Terminal regions of mouse nebulin: sequence analysis and complementary localization with N-RAP

The regions of mouse nebulin extending from the ends of the super repeats to the C-terminus and N-terminus were cloned and sequenced. Comparison of the mouse sequence with the previously published human sequence shows that the terminal regions of nebulin are highly conserved. The four phosphorylation motifs and SH3 domain found at the C-terminus of mouse nebulin are identical to those found in human nebulin, with the exception of four conservative substitutions. The modules linking this C-terminal region to the super repeats have deletions relative to both fetal and adult human nebulins that correspond to integral numbers of modules, making the mouse C-terminal simple repeat region among the shortest observed to date. The N-terminal region and the C-terminal modules were expressed in Escherichia coli and used for antibody production. Immunofluorescent labeling of these regions of nebulin in isolated myofibrils demonstrates that they are located near the center of the sarcomere and near the Z-line, respectively. Immunogold labeling with antibodies raised against the N-terminal nebulin sequence localizes this region in the A-band near the tips of the thin filaments. Nebulin localization is complementary to that of N-RAP, another muscle-specific protein containing nebulin-like super repeats; nebulin is exclusively found in the sarcomeres, while N-RAP is confined to the terminal bundles of actin filaments at the myotendinous junction. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 3:211-222, 2000 Published 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A 7.5-kb 3'-Terminal cDNA Sequence of Chicken Skeletal Muscle Nebulin Reveals Its Actin Binding Regions

Nebulin is an approximately 700 kDa filamentous protein in vertebrate skeletal muscle. It binds to the Z line and also binds side-by-side to the entire thin (actin) filament in a sarcomere. Nebulin is currently thought to be a molecular ruler regulating the length of the thin filament to 1 mum. The complete sequence of human skeletal muscle nebulin was determined by . Because of its large size, only fragmental sequence information has been available for nebulins other than human skeletal muscle. This paper describes for the first time the sequence of about one third (C terminal region) of chicken skeletal muscle nebulin. It was found that the fundamental structure of human nebulin, consisting of 35 amino acid repeats (modules) plus C terminal serine-rich and SH3 domains linked to the Z line are well conserved with chicken nebulin. Sequence identity ranged from 74 to 91%. There were super-repeats (seven modules), a first linker repeat, simple repeat and a second linker repeat in addition to the Z line binding region as in human nebulin. However, there were 2 fewer modules in the first linker repeat and 6 fewer in the simple repeat in chicken nebulin as compared to human nebulin. Two isoforms of chicken nebulin were sequenced indicating insertion of approximately 6 or 11 modules to a structure similar to that of human nebulin. Recombinant first linker repeats M51 approximately 56 were shown to bind to actin using the ELISA technique as well as human nebulin recombinants.     

Linker region of nebulin family members plays an important role in targeting these molecules to cellular structures

The nebulin family of actin-binding proteins plays an essential role in cytoskeletal dynamics and actin filament stability. All of the family members are modular proteins with their key defining structural feature being the presence of the 35-residue nebulin modules. The family members now include nebulin, nebulette, N-RAP, LASP-1, and LIM-nebulette. Nebulin and nebulette are associated with the thin filament/Z-line junction of striated muscle. LASP-1 and LIM-nebulette are found within focal adhesions, and N-RAP is associated with muscle cellular junctions. Although much investigation has focused on the role of the interactions between nebulin modules and actin, each of these proteins contains other domains that are essential for their cellular targeting and functions. The serine-rich linker region of nebulette has previously been shown to serve just such a purpose by targeting the association of the nebulin modules to the cardiac Z-line in cultured cardiomyocytes. In this report, we analyze the targeting functions of the homologous regions of LASP-1 and LIM-nebulette in their incorporation into focal adhesions. We have found that the linker region of LASP-1 is indeed important for its cellular localization and that the shortened linker region of LIM-nebulette drives the association of nebulin modules to focal adhesions. This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health-HLB and the National Council of the American Heart Association to C.L.M.     

