Developmentally regulated expression of vascular smooth muscle myosin heavy chain isoforms

Two types of smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms, SM1 and SM2, were recently identified to have different carboxyl termini (Nagai, R., Kuro-o, M., Babij, P., and Periasamy, M. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 9734-9737). SM1 and SM2 are considered to be generated from a single gene through alternative RNA splicing. In this study we investigated expression of vascular MHC isoforms during development in rabbits at the mRNA, protein, and histological levels. In adults, all smooth muscle cells reacted with both anti-SM1 and anti-SM2 antibodies on immunofluorescence, suggesting the coexpression of SM1 and SM2 in a single cell. In fetal and perinatal rabbits, however, only anti-SM1 antibody consistently reacted with smooth muscles. Reactivity with anti-SM2 antibody was negative in the fetal and neonatal blood vessels and gradually increased during 30 days after birth. These developmental changes in SM1 and SM2 expression at the histological level coincided with mRNA expression of each MHC isoform as determined by S1 nuclease mapping, indicating that expression of SM1 and SM2 is controlled at the level of RNA splicing. However, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of myosin from fetal and perinatal aortas revealed the presence of large amount of SM2. Interestingly, fetal SM2 did not cross-react with our anti-SM2 antibody on immunoblotting. We conclude that expression of SM1 and SM2 are differentially regulated during development and that a third type of MHC isoform may exist in embryonic and perinatal vascular smooth muscles.     

Expression and function of COOH-terminal myosin heavy chain isoforms in mouse smooth muscle

Isoforms of the smooth muscle myosin motor, SM1 and SM2, differ in length at the carboxy terminal tail region. Their proportion changes with development, hormonal status and disease, but their function is unknown. We developed mice carrying the myosin heavy chain (MyHC) transgenes SM1, cMyc-tagged SM1, SM2, and V5-tagged SM2, and all transgenes corresponded to the SMa NH₂-terminal isoform. Transgene expression was targeted to smooth muscle by the smooth muscle -actin promoter. Immunoblot analysis showed substantial expression of the cMyc-tagged SM1 and V5-tagged SM2 MyHC protein in aorta and bladder and transgene mRNA was expressed in mice carrying unlabeled SM1 or SM2 transgenes. Despite significant protein expression of tagged MyHCs we found only small changes in the SM1:SM2 protein ratio. Significant changes in functional phenotype were observed in mice carrying unlabeled SM1 or SM2 transgenes. Force in aorta and bladder was increased (72 ± 14%, 92 ± 11%) in SM1 and decreased to 57 ± 1% and 80 ± 3% in SM2 transgenic mice. SM1 transgenic bladders had faster (1.8 ± 0.3 s) and SM2 slower (7.1 ± 0.5 s) rates of force redevelopment following a rapid step shortening. We hypothesize that small changes in the SM1:SM2 ratio could be amplified if they are associated with changes in thick filament assembly and underlie the altered contractility. These data provide evidence indicating an in vivo function for the COOH-terminal isoforms of smooth muscle myosin and suggest that the SM1:SM2 ratio is tightly regulated in smooth muscle tissues. myosin heavy chain; transgenic mice     

Isolation and mapping of two porcine skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain isoforms

The present paper describes the isolation and linkage mapping of two isoforms of skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain in pig. Two partial cDNAs (pAZMY4 and pAZMY7), coding for the porcine myosin heavy chain-2B and -β respectively, have been isolated from a pig skeletal muscle cDNA library. Four RFLPs were detected with the putative porcine skeletal myosin heavy chain-2B probe (pAZMY4) and one RFLP was identified with the putative myosin heavy chain-β probe (pAZMY7). Two myosin heavy chain loci were mapped by linkage analysis performed with the five RFLPs against the PiGMaP linkage consortium ResPig database: the MYH1 locus, which identifies the fast skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain gene cluster, was located at the end of the map of porcine chromosome 12, while the MYH7 locus, which identifies the myosin heavy chain-α/-β gene cluster, was assigned to the long arm of porcine chromosome 7.     

