Insights into posttranslational regulation of skeletal muscle contractile function by the acetyltransferases, p300 and CBP

Mice with skeletal muscle-specific and inducible double knockout of the lysine acetyltransferases, p300 (E1A binding protein p300) and CBP (cAMP-response element-binding protein binding protein), referred to as i-mPCKO, demonstrate a dramatic loss of contractile function in skeletal muscle and ultimately die within 7 days. Given that many proteins involved in ATP generation and cross-bridge cycling are acetylated, we investigated whether these processes are dysregulated in skeletal muscle from i-mPCKO mice and, thus, whether they could underlie the rapid loss of muscle contractile function. Just 4–5 days after inducing knockout of p300 and CBP in skeletal muscle from adult i-mPCKO mice, there was ∼90% reduction in ex vivo contractile function in the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and a ∼65% reduction in in vivo ankle dorsiflexion torque, as compared with wild type (WT; i.e., Cre negative) littermates. Despite this profound loss of contractile force in i-mPCKO mice, there were no genotype-driven differences in fatigability during repeated contractions, nor were there genotype differences in mitochondrial-specific pathway enrichment of the proteome, intermyofibrillar mitochondrial volume, or mitochondrial respiratory function. As it relates to cross-bridge cycling, remarkably, the overt loss of contractile function in i-mPCKO muscle was reversed in permeabilized fibers supplied with exogenous Ca^{2 þ} and ATP, with active tension being similar between i-mPCKO and WT mice, regardless of Ca² þ concentration. Actin-myosin motility was also similar in skeletal muscle from i-mPCKO and WT mice. In conclusion, neither mitochondrial abundance/function, nor actomyosin cross-bridge cycling, are the underlying driver of contractile dysfunction in i-mPCKO mice. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The mechanism underlying dramatic loss of muscle contractile function with inducible deletion of both E1A binding protein p300 (p300) and cAMP-response element-binding protein binding protein (CBP) in skeletal muscle remains unknown. Here, we find that impairments in mitochondrial function or cross-bridge cycling are not the underlying mechanism of action. Future work will investigate other aspects of excitation-contraction coupling, such as Ca^{2 þ} handling and membrane excitability, as contractile function could be rescued by permeabilizing skeletal muscle, which provides exogenous Ca^{2 þ} and bypasses membrane depolarization.