Interaction of alpha-actinin and nebulin in vitro. Support for the existence of a fourth filament system in skeletal muscle

Nebulin is a high molecular weight polypeptide (mass 0.6-0.8 million) which accounts for 3% of the myofibrillar mass in skeletal muscle. Due to its resistance to extraction under native conditions, relatively little is known about the biochemistry of the molecule. Here we report in vitro binding of alpha-actinin (a major Z-line protein) to nebulin. After solubilization with sodium dodecylsulfate myofibrillar polypeptides separated by gel electrophoresis were blotted on nitrocellulose and probed with 125I-labelled alpha-actinin. Nebulin is the only polypeptide decorated by alpha-actinin. This result gives biochemical support for the hypothesis, based on recent immunoelectron micrographs, that nebulin could form in skeletal muscle a fourth filament system, possibly extending to the Z-line.     

Each actin subunit has three nebulin binding sites: implications for steric blocking

Nebulin is a giant protein that spans most of the muscle thin filament. Mutations in nebulin result in myopathies and dystrophies. Nebulin contains approximately 200 copies of approximately 35 residue modules, each believed to contain an actin binding site, organized into seven-module superrepeats. The strong correlation between the number of nebulin modules and the length of skeletal muscle thin filaments in different species suggests that nebulin determines thin filament length. Little information exists about the interactions between intact nebulin and F-actin. More insight has come from working with fragments of nebulin, containing from one to hundreds of actin binding modules. However, the observed stoichiometry of binding between these fragments and actin has ranged from 0.4 to 13 modules per actin subunit. We have used electron microscopy and a novel method of helical image analysis to characterize complexes of F-actin with a nebulin fragment. The fragment binds as an extended structure spanning three actin subunits and binding to different sites on each actin. Muscle regulation involves tropomyosin movement on the surface of actin, with binding in three states. Our results suggest the intriguing possibility that intact nebulin may also be able to occupy three different sites on F-actin.     

Molecular structure of the sarcomeric Z-disk: two types of titin interactions lead to an asymmetrical sorting of alpha-actinin.

The sarcomeric Z-disk, the anchoring plane of thin (actin) filaments, links titin (also called connectin) and actin filaments from opposing sarcomere halves in a lattice connected by alpha-actinin. We demonstrate by protein interaction analysis that two types of titin interactions are involved in the assembly of alpha-actinin into the Z-disk. Titin interacts via a single binding site with the two central spectrin-like repeats of the outermost pair of alpha-actinin molecules. In the central Z-disk, titin can interact with multiple alpha-actinin molecules via their C-terminal domains. These interactions allow the assembly of a ternary complex of titin, actin and alpha-actinin in vitro, and are expected to constrain the path of titin in the Z-disk. In thick skeletal muscle Z-disks, titin filaments cross over the Z-disk centre by approximately 30 nm, suggesting that their alpha-actinin-binding sites overlap in an antiparallel fashion. The combination of our biochemical and ultrastructural data now allows a molecular model of the sarcomeric Z-disk, where overlapping titin filaments and their interactions with the alpha-actinin rod and C-terminal domain can account for the essential ultrastructural features.     

Targeted disruption of nebulette protein expression alters cardiac myofibril assembly and function

To evaluate nebulette's role in cardiac myofibrils, cardiomyocytes expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP)-nebulette constructs were monitored for their ability to contract and myofilament protein distribution was analyzed. Cells expressing full-length GFP-nebulette appear unaffected and exhibit normal beating frequencies. Expression of the GFP linker and SH3 results in loss of the endogenous nebulette and tropomyosin; however, Z-line and thick filaments are undisturbed. Cells expressing either of these domains have dramatically reduced beating frequencies, consistent with the loss of thin filament proteins. This loss was inhibited by the addition of protease inhibitors during culturing. The GFP repeat domain disrupts both myofibrillogenesis and contraction in spreading cardiomyocytes, whereas introduction of this protein into well-spread cardiomyocytes results in localization at the Z-line and a 50% reduction in beating frequency. Ultimately, these cells form bundles containing the GFP repeat and many myofilament proteins. Interestingly, butanedione monoxime inhibition of contraction inhibited the formation of these bundles. These results show that the GFP-nebulette domains have a dominant-negative effect on the distribution and function of the sarcomeric proteins. Taken together with the observation that nebulette colocalizes with alpha-actinin in the pre-, nascent, and mature myofibrils, our data demonstrate the importance of this cardiac-specific nebulin isoform in myofibril organization and function.     