Smooth muscle-type myosin heavy chain isoforms in bovine smooth muscle and non-muscle tissues

Summary— The distribution of smooth muscle (SM)-type myosin heavy chain isoforms in several bovine muscular and non-muscular (NM) tissues was evaluated by immunofluorescence tests using monoclonal antibodies SM-E7, reactive with 204 (SM1) and 200 (SM2) kDa isoforms, and SM-F11, specific for SM2 isoform. SM-E7 reacted equally with vascular, respiratory and intestinal SM tissues, whereas SM-F11 stained heterogeneously SM cells in the various muscular systems examined and in some peculiar tissues was unreactive (perisinusoidal cells of hepatic lobule, pulmonary interstitial cells and intestinal muscularis mucosae) or uniquely reactive (nerve cells). On the whole, our findings indicate that SM1 and SM2 isoforms are unequally distributed at the cellular level in various SM and NM tissues and support previous results obtained with tissue extracts and electrophoretic procedures.     

Evolutionarily conserved sequences of striated muscle myosin heavy chain isoforms. Epitope mapping by cDNA expression

A cDNA expression strategy was used to localize amino acid sequences which were specific for fast, as opposed to slow, isoforms of the chicken skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain (MHC) and which were conserved in vertebrate evolution. Five monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), termed F18, F27, F30, F47, and F59, were prepared that reacted with all of the known chicken fast MHC isoforms but did not react with any of the known chicken slow nor with smooth muscle MHC isoforms. The epitopes recognized by mAbs F18, F30, F47, and F59 were on the globular head fragment of the MHC, whereas the epitope recognized by mAb F27 was on the helical tail or rod fragment. Reactivity of all five mAbs also was confined to fast MHCs in the rat, with the exception of mAb F59, which also reacted with the beta-cardiac MHC, the single slow MHC isoform common to both the rat heart and skeletal muscle. None of the five epitopes was expressed on amphioxus, nematode, or Dictyostelium MHC. The F27 and F59 epitopes were found on shark, electric ray, goldfish, newt, frog, turtle, chicken, quail, rabbit, and rat MHCs. The epitopes recognized by these mAbs were conserved, therefore, to varying degrees through vertebrate evolution and differed in sequence from homologous regions of a number of invertebrate MHCs and myosin-like proteins. The sequence of those epitopes on the head were mapped using a two-part cDNA expression strategy. First, Bal31 exonuclease digestion was used to rapidly generate fragments of a chicken embryonic fast MHC cDNA that were progressively deleted from the 3' end. These cDNA fragments were expressed as beta-galactosidase/MHC fusion proteins using the pUR290 vector; the fusion proteins were tested by immunoblotting for reactivity with the mAbs; and the approximate locations of the epitopes were determined from the sizes of the cDNA fragments that encoded a particular epitope. The epitopes were then precisely mapped by expression of overlapping cDNA fragments of known sequence that covered the approximate location of the epitopes. With this method, the epitope recognized by mAb F59 was mapped to amino acids 211-231 of the chicken embryonic fast MHC and the three distinct epitopes recognized by mAbs F18, F30, and F47 were mapped to amino acids approximately 65-92. Each of these epitope sequences is at or near the ATPase active site.     

cDNA cloning of a myosin heavy chain isoform in embryonic smooth muscle and its expression during vascular development and in arteriosclerosis

Adult rabbit smooth muscles contain two types of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms, SM1 and SM2 which are generated through alternative RNA splicing from a single gene (Nagai, R., Kuro-o, M., Babij, P. & Periasamy, M. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 9734-9737). We previously reported that the expression of SM1 and SM2 during vascular development is differentially regulated at the level of RNA splicing, whereby SM1 is constitutively expressed from early development but SM2 appear after birth (Kuro-o, M., Nagai, R., Tsuchimochi, H., Katoh, H., Yazaki, Y., Ohkubo, A. & Takaku, F. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 18272-18275). We also demonstrated that embryonic vascular smooth muscles contain a third type of MHC isoform, referred to as SMemb in this report, which comigrates on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with SM2. In the present study we have isolated and characterized a cDNA clone (FSMHC34) for SMemb. FSMHC34 encodes the light meromyosin region including the carboxyl terminus and showed 70% amino acid sequence identity with SM1 or SM2. SMemb is a nonmuscle-type MHC and identical with brain MHC, but clearly distinct from 196-kDa nonmuscle MHC in cultured smooth muscle cells. The expression of SMemb was predominant in embryonic and perinatal aortas, but down-regulated with vascular development. Interestingly SMemb was reexpressed in proliferating smooth muscle cells of arteriosclerotic neointimas. These results suggest that smooth muscle proliferation is coupled to the expression of SMemb and that dedifferentiation of smooth muscles toward the embryonic phenotype is involved in the mechanisms underlying atherosclerosis.     

