Abstract
The nuclei of multinucleated skeletal muscles experience substantial external force during development and muscle contraction. Protection from such forces is partly provided by lamins, intermediate filaments that form a scaffold lining the inner nuclear membrane. Lamins play a myriad of roles, including maintenance of nuclear shape and stability, mediation of nuclear mechanoresponses, and nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling. Herein, we investigate how disease-causing mutant lamins alter myonuclear properties in response to mechanical force. This was accomplished via a novel application of a micropipette harpooning assay applied to larval body wall muscles of Drosophila models of lamin-associated muscular dystrophy. The assay enables the measurement of both nuclear deformability and intracellular force transmission between the cytoskeleton and nuclear interior in intact muscle fibers. Our studies revealed that specific mutant lamins increase nuclear deformability while other mutant lamins cause nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling defects, which were associated with loss of microtubular nuclear caging. We found that microtubule caging of the nucleus depended on Msp300, a KASH domain protein that is a component of the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex. Taken together, these findings identified residues in lamins required for connecting the nucleus to the cytoskeleton and suggest that not all muscle disease-causing mutant lamins produce similar defects in subcellular mechanics.
Introduction
The nuclei of skeletal muscles experience high levels of mechanical force during muscle development and contraction of muscle fibers during work (Rosen & Baylies, 2017; Sweeney & Hammers, 2018). Muscle cells possess structural components to withstand such force, including high expression levels of A-type lamins, lamins A and C (Swift et al., 2013; ). Lamins, intermediate filaments that line the inner nuclear membrane, provide structural support for the nucleus, determine the nuclear shape, and organize genomic DNA for proper gene expression (; ; Swift et al., 2013; Zwerger et al., 2013; ; ; ; Wong et al., 2022). Dominant mutations in the LMNA gene encoding the A-type lamins, A and C, cause Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 1B, and congenital muscular dystrophy (; Rankin & Ellard, 2006; ; Worman & Bonne, 2007; Lu et al., 2011; Maggi et al., 2016). Lamins have a conserved domain structure consisting of a head domain, a central coiled-coil rod domain, and a tail domain possessing an Ig-like fold (; ; Mounkes et al., 2003; ). Lamins dimerize through their rod domain, form filaments through head-to-tail interactions and antiparallel lateral assembly, through lateral contacts that are not well understood to form a meshwork underlying the inner nuclear membrane (; ; Turgay & Medalia, 2017; ).
The mechanisms by which mutations in the LMNA gene cause muscular dystrophy remain incompletely understood and are a topic of intense investigation. Studies in cultured cells and model organisms of muscular dystrophy-associated LMNA mutations have revealed insights into potential pathomechanisms (Stewart et al., 2007; Zwerger et al., 2013; Rzepecki & Gruenbaum, 2018; ; ). These studies have shown that mutant lamins cause nuclear chromatin protrusions, transient nuclear envelope rupture, increased DNA damage, and abnormal intracellular signaling (; ; ; ; ). A potential mechanism to explain these defects is that LMNA mutations impair nuclear stability and disrupt nucleo-cytoskeletal connections, which may be particularly devastating in mechanically active tissues such as skeletal and cardiac muscles (; Zwerger et al., 2013; Shin & Worman, 2022).
Cytoskeletal forces are transmitted to the nucleus through the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex (; Wang et al., 2009; ; ). The LINC complex is comprised of nesprins, proteins that span the outer nuclear membrane and possess a Klarsicht-ANC1-Syne-homology (KASH) domain (Sosa et al., 2012; Wang et al., 2012; ; ), and Sad1 and UNC-84 (SUN) domain proteins that span the inner nuclear membrane (; Wang et al., 2009; ; ). Mammals have six genes encoding a variety of KASH domain proteins, with further complexity generated by alternative splicing (Zhang et al., 2001; Potter & Hodzic, 2018). Mutations in SYNE1 and SYNE2, encoding nesprin 1 and 2, respectively, cause Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (Zhang et al., 2007; ). The nesprin KASH domain connects to the SUN domain proteins across the nuclear lumen. Mammals have two genes encoding SUN proteins, SUN1 and SUN2 (; ). SUN domain proteins interact with lamins, thereby linking the nucleoskeleton to the cytoskeleton. DNA sequence variation in SUN1 and SUN2 might modify muscular dystrophy severity (Meinke et al., 2014).
