transverse tubules. In uterine smooth muscle cells, caveolin-1, but not caveolin-3, was co-immunolocalized with dystrophin on the sarcolemma.     

Complementary distributions of vinculin and dystrophin define two distinct sarcolemma domains in smooth muscle

The sarcolemma of the smooth muscle cell displays two alternating structural domains in the electron microscope: densely-staining plaques that correspond to the adherens junctions and intervening uncoated regions which are rich in membrane invaginations, or caveolae. The adherens junctions serve as membrane anchorage sites for the actin cytoskeleton and are typically marked by antibodies to vinculin. We show here by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy that dystrophin is specifically localized in the caveolae-rich domains of the smooth muscle sarcolemma, together with the caveolae-associated molecule caveolin. Additional labeling experiments revealed that beta 1 integrin and fibronectin are confined to the adherens junctions, as indicated by their codistribution with vinculin and tensin. Laminin, on the other hand, is distributed around the entire cell perimeter. The sarcolemma of the smooth muscle cell is thus divided into two distinct domains, featuring different and mutually exclusive components. This simple bipartite domain organization contrasts with the more complex organization of the skeletal muscle sarcolemma: smooth muscle thus offers itself as a useful system for localizing, among other components, potential interacting partners of dystrophin.     

Dystrophin constitutes 5% of membrane cytoskeleton in skeletal muscle

Dystrophin, which is absent in skeletal muscle of Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, has not been considered to play a major structural role in the cell membrane of skeletal muscle because of its low abundance (approximately 0.002% of total muscle protein). Here, we have determined the relative abundance of dystrophin in a membrane cytoskeleton preparation and found that dystrophin constitutes approximately 5% of the total membrane cytoskeleton fraction of skeletal muscle sarcolemma. In addition, dystrophin can be removed from sarcolemma by alkaline treatment. Thus, our results have demonstrated that dystrophin is a major component of the subsarcolemmal cytoskeleton in skeletal muscle and suggest that dystrophin could play a major structural role in the cell membrane of skeletal muscle.     

Dystrophin is tightly associated with the sarcolemma of mammalian skeletal muscle fibers

Sarcolemmal vesicles with right-side-out configuration were prepared from normal fresh human and rabbit skeletal muscle bundles by incubation in 140 mM KCl solution containing collagenase. The vesicles were used to examine the association of dystrophin, the protein product of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene, with the sarcolemma. Western blot analysis, indirect immunofluorescence, and immunoperoxidase staining using specific antibodies raised against the N-terminal and the C-terminal domains show that dystrophin remains associated with the membrane of sarcolemmal vesicles. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy using permeabilized and unpermeabilized vesicles indicated that both the N-terminus and the C-terminus of dystrophin are localized to the cytoplasmic surface of the sarcolemma. These results suggest that dystrophin has much stronger attachment to the surface membrane than it has to the internal domain of skeletal muscle fibers. Sarcolemmal vesicles thus represent a new system for studying the function of dystrophin and the molecular basis of its association with the sarcolemma.     

Dystrophin-glycoprotein complex is highly enriched in isolated skeletal muscle sarcolemma

mAbs specific for protein components of the surface membrane of rabbit skeletal muscle have been used as markers in the isolation and characterization of skeletal muscle sarcolemma membranes. Highly purified sarcolemma membranes from rabbit skeletal muscle were isolated from a crude surface membrane preparation by wheat germ agglutination. Immunoblot analysis of subcellular fractions from skeletal muscle revealed that dystrophin and its associated glycoproteins of 156 and 50 kD are greatly enriched in purified sarcolemma vesicles. The purified sarcolemma was also enriched in novel sarcolemma markers (SL45, SL/TS230) and Na+/K(+)-ATPase, whereas t-tubule markers (alpha 1 and alpha 2 subunits of dihydropyridine receptor, TS28) and sarcoplasmic reticulum markers (Ca2(+)-ATPase, ryanodine receptor) were greatly diminished in this preparation. Analysis of isolated sarcolemma by SDS-PAGE and densitometric scanning demonstrated that dystrophin made up 2% of the total protein in the rabbit sarcolemma preparation. Therefore, our results demonstrate that although dystrophin is a minor muscle protein it is a major constituent of the sarcolemma membrane in skeletal muscle. Thus the absence of dystrophin in Duchenne muscular dystrophy may result in a major disruption of the cytoskeletal network underlying the sarcolemma in dystrophic muscle.     

