Skeletal muscle: a paradigm for testing principles of bioenergetics

Muscular activity converts chemical energy into useful work and metabolism restores muscle to its original state. This essay explores the organization and interactions of the regulatory system(s) which allow this energy balance to occur. The term "energy balance" is used in a biochemical rather than a thermodynamic sense--concerned not with deductions from the physical principles of thermodynamics, but rather with those enzymatic processes which nature evolved and which operate at remarkably fixed stoichiometry. Energy balance is a statement of conservation of energy put into biochemical observables. 31P NMR spectroscopy is one of the most useful techniques for investigating these questions quantitatively under physiological conditions in vivo. The author (1) describes the rules or principles of biochemical energy balance; (2) discusses sample results from human muscle to demonstrate its use in studying this class of questions; (3) presents a simple model of integrated cellular respiration to demonstrate its sufficiency to account for the main observations.

Vascular smooth muscle glycogen metabolism studied by 13C-NMR

Vascular smooth muscle glycogen stores are traditionally thought to be small compared to other glycogen-containing tissues such as striated muscle or liver. However, glycogen has been thought to be an important carbon substrate for oxidative metabolism in support of contraction in vascular smooth muscle. We examined the synthesis and degradation of glycogen in isometrically mounted hog carotid artery using 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The rate of net glycogen synthesis from 1-13C-glucose was found to be constant during the first 8 h of incubation of carotid arteries with 10 mM glucose at 37 degrees C and then decreased towards a rate of zero by 14 h of incubation. During 8 h of incubation in the presence of 5 mM glucose, the content of glycogen increased from 1.5 to 8.1 mumol/g blot weight in the absence of insulin and to 11.4 mumol/g blot weight in the presence of 0.5 U/ml insulin. During prolonged glycogen loading, there was a simultaneous degradation of previously synthesized 6-13C-glycogen during synthesis of 1-13C-glycogen from 1-13C-glucose indicating substrate cycling of glycogen metabolism. This substrate cycling results in a pattern of glycogen utilization in which the most recently synthesized glucosyl units of glycogen are utilized only slightly more readily than the previously synthesized glucosyl units of glycogen. We conclude that glycogen stores are larger and more dynamic than previously thought in vascular smooth muscle consistent with an important role for glycogen as a carbon source for smooth muscle energy metabolism.

Creatine kinase equilibration follows solution thermodynamics in skeletal muscle. 31P NMR studies using creatine analogs

The hypothesis tested was whether creatine kinase (CK) equilibrates with its substrates and products in the cytosol as if in solution. We used the creatine analogs cyclocreatine (cCr) or beta-guanidopropionate (beta GPA) to test if mass action ratios (gamma) for CK in muscle could be predicted from combined equilibrium constants (Kcomb) measured in solutions mimicking the intracellular environment. Mice were fed cCr or beta GPA and their muscles assayed for substrates and products of the CK reaction by 31P NMR spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography. After three weeks of feeding, gamma was indistinguishable from Kcomb in cCr-treated muscles demonstrating both PCr/Cr and phospho-analog/analog must have equilibrated with a constant and uniform cellular ATP/ADP ratio. In beta GPA-treated muscles, gamma was smaller than Kcomb due to a higher content of muscle beta GPA. Feeding beta GPA for 9-12 weeks resulted in a closer agreement between Kcomb and gamma, suggesting ATP/ADP ratios are not uniform within the muscle perhaps due to transient metabolic stress in some cells. From this analysis it follows that calculation of free ADP from the CK equilibrium for a heterogeneous population of cells with respect to total Cr and ATP content is correct only if chemical potentials of these cells are uniform.