The goal of this study was to determine the effects of specific mutant lamins on the nuclear shape and nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling in muscle. To achieve this goal, we generated Drosophila models of LMNA muscular dystrophy possessing either wild-type or mutant Lamin C (LamC) transgenes. The LamC transgenic lines have similar genetic backgrounds, with the exception of the site of insertion of the P-element. LamC is an orthologue of human LMNA and the only A-type lamin encoded by the Drosophila genome. The Drosophila LamC protein shares a domain structure that includes 35% amino acid identity and 54% similarity with human lamin A/C. Like human LMNA, the expression of endogenous LamC is initiated upon cellular differentiation (Riemer et al., 1995). The transcriptional regulators that drive muscle cell differentiation are similar between Drosophila and humans (Tapscott et al., 1988; Maire et al., 2020). In both species, differentiated myoblasts fuse to form multinucleated muscle fibers that attach to tendon cells (Ovalle, 1987; ; Schulman et al., 2015; ; Richier et al., 2018; ). Thus, much of muscle development and physiology is shared between the two species. Herein, we use the Drosophila larval body wall muscles as a proxy for human skeletal muscles. Larval body wall muscles are represented by over 300 individual muscle fibers that can easily be prepared as a muscle fillet (Ramachandran & Budnik, 2010). The use of larval body wall muscles allows for whole organism muscle function assays, cytological analyses, and fillets for in situ microharpooning assays to measure nuclear-cytoskeletal coupling and nuclear deformability.
Muscle-specific expression of mutant lamins in an otherwise wild-type Drosophila background caused dominant effects on muscle physiology and/or function. These Drosophila models of lamin-associated muscle disease revealed vast differences among the mutant lamins tested. Specific mutant lamins altered nuclear shape and succumbed to nuclear envelope deformation under force application. By contrast, other mutant lamins partially uncoupled the nucleus from the cytoskeleton. Interestingly, the domain of lamin affected did not correlate with the loss of a particular nuclear defect, suggesting a complex structure/function relationship, potentially involving additional binding partners. Muscles expressing mutant lamins that caused uncoupling of the nucleus from the cytoskeleton showed a lack of microtubule nuclear caging. A lack of microtubule caging was also observed upon RNAi knockdown of Msp300, a Drosophila KASH domain protein. Taken together, these data suggest that specific residues within lamin alter nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling that is supported by Msp300. Furthermore, mutation-specific cellular defects suggest that different pathological mechanisms might lead to the common muscle atrophy associated with LMNA skeletal muscle disease.
Materials and methods
Drosophila stocks
Drosophila stocks were cultured in cornmeal/sucrose media at 25°C (Shaffer et al., 1994). To generate the Lamin C (LamC) transgenic lines, full length LamC (Gold Clone, accession number AY095046, Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project, available from the Drosophila Genomics Resource Center, Bloomington, IN) was cloned into the pUAST P-element transformation vector (). This vector contains a minimal promoter downstream of five upstream activating sequences (UAS) that bind the yeast Gal4 transcriptional activator. Standard embryo injection procedures were used to generate the transgenic stocks in which the P-element was relatively randomly inserted within the genome (BestGene, Chino Hills). Eight to ten independent transgenic lines were established for each LamC construct. The site of insertion was mapped to a specific chromosome, and the transgenes were made homozygous. Insertions that were not homozygous viable were discarded. Western analysis was performed, and transgenes that expressed levels of LamC relative to that of the endogenous LamC gene were used for analysis. Muscle-specific expression was achieved by crossing the transgenic lines to the C57 Gal4 driver stock that expresses the yeast Gal4 specifically in larval body wall muscles (; ). The resulting progeny express either wild-type or mutant LamC in their larval body wall muscles.
Viability assays
Genetic crosses were performed in plastic vials with standard medium, cultured at 25°C. Parental flies were removed after larvae were observed in the vials. Dead pupae and live flies were counted for approximately one and a half weeks after the parental adults were removed. Percent viability was calculated by dividing the number of live flies by the total number of live flies plus dead pupae. The total number of living adults plus dead pupae counted for each genotype ranged from 43 to 555. An ANOVA analysis was performed to determine statistical significance. Error bars shown represent 95% confidence interval analyses in GraphPad Prism using the Wilson/Brown method.
Microharpoon assay and analysis
Microharpoons were generated from borosilicate glass rods (Sutter; OD: 1.0 mm, ID: 0.78, 10 cm length) using a Sutter P-97 micropipette puller. The following parameters were used to achieve tip diameters of ≈1 μm and a suitable taper length: HEAT = 500; PULL = 250; VEL = 220; TIME = 200. Drosophila third instar larvae were dissected to expose their body wall muscles. Muscle fillets were secured with magnets on a custom-built, microscope-compatible dissection apparatus and submerged in muscle dissection buffer (128 mM NaCl; 5 mM Hepes, pH 7.4; 2 mM KCl; 35 mM sucrose) supplemented with the fluorescent DNA-binding dye Hoechst 33342 (2 μg/ml) to allow visualization of myonuclei.
