Amide hydrogens reveal a temperature-dependent structural transition that enhances site-II Ca2+-binding affinity in a C-domain mutant of cardiac troponin C

Sci Rep. 2017 Apr 6;7(1):691. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-00777-6.

Abstract

The hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-associated mutant D145E, in cardiac troponin C (cTnC) C-domain, causes generalised instability at multiple sites in the isolated protein. As a result, structure and function of the mutant are more susceptible to higher temperatures. Above 25 °C there are large, progressive increases in N-domain Ca2+-binding affinity for D145E but only small changes for the wild-type protein. NMR-derived backbone amide temperature coefficients for many residues show a sharp transition above 30-40 °C, indicating a temperature-dependent conformational change that is most prominent around the mutated EF-hand IV, as well as throughout the C-domain. Smaller, isolated changes occur in the N-domain. Cardiac skinned fibres reconstituted with D145E are more sensitive to Ca2+ than fibres reconstituted with wild-type, and this defect is amplified near body-temperature. We speculate that the D145E mutation destabilises the native conformation of EF-hand IV, leading to a transient unfolding and dissociation of helix H that becomes more prominent at higher temperatures. This creates exposed hydrophobic surfaces that may be capable of binding unnaturally to a variety of targets, possibly including the N-domain of cTnC when it is in its open Ca2+-saturated state. This would constitute a potential route for propagating signals from one end of TnC to the other.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Amides / chemistry*
  • Amino Acid Substitution
  • Binding Sites
  • Calcium / chemistry
  • Calcium / metabolism*
  • Circular Dichroism
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen / chemistry*
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Kinetics
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Mutation*
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Temperature
  • Thermodynamics
  • Troponin C / chemistry
  • Troponin C / genetics*
  • Troponin C / metabolism*

Substances

  • Amides
  • Troponin C
  • Hydrogen
  • Calcium