Effect of physiological ADP concentrations on contraction of single skinned fibers from rabbit fast and slow muscles

To directly assess the possible role of ADP in muscle fatigue, we have studied the effect of physiological MgADP levels on maximum Ca(2+)-activated isometric force and unloaded shortening velocity (Vus) of single skinned fiber segments from rabbit fast-twitch (psoas) and slow-twitch (soleus) muscles. MgADP concentration was changed in a controlled and well-buffered manner by varying creatine (Cr) in solutions, which also contained MgATP, phosphocreatine (PCr), and creatine kinase (CK). To quantify ADP as a function of Cr added, we determined the apparent equilibrium constant (K') of CK for the conditions of our experiments (pH 7.1, 3 mM Mg2+, 12 degrees C): K' = (sigma [Cr]. sigma [ATP])/(sigma [PCr]. sigma [ADP]) = 260 +/- 3 (SE). In this manner, ADP was altered essentially as occurs during stimulation in vivo but without the concomitant changes in pH and P(i), which affect force and Vus. As ADP (and Cr) was increased, force and Vus decreased in both fiber types; at the highest ADP level used, 200 microM, normalized force was 96.6 +/- 1.7% for psoas (n = 6) and 93.7 +/- 2.8% for soleus (n = 6), and Vus was 80.4 +/- 2.4% for psoas and 91.3 +/- 7.7% for soleus. Diffusion-reaction calculations indicated that radial gradients of metabolite concentrations within fibers could not explain the small effects of ADP on fiber mechanics, and experiments verified that metabolite levels were well buffered within fibers by the CK reaction. Exogenous CK was added to bathing solutions at 290 U/ml, threefold above that necessary to maintain Vus independent of CK concentration; in the absence of PCr and exogenous CK, at least a fourfold increased MgATP was necessary to maintain Vus at the control level. Adenylate kinase activity was not detectable; thus myofibrillar adenosine-triphosphatase and exogenous CK activities were the major determinants of nucleotide levels within activated cells. Cr alone (in absence of PCr and exogenous CK) also decreased force and Vus, presumably by a nonspecific mechanism. Over the physiological range, altered ADP had little or no effect on force or Vus in well-buffered conditions. It is therefore likely that other factors decrease force and Vus during muscular fatigue.

Bioenergetics and muscle cell types

Potential complexities in biochemical and bioenergetic interpretation due fiber type heterogeneity are not significant for human muscle. Paradigms for understanding muscle bioenergetics then can be understood from a set of basic premises of biochemical energy balance 1) ATP provides the energy for all forms of muscle work; 2) chemical energy is stored in cells as phosphocreatine, a biochemical capacitor; 3) the sum of the coupled ATPases sets the demand side of the balance and defines energetic states; and 4) this demand is supplied by aerobic metabolism and the products of the coupled ATPases provide control signals for regulation of energy balance. We speculate that cytoplasmic signals at work in energy balance may also control muscle plasticity.

Unloaded shortening of skinned muscle fibers from rabbit activated with and without Ca2+

Unloaded shortening velocity (VUS) was determined by the slack method and measured at both maximal and submaximal levels of activation in glycerinated fibers from rabbit psoas muscle. Graded activation was achieved by two methods. First, [Ca2+] was varied in fibers with endogenous skeletal troponin C (sTnC) and after replacement of endogenous TnC with either purified cardiac troponin C (cTnC) or sTnC. Alternatively, fibers were either partially or fully reconstituted with a modified form of cTnC (aTnC) that enables force generation and shortening in the absence of Ca2+. Uniformity of the distribution of reconstituted TnC across the fiber radius was evaluated using fluorescently labeled sTnC and laser scanning fluorescence confocal microscopy. Fiber shortening was nonlinear under all conditions tested and was characterized by an early rapid phase (VE) followed by a slower late phase (VL). In fibers with endogenous sTnC, both VE and VL varied with [Ca2+], but VE was less affected than VL. Similar results were obtained after extraction of TnC and reconstitution with either sTnC or cTnC, except for a small increase in the apparent activation dependence of VE. Partial activation with aTnC was obtained by fully extracting endogenous sTnC followed by reconstitution with a mixture of aTnC and cTnC (aTnC:cTnC molar ratio 1:8.5). At pCa 9.2, VE and VL were similar to those obtained in fibers reconstituted with sTnC or cTnC at equivalent force levels. In these fibers, which contained aTnC and cTnC, VE and VL increased with isometric force when [Ca2+] was increased from pCa 9.2 to 4.0. Fibers that contained a mixture of a TnC and cTnC were then extracted a second time to selectively remove cTnC. In fibers containing aTnC only, VE and VL were proportional to the resulting submaximal isometric force compared with maximum Ca(2+)-activated control. With aTnC alone, force, VE, and VL were not affected by changes in [Ca2+]. The similarity of activation dependence of VUS whether fibers were activated in a Ca(2+)-sensitive or -insensitive manners implies that VUS is determined by the average level of thin filament activation and that, with sTnC or cTnC, VUS is affected by Ca2+ binding to TnC only.

