Exhausting treadmill running causes dephosphorylation of sMLC2 and reduced level of myofilament MLCK2 in slow twitch rat soleus muscle

Abstract

Myosin light chain 2 (MLC2) is a small protein in the myosin complex, regulating muscle contractile function by modulating Ca2+ sensitivity of myofilaments. MLC2 can be modified by phosphorylation and O-GlcNAcylation, two reversible and dynamic posttranslational modifications. The slow isoform of MLC2 (sMLC2) is dephosphorylated in soleus muscle during in situ loaded shortening contractions, which correlates with reduction in shortening capacity. Here, we hypothesize that exhausting in vivo treadmill running induces dephosphorylation of MLC2 in slow twitch soleus, but not in fast twitch EDL muscle, and that there are reciprocal changes in MLC2 O-GlcNAcylation. At rest, both phosphorylation and O-GlcNAcylation of MLC2 were lower in slow than fast twitch muscles. One bout of exhausting treadmill running induced dephosphorylation of sMLC2 in soleus, paralleled by reduced levels of the kinase MLCK2 associated to myofilaments, suggesting that the acute reduction in phosphorylation is mediated by dissociation of MLCK2 from myofilaments. O-GlcNAcylation of MLC2 did not change significantly, and seems of limited importance in the regulation of MLC2 phosphorylation during in vivo running. After 6 weeks of treadmill running, the dephosphorylation of sMLC2 persisted in soleus along with reduction in MLCK2 both in myofilament- and total protein fraction. In EDL on the contrary, phosphorylation of MLC2 was not altered after one exercise bout or after 6 weeks of treadmill running. Thus, in contrast to fast twitch muscle, MLC2 dephosphorylation occurs in slow twitch muscle during in vivo exercise and may be linked to reduced myofilament-associated MLCK2 and reduced shortening capacity.