The carboxyl-terminal isoforms of smooth muscle myosin heavy chain determine thick filament assembly properties.

The alternatively spliced SM1 and SM2 smooth muscle myosin heavy chains differ at their respective carboxyl termini by 43 versus 9 unique amino acids. To determine whether these tailpieces affect filament assembly, SM1 and SM2 myosins, the rod region of these myosin isoforms, and a rod with no tailpiece (tailless), were expressed in Sf 9 cells. Paracrystals formed from SM1 and SM2 rod fragments showed different modes of molecular packing, indicating that the tailpieces can influence filament structure. The SM2 rod was less able to assemble into stable filaments than either SM1 or the tailless rods. Expressed full-length SM1 and SM2 myosins showed solubility differences comparable to the rods, establishing the validity of the latter as a model for filament assembly. Formation of homodimers of SM1 and SM2 rods was favored over the heterodimer in cells coinfected with both viruses, compared with mixtures of the two heavy chains renatured in vitro. These results demonstrate for the first time that the smooth muscle myosin tailpieces differentially affect filament assembly, and suggest that homogeneous thick filaments containing SM1 or SM2 myosin could serve distinct functions within smooth muscle cells.     

Two isoforms of regulatory light chain of abalone smooth muscle myosin

Abalone myosin contains two kinds of light chain, regulatory light chain (LC2) and essential light chain (LC1) according to SDS-PAGE. Three distinct light chain bands were observed on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of purified abalone myosin in the presence of urea (urea-PAGE). The slower two components showed had mobility on SDS-PAGE and they also showed regulatory activity as the regulatory light chain. They were termed LC2-a and LC2-b in order of increasing mobility on urea-PAGE and isolated by DE-32 ion exchange column chromatography in the presence 8 M urea. The ratio of LC2-a and LC2-b in the central portion of adductor muscle of abalone (LC2-a: LC2-b = 7:3) was different from that (1:1) in the peripheral portion. These results suggest that the two light chains are isoforms of the regulatory light chain. The amino acid compositions of LC2-a and LC2-b were very similar to each other except for the Cys content. The UV absorption spectra were also quite similar, as were the UV difference absorption spectra induced by Ca2+. Phosphorylation was not detectable with the myosin light chain kinase of chicken gizzard. The Ca2+ concentration dependencies of Mg-ATPase activity of LC2-a or LC2-b hybridized abalone myosin (a-myosin, b-myosin) were similar to each other in the absence of rabbit F-actin, but differed in the presence of actin. The b-myosin had a higher maximum value of actomyosin ATPase activity and a lower apparent binding constant of actin and myosin than a-myosin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Identification of myosin heavy chain isoforms in skeletal muscle of four Southern African wild ruminants

The aim was to separate and characterize the myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms of four southern African wild ruminants, namely Blesbuck (Damaliscus dorcas phillipsi), Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), Black Wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) and Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus). Longissimus dorsi muscle samples were subjected to SDS-PAGE and Western blot analyses using antibodies raised against MHC isoforms. The specificity of these antibodies was assessed using immunohistochemistry combined with ATPase histochemistry, Three MHC isoforms were separated and the bands were identified from fastest to slowest migrating as MHC I, MHC IIx and MHC IIa. The mobility of the MHC isoforms was similar for all four species, including that of bovine, but differed from human muscle. Kudu muscle exhibited the lowest proportion of MHC I and the highest proportion of MHC IIx, whereas Blesbuck muscle had the least MHC IIx. The two Wildebeest species were intermediate in isoform content. In conclusion, when new species are studied, existing electrophoretic protocols may need to be modified to achieve quantifiable separation and isoform migration pattern must be verified in order to reach correct interpretations. Furthermore, antibody specificity may differ between techniques as well as species and needs confirmation.     