Myopalladin, a novel 145-kilodalton sarcomeric protein with multiple roles in Z-disc and I-band protein assemblies

We describe here a novel sarcomeric 145-kD protein, myopalladin, which tethers together the COOH-terminal Src homology 3 domains of nebulin and nebulette with the EF hand motifs of alpha-actinin in vertebrate Z-lines. Myopalladin's nebulin/nebulette and alpha-actinin-binding sites are contained in two distinct regions within its COOH-terminal 90-kD domain. Both sites are highly homologous with those found in palladin, a protein described recently required for actin cytoskeletal assembly (Parast, M.M., and C.A. Otey. 2000. J. Cell Biol. 150:643-656). This suggests that palladin and myopalladin may have conserved roles in stress fiber and Z-line assembly. The NH(2)-terminal region of myopalladin specifically binds to the cardiac ankyrin repeat protein (CARP), a nuclear protein involved in control of muscle gene expression. Immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy studies revealed that myopalladin also colocalized with CARP in the central I-band of striated muscle sarcomeres. Overexpression of myopalladin's NH(2)-terminal CARP-binding region in live cardiac myocytes resulted in severe disruption of all sarcomeric components studied, suggesting that the myopalladin-CARP complex in the central I-band may have an important regulatory role in maintaining sarcomeric integrity. Our data also suggest that myopalladin may link regulatory mechanisms involved in Z-line structure (via alpha-actinin and nebulin/nebulette) to those involved in muscle gene expression (via CARP).     

Interaction of nebulin SH3 domain with titin PEVK and myopalladin: implications for the signaling and assembly role of titin and nebulin

Skeletal muscle nebulin is thought to determine thin filament length and regulate actomyosin interaction in a calcium/calmodulin or S100 sensitive manner. We have investigated the binding of nebulin SH3 with proline-rich peptides derived from the 28-mer PEVK modules of titin and the Z-line protein myopalladin, using fluorescence, circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. Of the six peptides studied, PR2 of titin (VPEKKAPVAPPK) and myopalladin MyoP2 (646VKEPPPVLAKPK657) bind to nebulin SH3 with micromolar affinity (approximately 31 and 3.4 microM, respectively), whereas the other four peptides bind weakly (>100 microM). Sequence analysis of titins reveals numerous SH3 binding motifs that are highly enriched in the PEVK segments of titin isoforms. Our findings suggest that titin PEVK and myopalladin may play signaling roles in targeting and orientating nebulin to the Z-line during sarcomere assembly.     

Cloning, expression, and protein interaction of human nebulin fragments composed of varying numbers of sequence modules.

Nebulin, a family of giant myofibrillar proteins of 600-900 kDa, contains a large number of highly conserved sequence repeats of 31-38 amino acids. To investigate the significance of this repeat, human skeletal muscle nebulin cDNA fragments encoding two, six, seven, eight, or fifteen repeat modules were expressed in high yield as nonfusion proteins in Escherichia coli with the pET3d plasmid vector. F-actin cosedimentation and solid phase binding assays demonstrated that all nebulin fragments, except the smallest two-module 67-mer, bound to muscle actin with high affinity under physiological ionic conditions. Solid phase binding assays also revealed that a six-module fragment, NB5, binds to myosin and C-terminal protein but fails to bind to tropomyosin, troponin, and tubulin. Furthermore, the binding of NB5 to actin was inhibited by both tropomyosin and troponin. Immunoelectron microscopic localization of NB5 indicated that this N-terminal region fragment is situated near the distal end of thin filaments in the sarcomere. These results indicate that nebulin is a giant protein with an unprecedently large number of actin-binding sites along its length and is anchored at the C terminus to the Z line in the sarcomere. Nebulin may function as a multifunctional template protein that regulates the length of thin filaments and participates in muscle activities by interacting with actin and myosin filaments in the sarcomere of skeletal muscles.     