The microharpoon assay was performed as previously described (; Lombardi et al., 2011b), with slight modifications to the pull parameters to accommodate the technique’s use on semi-intact muscle preparations. The microharpoon was inserted into the cytoskeleton ∼10–15 μm from the edge of the nucleus (based on crosshairs in the objective) and pulled 30 μm in the direction away from the nucleus at a rate of 2 μm/s using custom MATLAB software to control the motorized micromanipulator (Eppendorf InjectMan NI2). The pull direction was along the long axis of the myofiber and away from the nucleus. Images were acquired at ×32 magnification (×20 objective with ×1.6 Optivar) every five seconds.
Nucleo-cytoskeletal connectivity was assessed using a custom MATLAB program (MATLAB 2010, Natick, MA) available upon request. For each nucleus, the user first selected a binary threshold value from a histogram of “pixel count versus intensity” to account for heterogeneity in the Hoechst 33342 signal, which the program thresholds to provide an accurate trace of the nucleus during deformation. After applying erosion and dilation processing steps to smooth the thresholded nucleus, the program uses the MATLAB “regionprops” function to track the centroid of the nucleus, generate a nuclear bounding box, and extract the necessary parameters to fit an ellipse to the nucleus. Changes in nuclear strain, centroid displacement, and additional parameters were computed. For most calculations, the frame prior to micropipette harpoon removal (frame of maximum pull) was compared with the first frame before the initiation of the pull. Myonuclei were excluded from analysis if 1) the myofiber was at an angle > ±30° from the vertical axis, 2) the micropipette harpoon was not inserted at the proper distance (≈10–15 µm) from the nuclear envelope, 3) the microharpoon failed to enter the cytoplasm and instead brushed over the top of the fiber, and 4) the myofiber retracted during or after the micropipette harpoon pull.
Immunohistochemistry
Third instar larval body wall muscle dissections were performed according to published procedures (Budnik et al., 1990). After fixation in 4% paraformaldehyde, preparations were stored in 1X PBS. Muscle fillets were washed three times in 1X PBS for five minutes each wash. Muscle fillets were then washed three times in permeabilization buffer (1X PBS, 0.5% Triton-X-100, and 5 mM MgCl2) for five minutes each wash. Preparations were stained with Texas Red®-X Phalloidin (1:400 dilution) in permeabilization buffer containing 0.5% boiled/filtered fish skin gelatin (G-7765, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis) and stained with either guinea pig anti-Msp300 antibodies (kind gift from T. Volk; 1:100 dilution), mouse anti-Klar-C (#9C10, Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank University of Iowa, Iowa City 1:25 dilution), rat anti-Koi (kind gift from J.A. Fischer; either 1:20 or 1:50 dilution), mouse anti-α-tubulin (#12G10, Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank University of Iowa, Iowa City; 1:200 dilution), and mouse anti-lamin C (1:200 dilution) or mouse anti-lamin Dm0 (#ADL84.12; Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank University of Iowa, Iowa City; 1:400 dilution). Nuclear pores were stained with MAb414 (ab24609, Abcam, Cambridge, United Kingdom; mouse monoclonal antibody, 1:2,000 dilution). Microscopy was performed using either a Leica DMLB phase contrast fluorescence microscope and a Zeiss 710 confocal microscope or a Leica Thunder fluorescence microscope. Three channel images were merged to produce composite images using ImageJ.
Quantification of the cytoplasmic and nuclear immunofluorescent signal was performed using the integration intensity feature of Fiji (Schindelin et al., 2012). Briefly, nuclei were selected as regions of interest (ROI) using the cell counting function. Muscle fibers were visualized by phalloidin staining and outlined using the trace tool. Nuclear staining was quantified using the integrative intensity feature. A cytoplasmic signal was quantified by subtracting the integrative intensity of the nuclei from the total signal intensity. The correction factor was calculated by drawing a circle in an area lacking muscle and measuring the integrated intensity. This measurement was divided by the area of the circle to yield the correction factor. The background signal was determined by multiplying the area of the ROI by the correction factor, then subtracting this value from the raw integrated intensity values.
Quantification of perinuclear microtubular staining was performed visually by three individuals blinded to the genotype of the larvae. The final number of nuclei assigned to each phenotype represents the average of the three measurements. Each phenotype is represented as a percent of the total nucleus score.