Expression of myosin heavy chain isoforms in developing rat muscle spindles

The development of muscle spindles, with respect to the expression of myosin heavy chain isoforms was studied in rat hind limbs from 17 days of gestation up to seven days after birth. Serial cross-sections were labelled with antibodies against slow tonic, slow twitch and neonatal isomyosins, myomesin, laminin and neurofilament protein. At 17-18 days of gestation, a small population of primary myotubes expressing slow tonic myosin were identified as the earliest spindle primordia. These myotubes also expressed slow twitch and, to a lesser extent, neonatal myosin. At 19-20 days of gestation a second myotube became apparent; this staining strongly with anti-neonatal myosin. A day later this secondary myotube acquired reactivity to anti-slow tonic and anti-slow twitch myosins. By birth, a third myotube was present; this staining strongly with anti-neonatal myosin but otherwise unreactive with the other antibodies against myosin heavy chains. Three days after birth a fourth myotube, with identical reactivity to the third one, became apparent. Regional variation in the expression of isomyosins, which was present since birth in the two nuclear bag fibers was further enhanced: the nuclear bag staining strongly with anti-slow tonic and antineonatal in the equatorial region and with decreasing intensity towards the poles, whilst with anti-slow twitch the stainability was low in the equatorial and high in the polar region. The nuclear bag fiber showed a homogeneous staining: high with anti-slow tonic, moderate with anti-neonatal, and displayed stainability to anti-slow twitch myosin in the polar regions only. No regional variation was found along the chain fiber/myotube.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Expression of myosin heavy chain isoforms in developing rat muscle spindles

Summary The development of muscle spindles, with respect to the expression of myosin heavy chain isoforms was studied in rat hind limbs from 17 days of gestation up to seven days after birth. Serial cross-sections were labelled with antibodies against slow tonic, slow twitch and neonatal isomyosins, myomesin, laminin and neurofilament protein.At 17–18 days of gestation, a small population of primary myotubes expressing slow tonic myosin were identified as the earliest spindle primordia. These myotubes also expressed slow twitch and, to a lesser extent, neonatal myosin. At 19–20 days of gestation a second myotube became apparent; this staining strongly with anti-neonatal myosin. A day later this secondary myotube acquired reactivity to anti-slow tonic and anti-slow twitch myosins. By birth, a third myotube was present; this staining strongly with anti-neonatal myosin but otherwise unreactive with the other antibodies against myosin heavy chains. Three days after birth a fourth myotube, with identical reactivity to the third one, became apparent. Regional variation in the expression of isomyosins, which was present since birth in the two nuclear bag fibers was further enhanced: the nuclear bag₂ staining strongly with anti-slow tonic and antineonatal in the equatorial region and with decreasing intensity towards the poles, whilst with anti-slow twitch the stainability was low in the equatorial and high in the polar region. The nuclear bag₁ fiber showed a homogeneous staining: high with anti-slow tonic, moderate with anti-neonatal, and displayed stainability to antislow twitch myosin in the polar regions only. No regional variation was found along the chain fiber/myotube. At seven days after birth, the pattern of reactivity was similar to that found in the adult spindles, except for the bag₁ fiber which still expressed neonatal myosin.We show that slow tonic myosin is expressed from early development and it is a reliable marker of developing bag fibers. We suggest that muscle spindles are formed from special cell lineages of which the primary generation myotubes expressing slow tonic myosin represent the primordium of muscle spindles.     

Phosphorylation of smooth muscle myosin at two distinct sites by myosin light chain kinase

The 20,000-dalton light chain of turkey gizzard myosin is phosphorylated at two sites. Dual phosphorylation is observed when both intact myosin and isolated light chains are used as substrates. Phosphorylation of the second site is not observed at higher ionic strength (e.g. 0.35 M KCl). The first phosphorylation site (serine 19) is phosphorylated preferentially to the second site. The latter is phosphorylated more slowly than the first site, and its phosphorylation requires relatively high concentrations of myosin light chain kinase. It is suggested that myosin light chain kinase catalyzes the phosphorylation of both sites on the light chain, and several reasons are cited that make it unlikely that a contaminant kinase is involved. The second phosphorylation site is a threonine residue. Based on the results of limited proteolysis of the light chain, it is concluded that the threonine residue is close to serine 19, and possible locations are threonines 9, 10, and 18. At all concentrations of MgCl2, phosphorylation of the second site markedly increases the actin-activated ATPase activity of myosin and accelerates the superprecipitation response of myosin plus actin.     

