Altered C10 domain in cardiac myosin binding protein-C results in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Abstract

AIMS: A 25-base pair (bp) deletion in the cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C) gene (MYBPC3), proposed to skip exon 33, modifies the C10 domain (cMyBP-CDeltaC10mut) and is associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and heart failure, affecting approximately 100 million South Asians. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenicity of cMyBP-CDeltaC10mutin vivo are unknown. We hypothesized that expression of cMyBP-CDeltaC10mut exerts a poison polypeptide effect leading to improper assembly of cardiac sarcomeres and the development of HCM. METHODS AND RESULTS: To determine whether expression of cMyBP-CDeltaC10mut is sufficient to cause HCM and contractile dysfunction in vivo, we generated transgenic (TG) mice having cardiac-specific protein expression of cMyBP-CDeltaC10mut at approximately half the level of endogenous cMyBP-C. At 12 weeks of age, significant hypertrophy was observed in TG mice expressing cMyBP-CDeltaC10mut (heart weight/body weight ratio: 4.43+/-0.11 mg/g nontransgenic (NTG) vs. 5.34+/-0.25 mg/g cMyBP-CDeltaC10mut, P < 0.05). Furthermore, hematoxylin and eosin, Masson's trichrome staining, as well as second harmonic generation imaging revealed the presence of significant fibrosis and a greater relative nuclear area in cMyBP-CDeltaC10mut hearts compared to NTG controls. M-mode echocardiography analysis revealed hypercontractile hearts (EF: 53.4%+/-2.9% NTG vs. 66.4%+/-4.7% cMyBP-CDeltaC10mut; P < 0.05) and early diastolic dysfunction (E/E': 28.7+/-3.7 NTG vs. 46.3+/-8.4 cMyBP-CDeltaC10mut; P < 0.05), indicating the presence of an HCM phenotype. To assess whether these changes manifested at the myofilament level, contractile function of single skinned cardiomyocytes was measured. Preserved maximum force generation and increased Ca2+-sensitivity of force generation were observed in cardiomyocytes from cMyBP-CDeltaC10mut mice compared to NTG controls (EC50: 3.6+/-0.02 microM NTG vs. 2.90+/-0.01 microM cMyBP-CDeltaC10mut; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Expression of cMyBP-C protein with a modified C10 domain is sufficient to cause contractile dysfunction and HCM in vivo.