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SummaryCurrent theories of muscle contraction propose that the power stroke of a myosin motor is the sole source of mechanical energy driving the sliding filaments of a contracting muscle. These models exclude titin, the largest protein in the human body, which determines the passive elasticity of muscles. Here, we show that stepwise unfolding/folding of titin immunoglobulin (Ig) domains occurs in the elastic I band region of intact myofibrils at physiological sarcomere lengths and forces of 6–8 pN. We use single-molecule techniques to demonstrate that unfolded titin Ig domains undergo a spontaneous stepwise folding contraction at forces below 10 pN, delivering up to 105 zJ of additional contractile energy, which is larger than the mechanical energy delivered by the power stroke of a myosin motor. Thus, it appears inescapable that folding of titin Ig domains is an important, but as yet unrecognized, contributor to the force generated by a contracting muscle.

SummaryThe giant elastic protein titin is a determinant factor in how much blood fills the left ventricle during diastole and thus in the etiology of heart disease. Titin has been identified as a target of S-glutathionylation, an end product of the nitric-oxide-signaling cascade that increases cardiac muscle elasticity. However, it is unknown how S-glutathionylation may regulate the elasticity of titin and cardiac tissue. Here, we show that mechanical unfolding of titin immunoglobulin (Ig) domains exposes buried cysteine residues, which then can be S-glutathionylated. S-glutathionylation of cryptic cysteines greatly decreases the mechanical stability of the parent Ig domain as well as its ability to fold. Both effects favor a more extensible state of titin. Furthermore, we demonstrate that S-glutathionylation of cryptic cysteines in titin mediates mechanochemical modulation of the elasticity of human cardiomyocytes. We propose that posttranslational modification of cryptic residues is a general mechanism to regulate tissue elasticity.

Force-spectroscopy has been an essential tool for understanding how proteins fold and unfold, and their involvement in regulating cell responses to mechanical stimuli. Hence, it is of significance to establish an accurate free energy model of proteins under force capable of describing the mechanisms of protein folding. Even though numerous models have been proposed, the role of polymer physics and the changes in entropy involved in protein elasticity are still controversial. We have developed a model to construct the free energy of elastic proteins under force based on protein folding and polymer physics. The model is constructed by combining Morse and Gaussian potentials describing the enthalpic interactions in the folded state, and the freely jointed-chain (FJC) energy model accounting for the entropic changes during unfolding and stretching. The free parameters of each component are dependent on the protein and thus regulate its mechanical properties [J. Valle-Orero et al, BBRC 460 (2015)]. Here we aim to prove the accuracy of the model by reproducing force-spectroscopy data of a model protein, protein L (B1 domain from Peptostreptococcus magnus). We experimentally fit the force dependent extension of unfolded domains with the FJC using a contour length of 16.3 nm and a Kuhn length of 1.1 nm. The Morse depth of 2 kBT was established by measuring the probability that a domain folds at a given force. A Gaussian barrier of 10.5 kBT was chosen by comparing the experimental unfolding kinetics to those obtained using Brownian dynamics on our energy model. The excellent agreement of our model with experimental data validates and reinforces the theoretical foundations of our physics model. Furthermore, we demonstrate that changes in entropy during extending or collapsing a protein results in departure from simple Bell-like models.

The reaction catalyzed by E. coli Pfk-2 presents a dual-cation requirement. In addition to that chelated by the nucleotide substrate, an activating cation is required to obtain full activity of the enzyme. Only Mn 2+ and Mg 2+ can fulfill this role binding to the same activating site but the affinity for Mn 2+ is 13-fold higher compared to that of Mg 2+ . The role of the E190 residue, present in the highly conserved motif NXXE involved in Mg 2+ binding, is also evaluated in this behavior. The E190Q mutation drastically diminishes the kinetic affinity of this site for both cations. However, binding studies of free Mn 2+ and metal–Mant-ATP complex through EPR and FRET experiments between the ATP analog and Trp88, demonstrated that Mn 2+ as well as the metal–nucleotide complex bind with the same affinity to the wild type and E190Q mutant Pfk-2. These results suggest that this residue exert its role mainly kinetically, probably stabilizing the transition state and that the geometry of metal binding to E190 residue may be crucial to determine the catalytic competence.

The last 20 years have witnessed a revolution in our understanding of the mechanical behavior of proteins, driven largely by advances in single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS). However, direct single-molecule study of certain mechanical systems, such as muscle titin and the bacterial pilus, has remained out of reach due to their megadalton-scale sizes and due to difficulties of pulling at high forces. Here, we have implemented a strategy based on HaloTag and SpyCatcher-SpyTag chemistries that provides for modular hetero-polyprotein construction and fully covalent SMFS with Magnetic Tweezers (MT). We functionalized both the surface and probe with HaloTag chemistry to have end-to-end covalent attachments in MT, enabling hours-long recordings on single molecules held at high force (> 100 pN). In addition, we have incorporated the SpyCatcher-SpyTag protein conjugation system for macromolecule construction. Whereas SMFS has been limited to the study of octamers of up to ∼120 kDa, SpyCatcher-SpyTag chemistry extends the range to 2nd-order assemblies of polyproteins. We expressed polyproteins flanked with either SpyCatcher or SpyTag pairs, and assembled large heterogeneous molecules through sequential construction on MT surfaces or on magnetic beads. Applying MT-based SMFS, we observed folding/unfolding step sizes of the various constructs assembled into single hetero-polyproteins. To date, we have successfully assembled and recorded from a trimer of I27 octamers and from a hetero-trimer of LB1 and I27 polyproteins. These advances in covalent attachment and protein assembly set the stage for megadalton-scale construction of complex titin-like molecules and for their long-term study under force.

