Regulation of human heart contractility by essential myosin light chain isoforms

Most of the patients with congenital heart diseases express the atrial myosin light chain 1 (ALC-1) in the right ventricle. We investigated the functional consequences of ALC-1 expression on the myosin cycling kinetics in the intact sarcomeric structure using multicellular demembranated fibers (''skinned fibers'') from the right ventricular infundibulum of patients with Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), double outlet right ventricle (DORV), and infundibular pulmonary stenosis (IPS). Force-velocity relation was analyzed by the constant-load technique at maximal Ca2+ activation (pCa 4.5). Half-time of tension develoment (t(1/2)) was investigated by monitoring contraction initiation upon photolytic release of ATP from caged-ATP in rigor. The patients investigated here expressed between 0 and 27% ALC-1. There was a statistically significant correlation between ALC-1 and maximal shortening velocity (V-max) which rose 1.87-fold from 1.2 muscle length per second (ML/s) to 2.25 ML/s in a normal (0% ALC-1) and diseased (19.9% ALC-1) ventricle. Halftime of tension development decreased 1.85-fold with increasing ALC-1 expression (t(1/2) was 0.252 s and 0.136 s at 2 and 18.4% ALC-1, respectively). We conclude that the expression of ALC-1 in the human heart modulates crossbridge cycling kinetics accelerating shortening velocity and isometric tension production.