Genetic excision of the regulatory cardiac troponin I extension in high-heart rate mammal clades

Abstract

Mammalian cardiac troponin I (cTnI) contains a highly conserved amino-terminal extension harboring protein kinase A targets [serine-23 and -24 (Ser^23/24)] that are phosphorylated during β-adrenergic stimulation to defend diastolic filling by means of an increased cardiomyocyte relaxation rate. In this work, we show that the Ser^23/24-encoding exon 3 of TNNI3 was pseudoexonized multiple times in shrews and moles to mimic Ser^23/24 phosphorylation without adrenergic stimulation, facilitating the evolution of exceptionally high resting heart rates (~1000 beats per minute). We further reveal alternative exon 3 splicing in distantly related bat families and confirm that both cTnI splice variants are incorporated into cardiac myofibrils. Because exon 3 of human TNNI3 exhibits a relatively low splice strength score, our findings offer an evolutionarily informed strategy to excise this exon to improve diastolic function during heart failure.