Cell Reports (Aug 2021)

The non-muscle ADF/cofilin-1 controls sarcomeric actin filament integrity and force production in striated muscle laminopathies

  • Nicolas Vignier,
  • Maria Chatzifrangkeskou,
  • Luca Pinton,
  • Hugo Wioland,
  • Thibaut Marais,
  • Mégane Lemaitre,
  • Caroline Le Dour,
  • Cécile Peccate,
  • Déborah Cardoso,
  • Alain Schmitt,
  • Wei Wu,
  • Maria-Grazia Biferi,
  • Naïra Naouar,
  • Coline Macquart,
  • Maud Beuvin,
  • Valérie Decostre,
  • Gisèle Bonne,
  • Guillaume Romet-Lemonne,
  • Howard J. Worman,
  • Francesco Saverio Tedesco,
  • Antoine Jégou,
  • Antoine Muchir

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 36, no. 8
p. 109601

Abstract

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Summary: Cofilins are important for the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, sarcomere organization, and force production. The role of cofilin-1, the non-muscle-specific isoform, in muscle function remains unclear. Mutations in LMNA encoding A-type lamins, intermediate filament proteins of the nuclear envelope, cause autosomal Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD). Here, we report increased cofilin-1 expression in LMNA mutant muscle cells caused by the inability of proteasome degradation, suggesting a protective role by ERK1/2. It is known that phosphorylated ERK1/2 directly binds to and catalyzes phosphorylation of the actin-depolymerizing factor cofilin-1 on Thr25. In vivo ectopic expression of cofilin-1, as well as its phosphorylated form on Thr25, impairs sarcomere structure and force generation. These findings present a mechanism that provides insight into the molecular pathogenesis of muscular dystrophies caused by LMNA mutations.

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