[HTML][HTML] Detyrosinated microtubules modulate mechanotransduction in heart and skeletal muscle

JP Kerr, P Robison, G Shi, AI Bogush… - Nature …, 2015 - nature.com
JP Kerr, P Robison, G Shi, AI Bogush, AM Kempema, JK Hexum, N Becerra, DA Harki
Nature communications, 2015nature.com
In striated muscle, X-ROS is the mechanotransduction pathway by which mechanical stress
transduced by the microtubule network elicits reactive oxygen species. X-ROS tunes Ca2+
signalling in healthy muscle, but in diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD),
microtubule alterations drive elevated X-ROS, disrupting Ca2+ homeostasis and impairing
function. Here we show that detyrosination, a post-translational modification of α-tubulin,
influences X-ROS signalling, contraction speed and cytoskeletal mechanics. In the mdx …
Abstract
In striated muscle, X-ROS is the mechanotransduction pathway by which mechanical stress transduced by the microtubule network elicits reactive oxygen species. X-ROS tunes Ca2+ signalling in healthy muscle, but in diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), microtubule alterations drive elevated X-ROS, disrupting Ca2+ homeostasis and impairing function. Here we show that detyrosination, a post-translational modification of α-tubulin, influences X-ROS signalling, contraction speed and cytoskeletal mechanics. In the mdx mouse model of DMD, the pharmacological reduction of detyrosination in vitro ablates aberrant X-ROS and Ca2+ signalling, and in vivo it protects against hallmarks of DMD, including workload-induced arrhythmias and contraction-induced injury in skeletal muscle. We conclude that detyrosinated microtubules increase cytoskeletal stiffness and mechanotransduction in striated muscle and that targeting this post-translational modification may have broad therapeutic potential in muscular dystrophies.
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