
Significance Mutations in titin are a major cause of heart failure, yet the functions of large parts of titin are not understood. Here we studied titin’s I-band/A-band junction that has been proposed to be crucial for thick filament length control. We made a mouse in which titin’s IA junction was deleted. Super-resolution microscopy (structured illumination microscopy) revealed that deleting the IA junction increases the strain on titin’s molecular spring elements without altering thick filament length. Single cell biomechanical measurements showed that this increases passive stiffness while functional studies at the whole animal level revealed diastolic dysfunction, exercise intolerance, and modest concentric cardiac hypertrophy—signature features of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Our studies support that titin is a promising therapeutic target for treating heart failure.
Mice, Knockout, Gene Expression Profiling, Myocardium, Blotting, Western, Molecular Sequence Data, Blood Pressure, Heart, Mechanotransduction, Cellular, Biomechanical Phenomena, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Microscopy, Electron, Transmission, Echocardiography, Linear Models, Animals, Connectin, Myocytes, Cardiac, Amino Acid Sequence, Microscopy, Immunoelectron, Muscle, Skeletal, Cells, Cultured
Mice, Knockout, Gene Expression Profiling, Myocardium, Blotting, Western, Molecular Sequence Data, Blood Pressure, Heart, Mechanotransduction, Cellular, Biomechanical Phenomena, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Microscopy, Electron, Transmission, Echocardiography, Linear Models, Animals, Connectin, Myocytes, Cardiac, Amino Acid Sequence, Microscopy, Immunoelectron, Muscle, Skeletal, Cells, Cultured
| citations This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 85 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Top 10% | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
