Molecular mechanisms of altered contraction with the β-myosin R403Q mutation in porcine ventricular muscle and a human stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte model

The R403Q mutation in the sarcomere protein beta-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC) is a known genetic cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), associated with ventricular hypercontractility, impaired relaxation, and cardiac arrhythmias. Despite extensive research, the mutations impact on myosin contractile properties remains unclear, likely due, at least in part, to discrepancies cross different model systems. In this study, we used a multidisciplinary approach to explore mutational effects using two distinct heterozygous R403Q systems: a Yucatan minipig model and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). X-ray diffraction of R403Q minipig ventricular muscle demonstrated reduced order of the thick filament, suggesting destabilization of the inhibited OFF (vs. ON) state of myosin in relaxed muscle, which correlated with elevated force at submaximal calcium. Super-resolution, single-molecule fluorescence microscopy indicated elevated ATPase activity in thick filament zones lacking cMyBP-C. Furthermore, R403Q myofibrils exhibited slower activation and relaxation kinetics, with reduced sensitivity to ADP. Molecular dynamics simulations suggested that altered interactions at the actomyosin interface contribute to these effects, rather than changes at the nucleotide binding pocket, typically associated with ADP release. Human engineered heterozygous R403Q hiPSC-CMs exhibited reduced maximal myofibril force, slowed contractile kinetics, and hypercontraction in engineered heart tissue constructs−consistent with HCM phenotypes observed in the heterozygous porcine model. Our results demonstrate that the R403Q mutation induces early and persistent contractile dysfunction, and that hypercontractility and slower contractile kinetics may result from a combination of an increased population of activated (ON) myosin heads and delayed detachment during cross-bridge cycling, respectively.