Activity of creatine kinase in a contracting mammalian muscle of uniform fiber type

We investigated whether the creatine kinase-catalyzed phosphate exchange between PCr and gamma ATP in vivo equilibrated with cellular substrates and products as predicted by in vitro kinetic properties of the enzyme, or was a function of ATPase activity as predicted by obligatory "creatine phosphate shuttle" concepts. A transient NMR spin-transfer method was developed, tested, and applied to resting and stimulated ex vivo muscle, the soleus, which is a cellularly homogeneous slow-twitch mammalian muscle, to measure creatine kinase kinetics. The forward and reverse unidirectional CK fluxes were equal, being 1.6 mM.s-1 in unstimulated muscle at 22 degrees C, and 2.7 mM.s-1 at 30 degrees C. The CK fluxes did not differ during steady-state stimulation conditions giving a 10-fold range of ATPase rates in which the ATP/PCr ratio increased from approximately 0.3 to 1.6. The observed kinetic behavior of CK activity in the muscle was that expected from the enzyme in vitro in a homogeneous solution only if account was taken of inhibition by an anion-stabilized quaternary dead-end enzyme complex: E.Cr.MgADP.anion. The CK fluxes in soleus were not a function of ATPase activity as predicted by obligatory phosphocreatine shuttle models for cellular energetics.

Simultaneous and separable flux of pathways for glucose and glycogen utilization studied by 13C-NMR

Glucose utilization and glycogen turnover was studied by 13C-NMR in segments of hog carotid artery smooth muscle. After superfusion of carotid segments for 8-16 h at 37 degrees C with C-1 labeled glucose. 13C-NMR spectra revealed substantial incorporation into glycogen, lactate and into resonances tentatively identified as glutamate at the C-2 and C-4 positions. The rate of net glycogen incorporation was approximately linear over 8 h in unstimulated muscle. After washing out the initial labeled glucose, carotids were contracted by 80 mM KCl in the presence of C-2 labeled glucose. During the contraction simultaneous flux of glycogenolysis and glycolysis was observed with production of lactate labeled at the C-2 position (from glucose labeled at the second carbon) and with the magnitude of the glycogen resonance decreasing. However, no lactate labeled at the C-3 position (derived from C-3 glycogen) was observed at the end of a prolonged contraction. If complete mixing of the intermediates of the two pathways occurred, lactate derived from both glucose and glycogen would have been observed. When similar experiments are performed in the presence of 5 mM NaCN to block oxidative metabolism, then lactate derived from glucose and from glycogen was clearly observed. Therefore, when oxidative metabolism was intact, the intermediates of glycogenolysis and glycolysis did not normally appear to fully mix despite simultaneous flux of the two pathways during contraction. These separable cytosolic pathways for carbohydrate utilization are proposed to be governed by a reaction-diffusion class of mechanism. Such an organization of cytosolic enzymes may represent a general feature of cell metabolism.