Larval motility assays
Quantitative measurements of larval velocity (mm/min) were made for the host stock (w1118) and larvae expressing either wild-type or mutant LamC in larval body wall muscles via the C57 Gal4 driver (Gorczyca, 2007; Brand, 1993). Motility was also quantified for larvae with body wall muscle-specific expression of either luciferase RNAi or an RNAi transgene against a LINC complex component. For motility assays, third instar larvae were placed on a room temperature 1.8% agarose-filled 15-cm Petri dish for ten minutes to allow adjustment to a new substrate. Following, five larvae were placed in the center of a second 1.8% agarose-filled Petri dish marked with concentric circles. Their crawling was videotaped for 2 minutes using a cell phone. Also, the videos were analyzed using wrMTack, a plug-in for ImageJ (). A calibration line was drawn from the first concentric circle to the second using the “line tool” to produce the calibration length value. The path crawled by each larva was traced by generating a Z-project using the max intensity function in ImageJ. Distances traveled were measured by tracing larval paths with the segmented line drawing tool. Distances were divided by the calibration length value, resulting in the distance in millimeters. Velocities were calculated by dividing the distance traveled by the recording time (120 s). Two groups of five larvae were measured per genotype. The resulting values were plotted using GraphPad Prism (GraphPad Prism version 8.0.0 for Mac, GraphPad Software, San Diego, California, United States), and velocities were compared to those of the wild type using a one-way ANOVA with Holm-Sidak’s correction.
Statistics
Groups of datasets were analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Comparisons between two datasets that showed a normal distribution were analyzed using the Student’s t-test. Excel (16051.14931.20132.0, Microsoft, Seattle) and GraphPad Prism (v.8.0.0 for Mac, GraphPad Software, San Diego) were used to generate graphs and perform statistical analyses. Error bars in graphs represent means ± standard deviation (SD) unless otherwise noted. All results reported were derived from a minimum of three independent biological samples.
Results
Drosophila larval body wall muscle-specific expression of mutant lamins caused premature death
We modeled eight LMNA mutations in Drosophila LamC that were selected based on their causality in human disease (Figure 1A; Table 1). These mutations altered amino acids in all three lamin protein domains. Some of the amino acid changes affected amino acids that are identical between human lamin A/C and Drosophila LamC (S37L, K47, L74, R205, and R237), while others are represented by conservative substitutions (R237 and K521).
FIGURE 1
TABLE 1
| Human a.a. change | Drosophila a.a. change | Domain | Muscular phenotype | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ΔN | ΔN | Head | AD-EDMD | Walter et al. (2005) |
| S22L | S37L | Head | DCM | Pethig et al. (2005) |
| ΔK32 | ΔK47 | Head | AD-EDMD and dropped head syndrome | Muchir et al. (2004) and D'Amico et al. (2005) |
| L59R | K74R | Rod | DCM | McPherson (2009) |
| R190W | R205W | Rod | DCM | Pethig et al. (2005), Arbustini et al. (2002), |
| H222P | R237P | Rod | EDMD | |
| G449V | G489V | Tail | Striated muscle laminopathy | |
| R482Q | K521Q | Tail | AR-EDMD | Wiltshire et al. (2013) |
| R527P | R564P | Tail | AD-EDMD |
Lamin A/C amino acid changes examined in this study.
The amino acid changes under investigation were mapped onto the three-dimensional structure of lamin A/C that is based on a combination of experimental data and in silico predictions (Figure 1B) (
To determine the effects of these mutant lamins on the physical properties of myonuclei, we expressed the mutant lamins in Drosophila larval body wall muscles using the tissue-specific Gal4/UAS system (
Specific mutant lamins cause nuclear envelope protein mislocalization
To investigate the cause of lethality due to mutant versions of LamC at the cellular level, immunohistochemistry was performed on larval body wall muscles. Muscles expressing either wild-type or mutant LamC transgenes were stained with antibodies against LamC, lamin Dm0 (the only B-type lamin in Drosophila), and FG-repeat containing nuclear pore proteins. Antibody staining showed that wild-type LamC localization was confined to the nucleus, particularly the nuclear envelope, as observed for the host stock w1118 (Figure 2; Supplementary Figure S2). Myonuclei expressing LamC R205W were abnormally shaped, with LamC confined to the nucleus; however, nuclear aggregates were also apparent (Figure 2; Supplementary Figure S2). By contrast, myonuclei expressing LamC S37L, L74R, G489V, K521Q, and R564P had a spherical nuclear shape and showed cytoplasmic aggregation of LamC. Thus, the mutant lamins exhibited a range of abnormal cellular localization patterns that did not correlate with the domain of lamin affected.