Architecture of the sarcomere matrix of skeletal muscle: immunoelectron microscopic evidence that suggests a set of parallel inextensible nebulin filaments anchored at the Z line

Nebulin, a giant myofibrillar protein (600-800 kD) that is abundant (3%) in the sarcomere of a wide range of skeletal muscles, has been proposed as a component of a cytoskeletal matrix that coexists with actin and myosin filaments within the sarcomere. Immunoblot analysis indicates that although polypeptides of similar size are present in cardiac and smooth muscles at low abundance, those proteins show no immunological cross-reactivity with skeletal muscle nebulin. Gel analysis reveals that nebulins in various skeletal muscles of rabbit belong to at least two classes of size variants. A monospecific antibody has been used to localize nebulin by immunoelectron microscopy in a mechanically split rabbit psoas muscle fiber preparation. Labeled split fibers exhibit six pairs of stripes of antibody-imparted transverse densities spaced at 0.1-1.0 micron from the Z line within each sarcomere. These epitopes maintain a fixed distance to the Z line irrespective of sarcomere length and do not exhibit the characteristic elastic stretch-response of titin epitopes within the I band domain. It is proposed that nebulin constitutes a set of inextensible filaments attached at one end to the Z line and that nebulin filaments are in parallel, and not in series, with titin filaments. Thus the skeletal muscle sarcomere may have two sets of nonactomyosin filaments: a set of I segment-linked nebulin filaments and a set of A segment-linked titin filaments. This four-filament sarcomere model raises the possibility that nebulin and titin might act as organizing templates and length- determining factors for actin and myosin respectively.     

Expression of nebulette during early cardiac development

Nebulette, a cardiac homologue of nebulin, colocalizes with alpha-actinin in the pre-myofibrils of spreading cardiomyocytes and has been hypothesized to play a critical role in the formation of the thin-filament-Z-line complex early during myofibrillogenesis. Data from mesodermal explants or whole tissue mounts of developing hearts suggest that the pattern of myofibrillogenesis in situ may differ from observations of spreading cardiomyocytes. To evaluate the role of nebulette in myofibrillogenesis, we have analyzed the expression of nebulette in chicken heart rudiments by immunoblots and immunofluorescence. We detect the 110 kDa nebulette in heart rudiments derived from stage 9-10 using the anti-nebulin mAb, N114, or polyclonal anti-nebulette Abs by immunoblotting. Immunofluorescence analysis of explants stained with anti-nebulette and anti-alpha-actinin Abs demonstrates that both proteins localize along actin filaments in punctate to continuous manner at early stages of cardiac development and later give rise to striations. In both cases, the punctate staining had a periodicity of approximately 1.0 microm indicating a pre-myofibrils distribution at the earliest time points examined. We demonstrate that nebulette is indeed associated with premyofibrils in very early stages of myofibrillogenesis and suggest that nebulette may play an important role in the formation of these structures.     

Role of desmin filaments in chicken cardiac myofibrillogenesis

Desmin filaments are muscle-specific intermediate filaments located at the periphery of the Z-discs, and they have been postulated to play a critical role in the lateral registration of myofibrils. Previous studies suggest that intermediate filaments may be involved in titin assembly during the early stages of myofibrillogenesis. In order to investigate the putative function of desmin filaments in myofibrillogenesis, rabbit anti-desmin antibodies were introduced into cultured cardiomyocytes by electroporation to perturb the normal function of desmin filaments. Changes in the assembly of several sarcomeric proteins were examined by immunofluorescence. In cardiomyocytes incorporated with normal rabbit serum, staining for alpha-actinin and muscle actin displayed the typical Z-line and I-band patterns, respectively, while staining for titin with monoclonal anti-titin A12 antibody, which labels a titin epitope at the A-I junction, showed the periodic doublet staining pattern. Staining for C-protein gave an amorphous pattern in early cultures and identified A-band doublets in older cultures. In contrast, in cardiomyocytes incorporated with anti-desmin antibodies, alpha-actinin was found in disoriented Z-discs and the myofibrils became fragmented, forming mini-sarcomeres. In addition, titin was not organized into the typical A-band doublet, but appeared to be aggregated. Muscle actin staining was especially weak and appeared in tiny clusters. Moreover, in all ages of cardiomyocytes tested, C-protein remained in the disassembled form. The present data suggest the essential role of desmin in myofibril assembly.     