Contractile economy and aerobic recovery metabolism in skeletal muscle adapted to creatine depletion

Mice were treated for 7-12 wk with the creatine analogue beta-guanidinopropionic acid (beta-GPA). Treatment reduced total creatine to approximately 5% of control values in soleus (SOL) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles. In both muscles from treated mice, phosphorylated beta-GPA accumulated and resting [ATP] decreased by approximately 50%. Relative to controls, cytochrome oxidase and citrate synthase activities increased significantly in EDL from treated mice, but not in SOL; creatine kinase activity decreased significantly in SOL, but not in EDL. Measurements of poststimulation energy metabolism show that the energy cost to maintain tension in SOL and EDL from treated mice was approximately 50% of that in control muscle. Relative to controls, first-order rate constants of poststimulation O2 demand were 2- and 3.6-fold greater in SOL and EDL, respectively, from treated mice. Increased economy of SOL and EDL from treated mice is consistent with previously reported changes in myosin isoenzymes. Increases in rate constants of O2 utilization in creatine-depleted muscle are inconsistent with the hypothesis that cytoplasmic or mitochondrial creatine kinase is rate limiting for cellular respiration.

Relationship between intracellular pH, extracellular pH, and ventilation during dilution acidosis

Previous experiments showed that acute hyperosmolality results in an extracellular acidosis that does not stimulate respiratory compensation (C.E. Kasserra, D. R. Jones, and M. R. Hughes. Respir. Physiol. 85: 383-393, 1991). The data suggested that development of the extracellular dilution acidosis would also result in a concomitant intracellular contraction alkalosis. The effects of acute hyperosmolality and lactacidosis on systemic intracellular pH (pHi) were studied in the conscious Pekin duck in an effort to separate the effects of pHi and extracellular pH (pHe) on ventilatory control. Brain pH was also measured during systemic hyperosmolality to determine the relationship between blood and brain pHi. Hyperosmolality caused a concurrent extracellular acidosis and intracellular alkalosis in pectoral muscle, whereas lactic acid infusion decreased both pHe and pHi. Ventilation was stimulated only during lactacidosis and did not change during hyperosmolality. Brain pHi did not show a consistent significant increase in response to systemic hyperosmolality over 1 h but did show a trend toward an alkalosis. Measurement of high-energy phosphate metabolites (phosphocreatine, ATP, and Pi) indicated an increase of metabolic rate during hyperosmolality. With the assumption that similar pHi changes were occurring in chemoreceptive cells, the results suggest that ventilation was responding to pHi changes and that much of the depressive response to acute hyperosmotic disturbance was peripherally generated.

Individual variation in contractile cost and recovery in a human skeletal muscle

This study determined the variation among individuals in ATP use during contraction and ATP synthesis after stimulation in a human limb muscle. Muscle energetics were evaluated using a metabolic stress test that separates ATP utilization from synthesis by 31P NMR spectroscopy. Epicutaneous supramaximal twitch stimulation (1 Hz) of the median and ulnar nerves was applied in combination with ischemia of the finger and wrist flexors in eight normal subjects. The linear creatine phosphate (PCr) breakdown during ischemic stimulation defined ATP use (delta PCr per twitch or approximately P/twitch) and was highly reproducible as shown by the relative standard deviation [(standard deviation/mean) x 100] of 11% in three repeated measures. The time constant of the monoexponential PCr change during aerobic recovery represented ATP synthesis rate and also showed a low relative standard deviation (9%). Individuals were found to differ significantly in both mean approximately P/twitch (PCr breakdown rates, 0.29-0.45% PCr per sec or % PCr per twitch; ANOVA, p < 0.001) and in mean recovery time constants (41-74 sec; ANOVA, P < 0.001). This range of approximately P/twitch corresponded with the range of fiber types reported for a flexor muscle. In addition, approximately P/twitch was negatively correlated with a metabolite marker of slow-twitch fiber composition (Pi/ATP). The nearly 2-fold range of recovery time constants agreed with the range of mitochondrial volume densities found in human muscle biopsies. These results indicate that both components involved in the muscle energy balance--oxidative capacity and contractile costs--vary among individuals in human muscle and can be measured noninvasively by 31 P NMR.