Dystrophin colocalizes with beta-spectrin in distinct subsarcolemmal domains in mammalian skeletal muscle

Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by the absence or drastic decrease of the structural protein, dystrophin, and is characterized by sarcolemmal lesions in skeletal muscle due to the stress of contraction. Dystrophin has been localized to the sarcolemma, but its organization there is not known. We report immunofluorescence studies which show that dystrophin is concentrated, along with the major muscle isoform of beta-spectrin, in three distinct domains at the sarcolemma: in elements overlying both I bands and M lines, and in occasional strands running along the longitudinal axis of the myofiber. Vinculin, which has previously been found at the sarcolemma overlying the I bands and in longitudinal strands, was present in the same three structures as spectrin and dystrophin. Controls demonstrated that the labeling was intracellular. Comparison to labeling of the lipid bilayer and of the extracellular matrix showed that the labeling for spectrin and dystrophin is associated with the intact sarcolemma and is not a result of processing artifacts. Dystrophin is not required for this lattice-like organization, as similar domains containing spectrin but not dystrophin are present in muscle from the mdx mouse and from humans with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. We discuss the possibility that dystrophin and spectrin, along with vinculin, may function to link the contractile apparatus to the sarcolemma of normal skeletal muscle.     

Immunocytochemical study of dystrophin in cultured mouse muscle cells by the quick-freezing and deep-etching method

Summary Dystrophin, the protein product of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene, is deficient in patients with DMD and in mdx mice. It is immunocytochemically localized in skeletal muscle sarcolemma. However, little is known about the three-dimensional ultrastructural localization of dystrophin and its relationship with other cytoskeletal proteins. We found that dystrophin is localized irregularly, just underneath the plasma membrane in normal cultured mouse myotubes, by using the quick-freezing and deep-etching (QF-DE) method; it was found to be closely linked to actin-like filaments (8–10 nm in diameter), most of which were decorated with myosin subfragment 1, and was attached to the cytoplasmic side of the plasma membrane. These results suggest that dystrophin might play an important role in the preservation of cell membrane stability by connecting actin cytoskeletons with the cytoplasmic side of the plasma membrane.     

The subcellular distribution of dystrophin in mouse skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle

We use a highly specific and sensitive antibody to further characterize the distribution of dystrophin in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle. No evidence for localization other than at the cell surface is apparent in skeletal muscle and no 427-kD dystrophin labeling was detected in sciatic nerve. An elevated concentration of dystrophin appears at the myotendinous junction and the neuromuscular junction, labeling in the latter being more intense specifically in the troughs of the synaptic folds. In cardiac muscle the distribution of dystrophin is limited to the surface plasma membrane but is notably absent from the membrane that overlays adherens junctions of the intercalated disks. In smooth muscle, the plasma membrane labeling is considerably less abundant than in cardiac or skeletal muscle and is found in areas of membrane underlain by membranous vesicles. As in cardiac muscle, smooth muscle dystrophin seems to be excluded from membrane above densities that mark adherens junctions. Dystrophin appears as a doublet on Western blots of skeletal and cardiac muscle, and as a single band of lower abundance in smooth muscle that corresponds most closely in molecular weight to the upper band of the striated muscle doublet. The lower band of the doublet in striated muscle appears to lack a portion of the carboxyl terminus and may represent a dystrophin isoform. Isoform differences and the presence of dystrophin on different specialized membrane surfaces imply multiple functional roles for the dystrophin protein.     

