Impact of DYRK1A Expression on TNNT2 Splicing and Daunorubicin Toxicity in Human iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes

Cardiac troponin T (encoded by TNNT2) is involved in the contraction of cardiomyocytes during beating. The alternative splicing of TNNT2 results in four transcript variants with differential Ca2+ sensitivity. The splicing of TNNT2 involves phosphorylation of the splicing factor SRSF6 by DYRK1A. Altered TNNT2 splicing patterns have been identified in failing human hearts. There is a paucity of studies describing DYRK1A-SRSF6-TNNT2 interplays in human cardiomyocytes. Also, it is not known whether the sensitivity of cardiomyocytes to cardiotoxic anthracyclines is modified in the context of variable DYRK1A-TNNT2 expression. In this study, we investigated the impact of DYRK1A on the endogenous expression of TNNT2 splicing variants in iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. We also examined whether DYRK1A expression modifies the sensitivity of cardiomyocytes to the cardiotoxic drug daunorubicin (DAU). DYRK1A over-expression increased the abundance of TNNT2 fetal variants by ~ 58% whereas the abundance of the adult cTnT3 variant decreased by ~ 27%. High DYRK1A expression increased the phosphorylation of SRSF6 by ~ 25–65%. DAU cytotoxicity was similar between cardiomyocytes with variable levels of DYRK1A expression. DYRK1A over-expression ameliorated the impact of DAU on beating frequency. This study lays the foundation to further investigate the contribution of variable DYRK1A-TNNT2 expression to Ca2+ handling and beating in human cardiomyocytes.