Calcium (Ca2+) dysregulation is a hallmark of heart failure and is characterized by impaired Ca2+ sequestration into the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) by the SR-Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA). We recently discovered a micropeptide named DWORF (DWarf Open Reading Frame) that enhances SERCA activity by displacing phospholamban (PLN), a potent SERCA inhibitor. Here we show that DWORF has a higher apparent binding affinity for SERCA than PLN and that DWORF overexpression mitigates the contractile dysfunction associated with PLN overexpression, substantiating its role as a potent activator of SERCA. Additionally, using a well-characterized mouse model of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) due to genetic deletion of the muscle-specific LIM domain protein (MLP), we show that DWORF overexpression restores cardiac function and prevents the pathological remodeling and Ca2+ dysregulation classically exhibited by MLP knockout mice. Our results establish DWORF as a potent activator of SERCA within the heart and as an attractive candidate for a heart failure therapeutic.

Telomeres protect DNA ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes from degradation and fusion, and ensure complete replication of the terminal DNA through recruitment of telomerase. The regulation of telomerase is a critical area of telomere research and includes cis regulation by the shelterin complex in mammals and fission yeast. We have identified a key component of this regulatory pathway as the SUMOylation [the covalent attachment of a small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) to target proteins] of a shelterin subunit in fission yeast. SUMOylation is known to be involved in the negative regulation of telomere extension by telomerase; however, how SUMOylation limits the action of telomerase was unknown until now. We show that SUMOylation of the shelterin subunit TPP1 homolog in Schizosaccharomyces pombe (Tpz1) on lysine 242 is important for telomere length homeostasis. Furthermore, we establish that Tpz1 SUMOylation prevents telomerase accumulation at telomeres by promoting recruitment of Stn1-Ten1 to telomeres. Our findings provide major mechanistic insights into how the SUMOylation pathway collaborates with shelterin and Stn1-Ten1 complexes to regulate telomere length.CST complex | DNA replication | S-phase | cell cycle T elomeres protect DNA ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes from degradation and fusion, and ensure replication of the terminal DNA (1, 2). In most eukaryotes, telomere length is maintained predominantly by telomerase, a specialized reverse transcriptase that adds telomeric DNA to the 3′ ends of chromosomes. In addition, a DNA homologous recombination (HR)-dependent mechanism, known as the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway, may contribute to telomere maintenance (3). Given the significant contribution of dysfunctional telomeres to genome instability, cancer development, and aging (4), understanding how telomere maintenance and the cellular response to telomere dysfunction is important. Maintenance of stable telomere length requires a balance of positive and negative regulators of telomerase. The molecular details of such regulation are not completely understood, however, and further investigation of how telomeres ensure genomic integrity is needed.Telomere regulation is largely mediated by the shelterin complex specifically bound to telomeric repeats (2). In mammalian cells, the shelterin complex (composed of TRF1, TRF2, RAP1, TIN2, TPP1, and POT1) plays critical roles in (i) regulating telomerase recruitment, (ii) preventing full-scale activation of DNA damage checkpoint responses by checkpoint kinases ATM and ATR, (iii) preventing DNA resection, and (iv) preventing telomere rearrangement and fusion by HR, classical nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ), or alternative NHEJ (2, 5, 6).Fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe serves as an attractive model system for studying telomere regulation, because it uses a complex that closely resembles the mammalian shelterin (7). Fission yeast shelterin is composed of Taz1 (an ortholog of TRF1 and TRF2), Rap1, Poz1 (a possible analog of TIN2), TPP...

The conformational changes of a calcium transport ATPase were investigated with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations as well as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements to determine the significance of a discrete structural element for regulation of the conformational dynamics of the transport cycle. Previous MD simulations indicated that a loop in the cytosolic domain of the SERCA calcium transporter facilitates an open-to-closed structural transition. To investigate the significance of this structural element, we performed additional MD simulations and new biophysical measurements of SERCA structure and function. Rationally designed mutations of three acidic residues of the loop decreased SERCA domain-domain contacts and increased domain-domain separation distances. Principal component analysis of MD simulations suggested decreased sampling of compact conformations upon N-loop mutagenesis. Deficits in headpiece structural dynamics were also detected by measuring intramolecular FRET of a Cer-YFP-SERCA construct (2-color SERCA). Compared with WT, the mutated 2-color SERCA shows a partial FRET response to calcium, whereas retaining full responsiveness to the inhibitor thapsigargin. Functional measurements showed that the mutated transporter still hydrolyzes ATP and transports calcium, but that maximal enzyme activity is reduced while maintaining similar calcium affinity. In live cells, calcium elevations resulted in concomitant FRET changes as the population of WT 2-color SERCA molecules redistributed among intermediates of the transport cycle. Our results provide novel insights on how the population of SERCA pumps responds to dynamic changes in intracellular calcium.

Through characterization of ccq1 mutants that disrupt Ccq1-Tpz1TPP1 interaction, the authors establish that Ccq1-Tpz1TPP1 interaction contributes to optimal binding of the Ccq1-SHREC complex and is required for Ccq1 Thr93 phosphorylation and telomerase recruitment.

Multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) actively transports a wide variety of drugs out of cells. To quantify MRP1 structural dynamics, we engineered a "two-color MRP1" construct by fusing green fluorescent protein (GFP) and TagRFP to MRP1 nucleotide-binding domains NBD1 and NBD2, respectively. The recombinant MRP1 protein expressed and trafficked normally to the plasma membrane. Two-color MRP1 transport activity was normal, as shown by vesicular transport of induces a large-amplitude conformational change that brings the NBDs into closer proximity. FRET was further increased by substrate in the presence of ATP but not by substrate alone. The data suggest that substrate binding is required to achieve a fully closed and compact structure. ATP analogs bind MRP1 with reduced apparent affinity, inducing a partially closed conformation. The results demonstrate the utility of the two-color MRP1 construct for investigating ATP-binding cassette transporter structural dynamics, and it holds great promise for high-throughput screening of chemical libraries for unknown activators, inhibitors, or transportable substrates of MRP1.