Caveolin-3 directly interacts with the C-terminal tail of beta -dystroglycan. Identification of a central WW-like domain within caveolin family members

Caveolin-3, the most recently recognized member of the caveolin gene family, is muscle-specific and is found in both cardiac and skeletal muscle, as well as smooth muscle cells. Several independent lines of evidence indicate that caveolin-3 is localized to the sarcolemma, where it associates with the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex. However, it remains unknown which component of the dystrophin complex interacts with caveolin-3. Here, we demonstrate that caveolin-3 directly interacts with beta-dystroglycan, an integral membrane component of the dystrophin complex. Our results indicate that caveolin-3 co-localizes, co-fractionates, and co-immunoprecipitates with a fusion protein containing the cytoplasmic tail of beta-dystroglycan. In addition, we show that a novel WW-like domain within caveolin-3 directly recognizes the extreme C terminus of beta-dystroglycan that contains a PPXY motif. As the WW domain of dystrophin recognizes the same site within beta-dystroglycan, we also demonstrate that caveolin-3 can effectively block the interaction of dystrophin with beta-dystroglycan. In this regard, interaction of caveolin-3 with beta-dystroglycan may competitively regulate the recruitment of dystrophin to the sarcolemma. We discuss the possible implications of our findings in the context of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.     

Restoration of dystrophin-associated proteins in skeletal muscle of mdx mice transgenic for dystrophin gene

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and mdx mice are characterized by the absence of dystrophin, a membrane cytoskeletal protein. Dystrophin is associated with a large oligomeric complex of sarcolemmal glycoproteins, including dystroglycan which provides a linkage to the extarcellular matrix component, laminin. The finding that all of the dystrophin-associated proteins (DAPs) are drastically reduced in DMD and mdx skeletal muscle supports the primary function of dystrophin as an anchor of the sarcolemmal glycoprotein complex to the subsarcolemmal cytoskeleton. These findings indicate that the efficacy of dystrophin gene therapy will depend not only on replacing dystrophin but also on restoring all of the DAPs in the sarcolemma. Here we have investigated the status of the DAPs in the skeletal muscle of mdx mice transgenic for the dystrophin gene. Our results demonstrate that transfer of dystrophin gene restores all of the DAPs together with dystrophin, suggesting that dystrophin gene therapy should be effective in restoring the entire dystrophin-glycoprotein complex.     

The dystrophin complex forms a mechanically strong link between the sarcolemma and costameric actin

The absence of dystrophin complex leads to disorganization of the force-transmitting costameric cytoskeleton and disruption of sarcolemmal membrane integrity in skeletal muscle. However, it has not been determined whether the dystrophin complex can form a mechanically strong bond with any costameric protein. We performed confocal immunofluorescence analysis of isolated sarcolemma that were mechanically peeled from skeletal fibers of mouse hindlimb muscle. A population of gamma-actin filaments was stably associated with sarcolemma isolated from normal muscle and displayed a costameric pattern that precisely overlapped with dystrophin. However, costameric actin was absent from all sarcolemma isolated from dystrophin-deficient mdx mouse muscle even though it was localized to costameres in situ. Vinculin, alpha-actinin, beta-dystroglycan and utrophin were all retained on mdx sarcolemma, indicating that the loss of costameric actin was not due to generalized membrane instability. Our data demonstrate that the dystrophin complex forms a mechanically strong link between the sarcolemma and the costameric cytoskeleton through interaction with gamma-actin filaments. Destabilization of costameric actin filaments may also be an important precursor to the costamere disarray observed in dystrophin-deficient muscle. Finally, these methods will be broadly useful in assessing the mechanical integrity of the membrane cytoskeleton in dystrophic animal models lacking other costameric proteins.     