Separate measures of ATP utilization and recovery in human skeletal muscle

1. The chemical changes during contractile activity were separated from recovery metabolism in the forearm flexor musculature in normal human subjects using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Percutaneous, supramaximal twitch stimulation of the median and ulnar nerves was used in combination with temporary ischaemia of the forearm to characterize the summed ATPase activity. The recovery following restoration of blood flow provided a measure of oxidative ATP synthesis activity. These processes were measured based on the dynamics of creatine phosphate (PCr) content. 2. Muscle oxygen stores were depleted using ischaemia without stimulation as indicated by PCr breakdown after 250 +/- 33 s (mean +/- S.D.; n = 5), which provided a measure of the basal metabolic rate (0.008 +/- 0.002 mM s-1, n = 5). 3. The PCr breakdown rate during twitch stimulation of the oxygen-depleted muscle was constant at 1 Hz at 0.15 +/- 0.03 mM PCr per second or per twitch (n = 8). A constant cost per twitch was found from 0.5 to 2 Hz stimulation (depletion of PCr per twitch = 0.15 mM per twitch). 4. No net anaerobic recovery of PCr was found during a 2 min post-stimulation ischaemia. 5. Upon restoration of blood flow, PCr recovery followed an exponential time course with a time constant of 63 +/- 14 s (n = 8). From these recovery rates, the capacity for oxidative phosphorylation was estimated to be 0.4 mM s-1. 6. This experimental approach defines a non-invasive and quantitative measure of human muscle ATPase rate and ATP synthetase rate.

Calcium-independent activation of skeletal muscle fibers by a modified form of cardiac troponin C

A conformational change accompanying Ca2+ binding to troponin C (TnC) constitutes the initial event in contractile regulation of vertebrate striated muscle. We replaced endogenous TnC in single skinned fibers from rabbit psoas muscle with a modified form of cardiac TnC (cTnC) which, unlike native cTnC, probably contains an intramolecular disulfide bond. We found that such activating TnC (aTnC) enables force generation and shortening in the absence of calcium. With aTnC, both force and shortening velocity were the same at pCa 9.2 and pCa 4.0. aTnc could not be extracted under conditions which resulted in extraction of endogenous TnC. Thus, aTnC provides a stable model for structural studies of a calcium binding protein in the active conformation as well as a useful tool for physiological studies on the primary and secondary effects of Ca2+ on the molecular kinetics of muscle contraction.

Neither changes in phosphorus metabolite levels nor myosin isoforms can explain the weakness in aged mouse muscle

1. The contractile force, phosphorus metabolite levels, intracellular pH and myosin isoforms were compared in isolated soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles from young (6 month old) and aged (28 month old) mice, at 23 degrees C. 2. The isometric force per unit cross-sectional area was significantly lower by 21 +/- 5% in soleus muscles from aged mice compared to those from young mice (mean +/- S.E.M., n = 11 and 9 respectively). 3. The EDL muscle contained twice as much total creatine and phosphocreatine as the soleus, 1.7 times as much ATP, and 0.4 times the inorganic phosphate (Pi) per unit weight. The intracellular pH and free ADP levels were not significantly different between these muscle types. 4. There was no significant difference in resting metabolite levels between young and old EDL or soleus despite the difference in mechanical strength. 5. Examination of the expression of myosin isoforms by non-denaturing gel electrophoresis has shown that the percentage of each isoform does not change with respect to age; thus, if there is an atrophic process occurring, it is not fibre type specific. 6. We have determined that neither the Pi levels nor the intracellular pH can explain the differences seen in muscle strength with age. There is also no correlation between muscle weakness and any of the other metabolites responsible for energy transduction (phosphocreatine, ATP or ADP).