The elasticity of muscle is principally determined by the I-band region of titin, consisting of 40-100 immunoglobulin-like (Ig) domains and two unstructured segments. Traditional force spectroscopy of titin can study only eight tandem Ig domains at a time, and the dominant entropic effect of the massive native titin polypeptide is lost. Here, we have developed a knock-in mouse model to study titin in its entirety. We genetically encoded a HaloTag enzyme, flanked with two protease sites, in the constitutively expressed region of the I-band. This multi-tool mouse model permits: covalent protein immobilization for force spectroscopy, fluorescent labeling for sarcomere length measurements, and titin specific proteolysis for muscle mechanics experiments. The HaloTag, engineered close to the I-A junction of titin, allows titin immobilization on glass coverslips functionalized with chloroalkane chemistry. Using T12 antibody coated paramagnetic beads, the N-terminus of titin can be picked up and stretched with magnetic tweezers. For the first time, this has enabled the study of the mechanical properties of the entire intact titin I-band. For different muscle groups, the results show unfolding and refolding of individual Ig domains at forces in the physiological range, below 10 pN. Moreover, accumulated step size histograms show two populations in the unfolding and refolding transitions, suggesting the presence of reduced and oxidized disulfide bonds in several Ig domains. Additionally, fluorescent labeling of the HaloTag with Alexa488 conjugated chloroalkane permits accurate sarcomere length measurements of intact myofibrils. We propose muscle mechanics experiments in which stretched myofibrils are treated with TEV protease to cleave titin at the I-A junction so that titin's contribution to passive elasticity, and perhaps active contraction, can be measured. This versatile mouse model allows for a diverse set of biophysical experiments to elucidate the role of the giant protein titin in muscle function.

Single molecule force spectroscopy techniques have become important tools to study properties of proteins that operate under force; a common occurrence in Biology. Lack of specific attachment of single molecules to the force probe limits the measuring time and often leads to tethering at random places along a protein substrate. Here we present a technique based on polyprotein engineering and HaloTag attachment that is capable of avoiding these limitations. This method shows full-length polyprotein unfolding, high pick-up yield and detachment forces of ∼2 nN. Compared to other covalent attachments, this method shows a specific signature, given by the partial unfolding of HaloTag. We find that placing the HaloTag at the N-end of the construct shows an unfolding contour length of 66 nm and a mechanical strength of ∼131 pN. Placing the HaloTag at the C-end of the construct exposes to force a more stable part of the protein, which shows an increased mechanical strength of ∼491 pN and a contour length increment of 27 nm. We use HaloTag covalent attachment to study the folding of I27, a model protein from human titin. We expose I27 polyprotein constructs to successive cycles of high and low force, which unfolds and refolds the component protein domains. Covalent attachment greatly expands the tethering time of a polyprotein construct and allows for the measuring of the unfolding and folding rates from a single trace. Furthermore, repeated unfolding and refolding of the same polyprotein reveals subtle effects such as folding intermediates and slow oxidation of cysteines, which affects the mechanical stability of titin. This method opens a new approach to study protein folding at the human timescale, where proteins such as titin are slowly turned over after several days and to determine their energy landscape.

The application of force to reagents that participate in a chemical reaction can probe the transition state of the reaction with sub-Angstrom resolution. Using single-molecule force-clamp spectroscopy, this approach has been extensively applied to the cleavage of disulfide bonds in proteins. However, to date there is no methodology that can expand this class of experiments to bonds not naturally present in proteins. Here, we introduce an experimental platform with the potential to fulfill the requirements to perform single-bond rupture determinations on any covalent bond. We engineered polyproteins based on the I27 domain of titin including two cysteine residues. Bifunctional crosslinking molecules specific for thiol groups were then used to generate intradomain covalent bridges between the engineered cysteines, much similar to the manner disulfides link polypeptide chains. Different bismaleimide reagents containing cleavable covalent bonds were tested for their ability to crosslink the I27 domain. We used single-molecule force- spectroscopy to pull from the modified polyproteins. Successfully crosslinked domains gave rise to lower increments in contour length after mechanical unfolding, consistent with the number of amino acids protected in the protein loop formed by the covalent bridge. Using our new strategy, virtually any covalent bond can be used to generate intradomain crosslinks in proteins. Our method can be adapted to produce hybrids between proteins and sugars, peptides or nucleic acids, which may be useful to study catalysis by enzymes such as amylases, cellulases, proteases or nucleases. This new generation of substrates holds the promise of becoming a key tool to study single-bond chemistry under force.