Dystrophin predominantly localizes to the transverse tubule/Z-line regions of single ventricular myocytes and exhibits distinct associations with the membrane

Dystrophin is a high molecular weight protein present at low abundance in skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle and in trace amounts in brain. In skeletal muscle, dystrophin is uniformly distributed along the inner surface of the plasma membrane. Biochemical fractionation studies have shown that all detectable skeletal muscle dystrophin is tightly associated with a complex of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA)-binding and concanavalin A (Con A) binding sarcolemmal glycoproteins. Absence of dystrophin is the primary biochemical defect in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and leads to segmental necrosis of their skeletal myofibers. Although present in similar amounts in normal cardiac and skeletal muscle, the absence of dystrophin from cardiac muscle has less severe effects on the survival of cardiac cells. We have therefore examined whether there are differences in the properties of cardiac and skeletal dystrophin. We report that in contrast to skeletal muscle, cardiac dystrophin is distributed between distinct pools: a soluble cytoplasmic pool, a membrane-bound pool not associated with WGA-binding glycoproteins and a membrane-bound pool associated with WGA-binding glycoproteins. Cardiac dystrophin was not associated with any Con A binding glycoproteins. Immunohistochemical localization studies in isolated ventricular myocytes reveal a distinct punctate staining pattern for dystrophin, approximating to the level of the transverse tubule/Z-line and contrasting with the uniform sarcolemmal staining reported for skeletal muscle fibers. The distinct properties of cardiac dystrophin suggest unique roles for this protein in cardiac versus skeletal muscle function.Abbreviations Dys Dystrophin - T-tubule Transverse tubule - SDS-PAGE Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis - WGA Wheat Germ Agglutinin - Con A Concanavalin A - DHP Dihydropyridine receptor - FITC Fluorescein Isothiocyanate Conjugate - NAG N-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine - NP-40 NONIDET P-40 - PBS Phosphate-Buffered Saline - TBST Tris Buffered Saline-Tween     

Dystrophin is required for the formation of stable muscle attachments in the zebrafish embryo

A class of recessive lethal zebrafish mutations has been identified in which normal skeletal muscle differentiation is followed by a tissue-specific degeneration that is reminiscent of the human muscular dystrophies. Here, we show that one of these mutations, sapje, disrupts the zebrafish orthologue of the X-linked human Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene. Mutations in this locus cause Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophies in human patients and are thought to result in a dystrophic pathology through disconnecting the cytoskeleton from the extracellular matrix in skeletal muscle by reducing the level of dystrophin protein at the sarcolemma. This is thought to allow tearing of this membrane, which in turn leads to cell death. Surprisingly, we have found that the progressive muscle degeneration phenotype of sapje mutant zebrafish embryos is caused by the failure of embryonic muscle end attachments. Although a role for dystrophin in maintaining vertebrate myotendinous junctions (MTJs) has been postulated previously and MTJ structural abnormalities have been identified in the Dystrophin-deficient mdx mouse model, in vivo evidence of pathology based on muscle attachment failure has thus far been lacking. This zebrafish mutation may therefore provide a model for a novel pathological mechanism of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and other muscle diseases.     

delta- and gamma-Sarcoglycan localization in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle.

Sarcoglycans are transmembrane proteins that are members of the dystrophin complex. Sarcoglycans cluster together to form a complex, which is localized in the cell membrane of skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle fibers. However, it is still unclear whether or not sarcoglycans are restricted to the sarcolemma. To address this issue, we examined alpha-, beta-, delta-, and gamma-sarcoglycan expression in femoral skeletal muscle from control and dystrophin-deficient mice and rats using confocal microscopy and immunoelectron microscopy. Confocal microscopy of the tissues in cross-section showed that all sarcoglycans were detected under the sarcolemma in rats and control mice. delta- and gamma-sarcoglycan labeling demonstrated striations in the longitudinal section, suggesting that the proteins were expressed in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) or transverse tubules (T-tubules). Moreover, such striations of both sarcoglycans were recognized in the dystrophin-deficient mouse skeletal muscle. Double labeling with phalloidin or alpha-actinin and delta- or gamma-sarcoglycan showed different labeling patterns, indicating that delta-sarcoglycan localization was distinct from that of gamma-sarcoglycan. Immunoelectron microscopy clarified that delta-sarcoglycan was localized in the terminal cisternae of the SR, while gamma-sarcoglycan was found in the terminal cisternae and longitudinal SR over I-bands but not over A-bands. These data demonstrate that delta- and gamma-sarcoglycans are components of the SR in skeletal muscle, suggesting that both sarcoglycans function independent of the dystrophin complex in the SR.     