The effect of metabolic fuel on force production and resting inorganic phosphate levels in mouse skeletal muscle

1. The effect of different metabolic fuels (glucose, pyruvate and lactate) and no exogenous metabolic fuel on force production was studied in isolated mouse soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles. Force was measured, at 25 degrees C, during isometric tetanic contractions and during contractions with isovelocity stretching and shortening. In parallel experiments, measurements were made of the resting phosphorus metabolite levels using 31P NMR. 2. In soleus muscles, the isometric tetanic force was potentiated with pyruvate (20 mM) as metabolic fuel, compared with glucose (11 mM), by 17.8 +/- 3.6% (mean +/- S.E.M., n = 6). The force was the same with no exogenous metabolic fuel, with glucose, or with lactate as metabolic fuel. The force exerted during shortening was also potentiated by pyruvate and by the same proportion as isometric force. However, during rapid stretching there was no force enhancement with pyruvate. The changes in the force seen with pyruvate are qualitatively similar to those produced when inorganic phosphate (Pi) is lowered in skinned rabbit psoas muscle fibres. 3. We tested whether the Pi content decreased in the presence of pyruvate by measuring resting Pi using 31P NMR spectroscopy. We found that, in soleus muscles, resting Pi was present with glucose and absent with pyruvate as metabolic fuel, and the effect was reversible. 4. EDL muscles produced the same isometric force whether the metabolic fuel was glucose, pyruvate, lactate or if no exogenous metabolic fuel was supplied. EDL muscles already had Pi levels below detectability at rest in glucose. There were no changes in the 31P NMR spectrum with pyruvate as metabolic fuel. 5. It appears therefore that the force potentiation in soleus muscles with pyruvate is due to a lowering of Pi. EDL muscles, which have a very low resting Pi in glucose, therefore have very little potential for force enhancement by this mechanism.

Biological applications for small solenoids: NMR spectroscopy of microliter volumes at high fields

In this paper we describe features of an NMR probe designed for the study of small, superfused muscles. We also present the results of an empirical study of the performance characteristics of several configurations of small solenoid coils, ca 2 mm diameter. Our data show that optimal use of the available volume of sample becomes the prime consideration in coil design at this scale. In contrast to large biological samples, for such small coils the equivalent resistance associated with the sample is minor relative to the resistance of the RF coil itself. Thus, substantial improvements in the S/N ratio can be obtained by adopting coil configurations that are inferior electrically, but which can sample a greater volume of tissue.

Effects of inorganic phosphate analogues on stiffness and unloaded shortening of skinned muscle fibres from rabbit

1. We examined the effects of aluminofluoride (AlFx) and orthovanadate (Vi), tightly binding analogues of orthophosphate (Pi), on the mechanical properties of glycerinated fibres from rabbit psoas muscle. Maximum Ca(2+)-activated force, stiffness, and unloaded shortening velocity (Vus) were measured under conditions of steady-state inhibition (up to 1 mM of inhibitor) and during the recovery from inhibition. 2. Stiffness was measured using either step or sinusoidal (1 kHz) changes in fibre length. Sarcomere length was monitored continuously by helium-neon laser diffraction during maximum Ca2+ activation. Stiffness was determined from the changes in sarcomere length and the corresponding changes in force. Vus was measured using the slack test method. 3. AlF chi and Vi each reversibly inhibited force, stiffness and Vus. Actively cycling cross-bridges were required for reversal of these inhibitory effects. Recovery from inhibition by AlF chi was 3- to 4-fold slower than that following removal of V1. 4. At various degrees of inhibition, AlF chi and Vi both inhibited steady-state isometric force more than either Vus or stiffness. For both AlF chi and Vi, the relatively greater inhibition of force over stiffness persisted during recovery from steady-state inhibition. We interpret these results to indicate that the cross-bridges with AlF chi or Vi bound are analogous to those which occur early in the cross-bridge cycle.