Dephosphorylation of distinct sites in myosin light chain by two types of phosphatase in aortic smooth muscle

Two types of myosin light chain phosphatase from aortic smooth muscle extract were separated by chromatography on heparin-agarose. The phosphatase which appeared in the flow-through fractions had low activity on actomyosin, its apparent molecular mass was 260 kDa and upon ethanol treatment it generated a catalytic subunit with an apparent molecular mass of 36-39 kDa as determined by gel filtration. This phosphatase preferentially dephosphorylated the alpha-subunit of phosphorylase kinase and its phosphorylase phosphatase activity was not inhibited by heparin, inhibitor-1 or inhibitor-2. The phosphatase retained by heparin-agarose had high activity on actomyosin, its apparent molecular mass was 150 kDa and upon ethanol treatment it generated a catalytic subunit with an apparent molecular mass of 39-42 kDa. It preferentially dephosphorylated the beta-subunit of phosphorylase kinase and its phosphorylase phosphatase activity was not inhibited by heparin, inhibitor-1 or inhibitor-2. Myosin light chain was phosphorylated by myosin light chain kinase in peptides AB (Ser-P) and CD (Thr-P), and/or by protein kinase C in peptides E (Ser-P) and F (Thr-P) as determined by one-dimensional phosphopeptide mapping. The catalytic subunit of heparin-agarose flow-through phosphatase preferentially dephosphorylated peptide F over peptides AB, CD and E in both isolated light chain and actomyosin. The catalytic subunit of heparin-agarose bound phosphatase could effectively dephosphorylate all sites in isolated light chain, whereas it was less effective on dephosphorylation of peptide E in actomyosin.     

Distribution of myosin heavy chain isoforms in non-weight-bearing rat soleus muscle fibers

Talmadge, Robert J., Roland R. Roy, and V. Reggie Edgerton.Distribution of myosin heavy chain isoforms in non-weight-bearing rat soleus muscle fibers. J. Appl.Physiol. 81(6): 2540-2546, 1996.The effects of14 days of spaceflight (SF) or hindlimb suspension (HS) (Cosmos 2044)on myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform content of the rat soleus muscleand single muscle fibers were determined. On the basis ofelectrophoretic analyses, there was a de novo synthesis of type IIx MHCbut no change in either type I or IIa MHC isoform proportions aftereither SF or HS compared with controls. The percentage of fiberscontaining only type I MHC decreased by 26 and 23%, and the percentageof fibers with multiple MHCs increased from 6% in controls to 32% inHS and 34% in SF rats. Type IIx MHC was always found in combinationwith another MHC or combination of MHCs; i.e., no fibers contained typeIIx MHC exclusively. These data suggest that the expression of thenormal complement of MHC isoforms in the adult rat soleus muscle isdependent, in part, on normal weight bearing and that the absence ofweight bearing induces a shift toward type IIx MHC protein expression in the preexisting type I and IIa fibers of the soleus.

     

The analysis of a chicken myosin heavy chain cDNA clone

A cDNA library has been constructed in the plasmid pBR322 using a large size class of RNA derived from chicken embryonic leg muscle as the template material. A clone containing a 2350-base pair insert was selected and identified as coding for the myosin heavy chain sequence, based upon its ability to hybridize to genomic myosin heavy chain clones, and by direct nucleotide sequencing. Cross-hybridization experiments with myosin heavy chain genomic clones, and mRNAs derived from different muscle types were used to explore the heterogeneity of the various myosin heavy chain isoforms at the level of the coding sequences. Although extensive sequence homology with the other isoforms was observed, a fast white isoform-specific subclone was constructed, and used to demonstrate that different genes code for the adult and embryonic fast white myosin heavy chain proteins.     

Molecular cloning and sequencing of the chicken smooth muscle myosin regulatory light chain

A cDNA probe was constructed from a chicken skeletal muscle regulatory light chain cDNA and was used to screen a chicken gizzard cDNA library. A clone containing the entire coding region of the chicken gizzard regulatory light chain was isolated and sequenced. The deduced protein sequence is identical to the most recently reported chemical sequence of the chicken smooth muscle regulatory light chain, and has homologies with other troponin C-like calcium-binding proteins.