FIGURE 2

Muscle-specific expression of mutant LamC causes cytoplasmic lamin aggregation. (A) Third instar larval body wall muscles expressing either wild-type or mutant LamC were dissected and stained with antibodies to LamC (green), phalloidin (magenta), and DAPI (blue). Representative images for an amino acid substitution in each of the three LamC domains are shown. Images of muscle expressing all of the amino acid changes examined here are shown in Supplementary Figure S2. Scale bar: 30 μm. (B) Percentage of nuclear LamC was quantified by measuring the intensity of nuclear LamC antibody staining divided by the total amount of staining in the muscle cell (i.e., nuclear plus cytoplasmic LamC) and multiplying by 100. Three to six muscle fibers containing five to 29 nuclei from two to three larvae were analyzed. Each data point represents the average percent nuclear signal in a muscle fiber. The mean and standard deviation of the values obtained for muscle fibers of each genotype are shown. A one-way ANOVA analysis was used to determine statistical significance. *, p ≤ 0.05; **, p ≤ 0.01; ***, ≤0.001; ****, p ≤ 0.0001.
In humans, A- and B-type lamins form independent networks underlying the inner nuclear envelope (Shimi et al., 2015). To determine if the mutant LamC proteins perturbed the distribution of the Drosophila B-type lamin, lamin Dm0, larval body wall muscles expressing either wild-type or mutant LamC transgenes were stained with antibodies specific to lamin Dm0. Neither expression of wild-type LamC nor mutant LamC perturbed the localization of lamin Dm0 at the nuclear envelope (Supplementary Figure S3). These data strongly suggest that the two lamin types form independent networks in Drosophila, like in humans, and that mutant LamC does not overtly interfere with lamin Dm0 organization.
Lamins interact with many different proteins in the nucleus, including those that make up nuclear pores (NUPs) (Wilson & Foisner, 2010;
FIGURE 3

Mutant LamC alters the localization of FG-containing nuclear pore proteins. (A) Third instar larval body wall muscles expressing wild-type or mutant LamC were dissected and stained with antibodies to FG-repeat-containing nuclear pore proteins (NUPs) (green), phalloidin (magenta), and DAPI (blue). Representative images for an amino acid substitution in each of the three LamC domains are shown. Results from all amino acid changes studied in this manuscript are shown in Supplementary Figure S4. Scale bar: 30 μm. (B) Percent of nuclear NUP staining was quantified by measuring the intensity of the nuclear FG-repeat antibody staining divided by the total amount of staining (nuclear plus cytoplasmic), then multiplying by 100. Three to six muscle fibers containing three to 28 nuclei from two to three larvae were analyzed. Each data point represents the average percent nuclear signal in a muscle fiber. The mean and standard deviation of the values obtained for muscle fibers of each genotype are shown. A one-way ANOVA analysis was used to determine statistical significance. *, p ≤ 0.05; **, p ≤ 0.01; ***, ≤0.001; ****, p ≤ 0.0001.
Specific mutant lamins cause nucleo-cytoskeletal uncoupling and nuclear deformation
To understand the functional consequences of the mutant lamins on the mechanical properties of myonuclei, we employed a novel application of a microharpooning assay. This assay allows for quantitative assessment of nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling and nuclear deformation under local force application to the perinuclear cytoskeleton (Maniotis et al., 1997; Lombardi et al., 2011a;
For our studies, larval body wall muscles were dissected, immobilized on a glass slide (Figure 4A), and harpooned in a physiological buffer while mounted on a microscope. A fine-tipped glass needle attached to a computer-controlled micromanipulator was inserted 10–15 μm from the edge of a nucleus and pulled 30 μm at a rate of 2 μm/s. The direction of pull was along the long axis of the muscle fiber and away from the nucleus. Images were captured by time-lapse microscopy for five seconds (Figure 4B; Supplementary Videos S1–S4). From the recorded videos, two types of subcellular mechanical measurements were taken. First, the distance the center of the nucleus was displaced from its original position upon force application by the microharpoon (“nuclear centroid displacement”) served as a quantitative measurement of nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling (Figure 4C). Defects in nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling are expected to result in reduced nuclear centroid displacement (Lombardi et al., 2011b). Second, the extent of nuclear elongation upon force application, normalized to the initial length of the nucleus (“nuclear strain”), served as a quantitative measurement of nuclear deformability (Figure 4D). Relative to the controls, only muscles expressing LamC ΔK47 and K521Q showed a significant decrease in nuclear centroid displacement (Figure 4C), suggesting that these mutant lamins partially uncoupled the nucleus from the cytoskeleton. Compared to controls, only LamC ΔN, L74R, and R205W showed significantly increased nuclear deformation (Figure 4D), suggesting reduced nuclear mechanical stability. We recognize that nuclear deformation in the microharpoon assay can also be influenced by the transmitted force, so an increase in nuclear deformation could also result from increased force transmission to the nucleus, but the more likely explanation appears to be an increase in nuclear deformability. Surprisingly, some mutant lamins (S37L, R237P, G489V, and R564P) had no apparent effect on either nuclear-cytoskeletal coupling or nuclear deformability (Figure 4D). Such findings suggest that these mutants might cause defects unrelated to the mechanical properties of the nucleus such as genome organization. Collectively, these data show that mutant lamins have distinct effects on the physical properties of the nucleus regardless of the lamin domain affected.