Smooth muscle alpha-actinin interaction with smitin

Actin-myosin II filament-based contractile structures in striated muscle, smooth muscle, and nonmuscle cells also contain the actin filament-crosslinking protein alpha-actinin. In striated muscle sarcomeres, interactions between the myosin-binding protein titin and alpha-actinin in the Z-line provide an important structural linkage. We previously discovered a titin-like protein, smitin, associated with the contractile apparatus of smooth muscle cells. Purified native smooth muscle alpha-actinin binds with nanomolar affinity to smitin in smitin-myosin coassemblies in vitro. Smooth muscle alpha-actinin also interacts with striated muscle titin. In contrast to striated muscle alpha-actinin interaction with titin and smitin, which is significantly enhanced by PIP2, smooth muscle alpha-actinin interacts with smitin and titin equally well in the presence and absence of PIP2. Using expressed regions of smooth muscle alpha-actinin, we have demonstrated smitin-binding sites in the smooth muscle alpha-actinin R2-R3 spectrin-like repeat rod domain and a C-terminal domain formed by cryptic EF-hand structures. These smitin-binding sites are highly homologous to the titin-binding sites of striated muscle alpha-actinin. Our results suggest that direct interaction between alpha-actinin and titin or titin-like proteins is a common feature of actin-myosin II contractile structures in striated muscle and smooth muscle cells and that the molecular bases for alpha-actinin interaction with these proteins are similar, although regulation of these interactions may differ according to tissue.     

Modular motif, structural folds and affinity profiles of the PEVK segment of human fetal skeletal muscle titin

The extension of the PEVK segment of the giant elastic protein titin is a key event in the elastic response of striated muscle to passive stretch. PEVK behaves mechanically as an entropic spring and is thought to be a random coil. cDNA sequencing of human fetal skeletal PEVK reveals a modular motif with tandem repeats of modules averaging 28 residues and with superrepeats of seven modules. Conformational studies of bacterially expressed 53-kDa fragment (TP1) by circular dichroism suggest that this soluble protein contains substantial polyproline II (PPII) type left-handed helices. Urea and thermal titrations cause gradual and reversible decrease in PPII content. The absence of sharp melting in urea and thermal titrations suggests that there is no long range cooperativity among the PPII helices. Studies with solid phase and surface plasmon resonance assays indicate that TP1 interacts with actin and some but not all cloned nebulin fragments with high affinity. Interestingly, Ca(2+)/calmodulin and Ca(2+)/S100 abolish nebulin/PEVK interaction. We suggest that in aqueous solution, PEVK is an open and flexible chain of relatively stable structural folds of the polyproline II type. PEVK region of titin may be involved in interfilament association with thin filaments in a calcium/calmodulin-sensitive manner. This adhesion may modulate titin extensibility and elasticity.     

A comparative study of high molecular weight proteins in various types of muscle across the animal kingdom

A wide range of phyla have been surveyed by SDS-PAGE for the new large proteins of the myofibril. Connectin (or titin) appears to be widely distributed. It is seen as a band of constant intensity and mobility in vertebrate striated muscle, but is absent from smooth muscle. It appears in more variable amounts, in a form of constant but greater mobility in many invertebrates: worms, molluscs (adductor but not gastropod feet), insects, a myriapod, and even in human blood platelets. Nebulin shares the same distribution in vertebrate muscles except for its notable absence in all heart muscle examined. It too is found in many invertebrates, not always with titin. It has been found in a worm, molluscs (adductor and gastropod feet), insects, crustaceans and an echinoderm. The mobility of nebulin varies within the vertebrates and more so between invertebrates (where, as with titin, it is greater). The isoforms of filamin in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscles of vertebrates are recorded. C-protein in rabbit muscles has four isoforms: white, alpha-red (X-protein), beta-red, and cardiac.     

