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South Dakota State University

Functional Effects of Calcium Regulation of Thin Filaments at Single Particle Resolution

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Understanding heart function at the molecular level is critical for developing of more effective treatments. In the cardiac muscle, the thin filament is composed by troponin (Tn), tropomyosin (Tm), and F-actin. It provides Ca2+-dependent regulation of contraction by modulating myosin attachment and force generation in a cooperative scheme. However, this mechanism remains unclear. To understand thin filament activation, we studied the binding and functional properties of Tn and Tm to F-actin at single particle resolution by employing fluorescence image colocalization, in vitro motility assays, and Förster resonance energy transfer based on fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM-FRET). Our results suggest that under physiologically relevant conditions, Tn and Tm binding to Factin is not cooperative and it is not affected by Ca2+. This suggests that one single type of interaction is involved in fully regulated thin filaments. Thin filament activation has been confirmed by in vitro motility assays, where phosphorylation of serine 23 and 24 in TnI, truncation of TnT C-terminal region, and incorporation of a Ca2+ desensitizer altered the Ca2+ response to filament sliding. FLIM-FRET measurements revealed an allosteric dependence on thin filament activation as a function of myosin and Ca2+. Our results provide evidence of multiple allosteric elements within thin filaments responsible for the molecular modulation of cardiac muscle activation.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation - Open Access
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Year dc:date.available
2016

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Solis-Ocampo, Christopher
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Adam Hoppe

Subjects

dc:subject × 9

Rights

dc:rights
Language dc:language
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/1097
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:openprairie.sdstate.edu:etd-2097

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
South Dakota State University
Base URL
openprairie.sdstate.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Solis-Ocampo, Christopher. Functional Effects of Calcium Regulation of Thin Filaments at Single Particle Resolution. Dissertation - Open Access thesis, 2016. https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/1097