FIGURE 4

Specific mutant lamins reduce nucleoskeletal-cytoskeletal coupling and increase nuclear deformation. Body wall muscles from larvae expressing either wild-type or mutant LamC were dissected and maintained in a physiological buffer. (A) Representative semi-intact larval body wall muscle fillet is shown. Such muscle fillets were used for micropipette harpooning assays to measure physical coupling between the nucleus and cytoplasm and nuclear strain. (B) Representative time-lapse images from a video of microharpooning wild-type muscles. Images shown were taken at 0.4, 1.4, and 2.4 s from the video recording. (C) Inset diagram shows the experimental approach with the black arrowhead representing a micropipette, the black arrow indicating the direction of force application, and the yellow arrow representing the movement of the center point of the nucleus, centroid displacement, which is a change in position in the y-direction. Expression of wild-type LamC did not alter centroid displacement compared to that of the Gal4 driver control. In contrast, centroid displacement was reduced for larvae expressing LamC ΔK47 and K521Q, indicating a loss of nucleoskeleton-cytoskeleton coupling. Colors correspond to the domains in which each amino acid change is located: head (red), rod (blue), and tail (green). An ANOVA analysis was used to determine statistical significance among the genotypes. Boxed amino acids are those with statistical differences; 15–48 nuclei were analyzed per genotype. *, p ≤ 0.05; **; p ≤ 0.01. (D) Inset diagram shows the experimental approach with the black arrowhead representing a micropipette needle, the black arrow indicating the direction of force application, and the yellow double-headed arrow representing the measured change in nuclear deformation. Nuclear strain is measured as the length of the nucleus at the end of the force application minus the length of the nucleus upon initial force application divided by the initial length of the nucleus. Expression of wild-type LamC did not alter nuclear strain compared to that of the Gal4 driver-only control. In contrast, muscles expressing LamC ΔN, L74R, and R205W showed increased nuclear strain compared to the controls. An ANOVA analysis was used to determine statistical significance. Boxed amino acids are those with statistical differences; 15–48 nuclei were analyzed per genotype. *, p ≤ 0.05; **, p ≤ 0.01.
Mutant lamins that reduce nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling exhibit loss of myonuclear microtubule caging
Given the lack of an apparent correlation between nuclear mechanical defects and nuclear envelope protein localization, we examined perinuclear cytoskeletal organization as a potential factor. Based on the muscle staining of phalloidin, which binds actin (Supplementary Figures S2–S4), and anti-alpha-actinin, which crosslinks actin (Supplementary Figure S5), no overt muscle-wide defects in actin organization were apparent in the muscles expressing mutant LamC at the light microscope level; however, they could be present. Other typical components of the cytoskeleton include cytoplasmic intermediate filaments and microtubules. However, the Drosophila genome does not contain genes encoding the standard cytoplasmic intermediate filaments such as desmin and vimentin (
FIGURE 5

Specific mutant lamins cause loss of microtubular caging around the nucleus. Third instar larval body wall muscles expressing either wild-type or mutant LamC were stained with antibodies to α-tubulin (green and white in magnified images), phalloidin (magenta), and DAPI (blue). In wild-type muscle, α-tubulin forms a cage around the nucleus as observed for the host stock w1118 and muscles expressing wild-type LamC. Expression of the majority of mutant lamins did not alter the α-tubulin nuclear cage. However, the cage was not apparent in muscles expressing mutant LamC ΔK47 and K521Q. In these cases, the microtubules were arrayed parallel to the length of the muscle fiber (open yellow arrows). Yellow boxes indicate the area magnified in the right panels. Scale Bar: 30 μm.
RNAi knockdown of the LINC complex component Msp300 recapitulates the loss of nuclear microtubule caging
Nesprins are components of the LINC complex and have been shown in some cases to interact with microtubules (
FIGURE 6

RNAi against LINC complex components disrupts perinuclear microtubule organization. (A) Immunohistochemistry was performed on third instar larval body wall muscles expressing either RNAi against Luciferase (control) or LINC complex components using antibodies to α-tubulin (green), phalloidin (magenta), and DAPI (blue). Open yellow arrows indicate microtubules that run parallel with the long axis of the muscle fiber, giving rise to uncaged nuclei. (B) Representative patterns of microtubule organization around the nucleus are shown at the top. Scale Bar: 10 mm. The graph represents the percentage of nuclei showing each pattern of localization per genotype. Muscles expressing an RNAi against Luciferase (luc) show nearly 100% caged nuclei. In contrast, RNAi knockdown of each of the LINC complex members shows increased numbers of asymmetric and uncaged nuclei. A range of 32–79 nuclei were scored per genotype. Scale Bar: 30 μm.
