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The Dilated Cardiomyopathy E525K β-Myosin Mutation Causes Hypocontractility in Cardiomyocytes Without Altering Crossbridge Cycling

Preprint Created on 23 Jun 2026 bioRxiv

The {beta}-cardiac myosin (MYH7) mutation E525K was first identified in 2012 in a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Work using engineered myosin constructs has shown that this mutation causes hypocontractility by stabilizing the interacting heads motif (IHM) of myosin despite the mutant E525K motor head exhibiting increased ATPase activity. However, no measurements have been made in myofilaments or cardiomyocytes to determine how this mutation affects contractile function. Here, we present force and contractile kinetics measurements from induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes engineered for heterozygous expression of E525K. Contraction of E525K single cells decreased by 65%, and isometric twitch force in engineered heart tissues (EHTs) decreased by 39%. In contrast, maximal isometric force in isolated myofibrils increased by 45%. Structural analysis revealed reduced myofibril content (13.7% decrease) and organization (increased z-disk dispersion angle) in E525K cells. We confirmed that E525K S1 myosin has higher actin affinity than WT S1 and elevated ATPase activity. However, no change was observed in the rate of ADP release. Importantly, there was no change in the rate of force development or relaxation in myofibrils, cells, or EHTs. These findings suggest that myosin crossbridge cycling is not altered under load by E525K. Decreased force generation in EHTs and shortening in cardiomyocytes arise from reduced sarcomere number and myofibrillar disorganization. Additional force deficits likely result from stabilization of the IHM, as recently reported by others. This study demonstrates the value of multi-scale analysis for determining the functional profile of cardiomyocytes containing disease-related sarcomere protein mutations.

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