Smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase efficiently phosphorylates serine 15 of cardiac myosin regulatory light chain

Matthew P. Josephson, Laura A. Sikkink, Alan R. Penheiter, Thomas P. Burghardt, Katalin Ajtai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Specific phosphorylation of the human ventricular cardiac myosin regulatory light chain (MYL2) modifies the protein at S15. This modification affects MYL2 secondary structure and modulates the Ca 2+ sensitivity of contraction in cardiac tissue. Smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase (smMLCK) is a ubiquitous kinase prevalent in uterus and present in other contracting tissues including cardiac muscle. The recombinant 130kDa (short) smMLCK phosphorylated S15 in MYL2 in vitro. Specific modification of S15 was verified using the direct detection of the phospho group on S15 with mass spectrometry. SmMLCK also specifically phosphorylated myosin regulatory light chain S15 in porcine ventricular myosin and chicken gizzard smooth muscle myosin (S20 in smooth muscle) but failed to phosphorylate the myosin regulatory light chain in rabbit skeletal myosin. Phosphorylation kinetics, measured using a novel fluorescence method eliminating the use of radioactive isotopes, indicates similar Michaelis-Menten V max and K M for regulatory light chain S15 phosphorylation rates in MYL2, porcine ventricular myosin, and chicken gizzard myosin. These data demonstrate that smMLCK is a specific and efficient kinase for the in vitro phosphorylation of MYL2, cardiac, and smooth muscle myosin. Whether smMLCK plays a role in cardiac muscle regulation or response to a disease causing stimulus is unclear but it should be considered a potentially significant kinase in cardiac tissue on the basis of its specificity, kinetics, and tissue expression.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)367-371
Number of pages5
JournalBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
Volume416
Issue number3-4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 16 2011

Keywords

  • Cardiac myosin contractility regulation
  • Mass spectroscopy
  • Myosin regulatory light chain phosphorylation
  • Phosphorylation kinetics
  • Phosphorylation specificity
  • Smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biophysics
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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