Given that depletion of Msp300 caused loss of microtubule caging, we hypothesized that this would lead to an uncoupling of the nucleus from the cytoskeleton like that observed in the LamC ΔK47 and K521Q. To test this hypothesis, we performed microharpooning on muscle fibers expressing either luciferase, Klar, or Msp300 RNAi transgenes. The centroid displacement values obtained for muscles depleted for Klar were similar to those of the luciferase RNAi control (Figure 7A; Supplementary Videos S5–S7) and consistent with the normal nuclear microtubule caging observed in the Klar depleted muscle. By contrast, depletion of Msp300 caused a significant reduction in centroid displacement relative to that of the control, indicative of a partial loss of nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling (Figure 7A). Motility assays showed that depletion of Msp300 caused reduced larval motility, suggesting a functional significance for coupling between the nucleoskeleton and the cytoskeleton (Supplementary Figure S8). The Msp300 RNAi transgene is predicted to reduce levels of all known Msp300 isoforms. Given recent findings on isoform-specific functions of Msp300, it is possible that loss of muscle function is due to altered Z disc structure and/or abnormal nuclear positioning (Rey et al., 2021).
FIGURE 7

Muscle-specific RNAi against Msp300 causes loss of nucleoskeletal-cytoskeletal coupling. The micropipette harpooning assay was performed on larval body wall muscles expressing an RNAi transgene against either Luciferase (as a control) or a LINC complex component. (A) Inset diagram shows the experimental approach with the black arrowhead representing a micropipette, the black arrow indicating the direction of force application, and the yellow arrow representing the movement of the center point of the nucleus, centroid displacement, which is a change in position in the Y-direction. RNAi against Msp300 reduced centroid displacement relative to the Luciferase RNAi control, suggesting impaired force transmission between the cytoskeleton and nucleus. In contrast, RNAi against Koi produced no change in nuclear centroid displacement relative to the control. A one-way ANOVA was used to determine statistical significance; 16–28 nuclei were analyzed per genotype. **, p ≤ 0.01 (B) Inset diagram shows the experimental approach with the black arrowhead representing a micropipette needle, the black arrow indicating the direction of force application, and the yellow double-headed arrow representing the measured change in nuclear deformation. Nuclear strain is measured as the length of the nucleus at the end of the force application minus the length of the nucleus upon the initial force application divided by the length at the end of the force application. RNAi knockdown of the LINC complex components did not alter nuclear strain, indicating that LINC complex disruption did not change nuclear stiffness. A one-way ANOVA was used to determine statistical significance. No statistically significant changes among genotypes were observed; 16–28 nuclei were analyzed per genotype.
FIGURE 8

Models show microtubular organization in lamin mutant muscles with impaired nuclear-cytoskeletal connections. Diagram of wild-type muscles in which microtubules form a cage around the nucleus (top). The microtubule cage around the nucleus is reduced in larval body wall muscles expressing either LamC ΔK47 or K521Q (bottom). In these cases, the microtubules run parallel with the long axis of the muscle fiber. In addition, these two mutant lamins cause cytoplasmic mislocalization of nuclear pore proteins (red circles). The microtubule cage around the nucleus is also reduced upon RNAi knockdown of Msp300, a KASH-domain LINC complex component, and the microtubules run parallel to the long axis of the muscle fiber. Bio-icons in the model were created with BioRender.com.
Results from the microharpooning assays suggested that Msp300 depletion did not alter nuclear deformation similar to LamC ΔK47 and K521Q, the two mutant lamins that caused uncoupling of the nucleus and cytoskeleton (Figure 7B). Thus, the microharpooning assay functionally distinguished mutants that alter nuclear mechanics from those that do not. Taken together, our experiments indicate that depletion of Msp300 or expression of LamC ΔK47 and K521Q mutants causes impaired nucleo-cytoskeletal force transmission in Drosophila body wall muscles by disrupting the nuclear microtubule cage (Figures 5, 6 and 8), establishing an important role of the perinuclear microtubule network organized by Msp300 in transmitting cytoskeletal forces to the myonuclei.
