Deletion of Enigma Homologue from the Z-disc slows tension development kinetics in mouse myocardium

Enigma Homologue (ENH) is a component of the Z-disc, a structure that anchors actin filaments in the contractile unit of muscle, the sarcomere. Cardiac-specific ablation of ENH protein expression causes contractile dysfunction that ultimately culminates in dilated cardiomyopathy. However, whether ENH is involved in the regulation of myocardial contractility is unknown. To determine if ENH is required for the mechanical activity of cardiac muscle, we analyze muscle mechanics of isolated trabeculae from the hearts of ENH(+/+) and ENH(−/−) mice. We detected no differences in steady-state mechanical properties but show that when muscle fibers are allowed to relax and then are restretched, the rate at which tension redevelops is depressed in ENH(−/−) mouse myocardium relative to that in ENH(+/+) myocardium. SDS-PAGE analysis demonstrated that the expression of β-myosin heavy chain is increased in ENH(−/−) mouse myocardium, which could partially, but not completely, account for the depression in tension redevelopment kinetics. Using top-down proteomics analysis, we found that the expression of other thin/thick filament regulatory proteins is unaltered, although the phosphorylation of a cardiac troponin T isoform, cardiac troponin I, and myosin regulatory light chain is decreased in ENH(−/−) mouse myocardium. Nevertheless, these alterations are very small and thus insufficient to explain slowed tension redevelopment kinetics in ENH(−/−) mouse myocardium. These data suggest that the ENH protein influences tension redevelopment kinetics in mouse myocardium, possibly by affecting cross-bridge cycling kinetics. Previous studies also indicate that ablation of specific Z-disc proteins in myocardium slows contraction kinetics, which could also be a contributing factor in this study.