Myosin Binding Protein C, a Phosphorylation-Dependent Force Regulator in Muscle That Controls the Attachment of Myosin Heads by Its Interaction With Myosin S2

Abstract—Myosin binding protein C (MyBP-C) is one of the major sarcomeric proteins involved in the pathophysiology of familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (FHC). The cardiac isoform is tris-phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAPK) on β-adrenergic stimulation at a conserved N-terminal domain (MyBP-C motif), suggesting a role in regulating positive inotropy mediated by cAPK. Recent data show that the MyBP-C motif binds to a conserved segment of sarcomeric myosin S2 in a phosphorylation-regulated way. Given that most MyBP-C mutations that cause FHC are predicted to result in N-terminal fragments of the protein, we investigated the specific effects of the MyBP-C motif on contractility and its modulation by cAPK phosphorylation. The diffusion of proteins into skinned fibers allows the investigation of effects of defined molecular regions of MyBP-C, because the endogenous MyBP-C is associated with few myosin heads. Furthermore, the effect of phosphorylation of cardiac MyBP-C can be studied in a de...