Thin filament length regulation in striated muscle sarcomeres: pointed-end dynamics go beyond a nebulin ruler

The actin (thin) filaments in striated muscle are highly regulated and precisely specified in length to optimally overlap with the myosin (thick) filaments for efficient myofibril contraction. Here, we review and critically discuss recent evidence for how thin filament lengths are controlled in vertebrate skeletal, vertebrate cardiac, and invertebrate (arthropod) sarcomeres. Regulation of actin polymerization dynamics at the slow-growing (pointed) ends by the capping protein tropomodulin provides a unified explanation for how thin filament lengths are physiologically optimized in all three muscle types. Nebulin, a large protein thought to specify thin filament lengths in vertebrate skeletal muscle through a ruler mechanism, may not control pointed-end actin dynamics directly, but instead may stabilize a large core region of the thin filament. We suggest that this stabilizing function for nebulin modifies the lengths primarily specified by pointed-end actin dynamics to generate uniform filament lengths in vertebrate skeletal muscle. We suggest that nebulette, a small homolog of nebulin, may stabilize a correspondingly shorter core region and allow individual thin filament lengths to vary according to working sarcomere lengths in vertebrate cardiac muscle. We present a unified model for thin filament length regulation where these two mechanisms cooperate to tailor thin filament lengths for specific contractile environments in diverse muscles.     

The nebulette repeat domain is necessary for proper maintenance of tropomyosin with the cardiac sarcomere

Nebulette is a cardiac-specific isoform of the giant actin-binding protein nebulin. Nebulette, having a mass of ∼ 100 kDa, is only predicted to extend 150 nm from the edge of the Z-lines. Overexpression of the nebulette C-terminal linker and/or SH3 domains in chicken cardiomyocytes results in a loss of endogenous nebulette with a concomitant loss of tropomyosin (TPM) and troponin, as well as a shortening of the thin filaments. These data suggest that nebulette's position in the sarcomere is important for the maintenance of TPM, troponin and thin filament length. To evaluate this hypothesis, N-terminal nested truncations tagged with GFP were expressed in chicken cardiomyocytes and the cells were analyzed for the distribution of myofilament proteins. Minimal effects on the myofilaments were observed with N-terminal deletions of up to 10 modules; however, deletion of 15 modules replicated the phenotype observed with expression of the C-terminal fragments. Expression of internal deletions of nebulette verifies that a site between module 10 and 15 is important for TPM maintenance within the sarcomeric lattice. We have additionally isolated TPM cDNAs from a yeast two hybrid (Y2H) analysis. These data indicate the importance of the nebulette-TPM interactions in the maintenance and stability of the thin filaments.     

The mode of myofibril remodelling in human skeletal muscle affected by DOMS induced by eccentric contractions

Myofibrillar Z-disc streaming and loss of the desmin cytoskeleton are considered the morphological hallmarks of eccentric contraction-induced injury. The latter is contradicted by recent studies where a focal increase of desmin was observed in biopsies taken from human muscles with DOMS. In order to determine the effects of eccentric contraction-induced alterations of the myofibrillar Z-disc, we examined the distribution of alpha-actinin, the Z-disc portion of titin and the nebulin NB2 region in relation to actin and desmin in DOMS biopsies. In biopsies taken 2-3 days and 7-8 days after exercise, we observed a significantly higher number of fibres showing focal areas lacking staining for alpha-actinin, titin and nebulin than in biopsies taken from control or 1 h after exercise. None of these proteins were part of Z-disc streamings but instead they were found in distinct patterns in areas characterised by altered staining for desmin and actin. These were preferentially seen in regions with increased numbers of sarcomeres in parallel myofibrils. We propose that these staining patterns represent different stages of sarcomere formation. These findings therefore support our previous suggestion that muscle fibres subjected to eccentric contractions adapt to unaccustomed activity by the addition of new sarcomeres.