Dystrophin-related protein is localized to neuromuscular junctions of adult skeletal muscle.

Dystrophin-related protein (DRP) is an autosomal gene product with high homology to dystrophin. We have used highly specific antibodies to the unique C-terminal peptide sequences of DRP and dystrophin to examine the subcellular localization and biochemical properties of DRP in adult skeletal muscle. DRP is enriched in isolated sarcolemma from control and mdx mouse muscle, but is much less abundant than dystrophin. Immunofluorescence microscopy localized DRP almost exclusively to the neuromuscular junction region in rabbit and mouse skeletal muscle, as well as mdx mouse muscle and denervated mouse muscle. DRP is also present in normal size and abundance and localizes to the neuromuscular junction region in muscle from the dystrophic mouse model dy/dy. Thus, DRP is a junction-specific membrane cytoskeletal protein that may play an important role in the organization of the postsynaptic membrane of the neuromuscular junction.     

Absence of utrophin in intercalated discs of human cardiac muscle

Utrophin is the autosomal homologue of dystrophin. In normal skeletal muscle it is localised only to neuromuscular and myotendinous junctions, nerves and vascular tissue. In Xp21 muscular dystrophies, utrophin is also detected on the sarcolemma of skeletal and cardiac muscle, while dystrophin is absent or reduced. In normal cardiac muscle, some reports have demonstrated utrophin at intercalated discs and T-tubules. We have re-examined the distribution of utrophin in normal human cardiac muscle using a panel of eight monoclonal antibodies against different epitopes in N- and C-terminal domains. In contrast to previous studies, utrophin was not detected at the intercalated discs or T-tubules, although labelling of blood vessels was strong. We conclude that the primary location of utrophin in normal heart is in the vascular system. In addition, our results show that the utrophin on cardiac blood vessels is full length, similar to that of skeletal muscle blood vessels.     

Patterns of dystrophin expression in developing, adult and regenerating tail skeletal muscle of Amphibian urodeles.

The patterns of expression of dystrophin were investigated by indirect immunofluorescence and by immunoblotting in developing, adult and regenerating tail skeletal muscle of newts Pleurodeles waltl and Notophthalmus viridescens. In this study, a monoclonal antibody H-5A3 directed against the C-terminal region (residues 3357-3660) and a polyclonal antibody raised to the central domain (residues 1173-1738) of the chicken skeletal muscle dystrophin were used. Western blot analysis showed that these antibodies recognized a 400 kDa band of dystrophin (and may be of dystrophin-related protein) in the adult muscle tissues and in newt tail regenerates. During skeletal muscle differentiation or epimorphic regeneration (blastema), anti-dystrophin immunoreactivity gradually accumulated over the periphery of the myofibers. Dystrophin and laminin were first and concomitantly observed at the ends of the newly formed myotubes where they were anchored on connective tissue septa or bone processes by dystrophin-rich myotendinous structures. It is noteworthy that neuromuscular junctions, which most probably also contain dystrophin, are established in urodeles near the ends of the myofibers as shown by histochemical localization of AChE activity or fluorescent bungarotoxin detection of AChRs. In the stump transition zone close to the tail amputation level where tissue regeneration of injured muscle fibers took place, dystrophin staining located on the cytoplasmic surface of myofibers progressively disappeared during the dedifferentiation process which seemed to occur during muscle regeneration as suggested by electron microscopy. Furthermore, double labeling experiments using anti-dystrophin and anti-laminin antibodies showed a good correlation between the remodeling processes of the muscle fiber basal lamina and the loss of dystrophin along the sarcolemma of damaged and presumably dedifferentiating muscle cells.