Discussion
Mutations in LMNA cause a plethora of disease phenotypes including skeletal muscular dystrophy and dilated cardiomyopathy (
Among our observations, we noted that five of the eight amino acid changes in lamin resulted in LamC cytoplasmic aggregation (Figure 2). It is interesting to note that mutant lamins that caused minimal cytoplasmic aggregation altered nuclear shape, a property largely determined by the lamin meshwork (
Herein, we were able to directly assay the functional consequences of mutant lamins on nuclear deformability and nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling via a novel application of a microharpooning assay. Three of the mutant lamins (LamC ΔN, L74R, and R205W) showed increased nuclear deformation under force application (Figure 4). In prior studies using a different means of applying nuclear deformation, LamC ΔN was also found to be highly deformable, validating this novel application (Zwerger et al., 2013). Only two mutant lamins (LamC ΔK47 and K521Q) caused a loss of nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling (Figure 4). Surprisingly, these two mutants do not cause overt mislocalization of Koi and Msp300; however, protein–protein interactions could be perturbed by the mutant lamins without gross mislocalization (Supplementary Figure S9). Additionally, these two mutants did not appear to alter nuclear deformation, demonstrating that loss of physical properties needed for coupling is not necessarily required for maintaining nuclear shape upon force application. However, we cannot rule out that these mutations did not increase nuclear deformability, since it is possible that reduced force transmission from the cytoskeleton to the nucleus counteracted this effect.
A particularly noteworthy finding was that nucleo-cytoskeletal uncoupling by specific mutant lamins and depletion of Msp300 were associated with loss of myonuclear microtubule caging (Figures 5, 7 and Figure 8). Our findings are consistent with those of others showing that a network of microtubules around the nucleus in larval body wall muscles is dependent on Msp300 (Volk, 2013). The mechanisms by which microtubules are recruited to the nuclear envelope in differentiated muscle are incompletely understood (
The functional consequences of the impaired nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling in muscles expressing LamC ΔK47 and K521Q are not known. It is possible that the loss of nuclear microtubule caging reduces larval motility because the non-caged longitudinal microtubules interfere with the actin-myosin contractile apparatus. A dense microtubule network led to increased myocyte stiffness that impaired contractility in failing hearts (
Only five of the eight mutant lamins studied here showed changes in the physical properties or nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling of myonuclei, as measured by the microharpooning assay, yet all eight caused premature death (Figure 1). The mutant lamins that did not alter nuclear mechanics might play a role in gene expression. Genomes are rich with lamin-associated domains (LADs) in which sections of chromosomes are in close opposition with the lamin meshwork (Mohanta et al., 2021; Wong et al., 2021). In fact, in some cell types, LADs represent up to half of the genome (
Collectively, our studies highlight the vast heterogeneity in muscle defects caused by mutant lamins while keeping the genetic background constant. As with other studies of lamins, specific cellular defects do not correlate with alterations in specific protein domains of lamin. Therefore, predictions of how LMNA variants of uncertain significance alter lamin function are challenging. Studies such as these will allow for the grouping of mutant lamins that share similar defective properties, which ultimately will guide treatments.
Statements
Data availability statement
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material; further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
Author contributions
NS, GF, MK, GC, JL, and LW contributed to the experimental design. NS, GF, MK, GC, and LW performed experiments. Data were analyzed by NS, JR-M, GF, MK, GC, JL, and LW. The manuscript was prepared by NS, JR-M, JL, and LW. The manuscript was reviewed and edited by NS, JR-M, GF, MK, GC, JL, and LW.
Funding
This research was supported by funds from a Burroughs Welcome Fund Collaborative Research Travel Grant (1017502), the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Development Award MDA603238), the National Institutes of Health (NIH, R21AR075193) to LW; NIH R01 (HL082792) to JL, the National Science Foundation (awards #1715606 and URoL 2022048) to JL, the Volkswagen Foundation Life program (award A130142) to JL, a University of Iowa ICRU Fellowship to NS, and the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine FUTURE Program support of GC. Bio-icons in Figure 1D and Figure 8 were created with BioRender.com.
Acknowledgments
We thank N. P. Mohar for technical assistance. We are grateful for the gift of antibodies from T. Volk and J. A. Fischer.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors, and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Supplementary material
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2022.934586/full#supplementary-material
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Summary
Keywords
myonuclei, muscular dystrophies, Drosophila, lamins, LINC complex, microtubules, muscle
Citation
Shaw NM, Rios-Monterrosa JL, Fedorchak GR, Ketterer MR, Coombs GS, Lammerding J and Wallrath LL (2022) Effects of mutant lamins on nucleo-cytoskeletal coupling in Drosophila models of LMNA muscular dystrophy. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 10:934586. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2022.934586
Received
02 May 2022
Accepted
20 July 2022
Published
31 August 2022
Volume
10 - 2022
Edited by
Ming Guo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
Reviewed by
Alexei Arnaoutov, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH), United States
Jeremy T. Smyth, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, United States
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© 2022 Shaw, Rios-Monterrosa, Fedorchak, Ketterer, Coombs, Lammerding and Wallrath.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Lori L. Wallrath, Lori-wallrath@uiowa.edu
This article was submitted to Cell Growth and Division, a section of the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
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