Two classes of mammalian skeletal muscle fibers distinguished by metabolite content

Phosphorus NMR spectroscopy and HPLC analyses were made on isolated rat and mouse muscles selected for different volume fractions of the major known fiber types. We tested the hypothesis that muscle cell types at rest have intrinsically different contents of PCr, ATP and Pi. The Pi content was low and the PCr and ATP contents were high in muscles with large contents of type 2b and 2a fibers, and vice versa in muscles with large volume fraction of types 1 and 2x fibers. From the profile of these metabolites we could distinguish only two classes of fibers in the murine muscles and predict well the composition of cat muscles. For the first class, types 2a and 2b fibers, the intracellular concentrations were: ATP 8 mM; total Cr 39 mM; PCr 32 mM; Pi 0.8 mM; ADP 8 microM. For the second class, type 1 and 2x fibers, these quantities are: ATP 5 mM; TCr 23 mM; PCr 16 mM; Pi 6 mM; ADP 11 microM. Thus our results establish a new and apparently general criterion upon which to distinguish skeletal muscle cells, one based on the resting content of bioenergetically important metabolites.

Phosphocreatine and ATP concentrations increase during flow-stimulated metabolism in a non-contracting muscle

The gracilis muscle was excised from cold-acclimated rats, placed in vitro, and simultaneously perfused via its artery by high pO2 medium and superfused by low pO2 medium. With a doubling of the perfusion rate (from 50 to 100 microliters/min) phosphocreatine and ATP increased by 39% and 44%, respectively.

Tension responses of sheep aorta to simultaneous decreases in phosphocreatine, inorganic phosphate and ATP

1. Tension responses of sheep aortae were investigated when different substrates were included in the superfusing medium. The magnitude of tension development was similar whether or not 5 mM glucose was present in the medium. However, the rate of tension development was greater in the absence of glucose. 2. When 5 mM 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) was present in the medium, the magnitude of tension generation was 1.6 times that in the absence of exogenous substrate. A second sequential contraction with 2DG generated tension 1.25 times that in the absence of exogenous substrate. The rate of tension development during the first contraction in the presence of 2DG was similar to that in the absence of substrate. However, the second contraction in the presence of 2DG had a substantially increased rate of tension development. 3. 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy revealed that, at resting tone, in the presence of 2DG, inorganic phosphate (P(i)) and phosphocreatine (PCr) simultaneously decrease while 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate accumulates. During contraction-relaxation cycles, in the presence of 2DG, P(i) and PCr become undetectable while ATP declines to approximately 50% of control values as determined by NMR. During the second contraction in the presence of 2DG, the area of the ADP resonance was similar to that of the alpha-ATP resonance. 4. The increase in the magnitude of tension generation, during 2DG administration, correlated with a decrease in P(i) levels. The rate of relaxation from a contraction, in the presence of 2DG, was slower than in the presence of glucose or in the absence of exogenous substrate. These results are consistent with the role of P(i) in the release of the proposed 'latch-bridge' state of maintained contraction at low energy demand. 5. The increase in isometric tension generation during contraction in the presence of 2DG appears to be related to the decreased levels of P(i). In the presence of 2DG, the reduction of PCr and of ATP occur to a similar extent to that during hypoxia, yet no inhibition of force takes place. The low levels of ATP and PCr reported with 2DG administration in these studies do not energetically limit the contractile apparatus.

Antibody and peptide probes of interactions between the SH1-SH2 region of myosin subfragment 1 and actin's N-terminus

The negatively charged residues in the N-terminus of actin and the 697-707 region on myosin subfragment 1 (S-1), containing the reactive cysteines SH1 and SH2, are known to be important for actin-activated myosin ATPase activity. The relationship between these two sites was first examined by monitoring the rates of SH1 and SH2 modification with N-ethylmaleimide in the presence of actin and, secondly, by testing for direct binding of SH1 peptides to the N-terminal segment on actin. While actin alone protected SH1 from N-ethylmaleimide modification, this effect was abolished by an antibody against the seven N-terminal amino acids on actin, F(ab)(1-7), and was greatly reduced when the charge of acidic residues at actin's N-terminus was altered by carbodiimide coupling of ethylenediamine. Neither F(ab)(1-7) nor ethylenediamine treatment reversed the effect of F-actin on SH2 reactivity in SH1-modified S-1. These results show a communication between the SH1 region on S-1 and actin's N-terminus in the acto-S-1 complex. To test whether such a communication involves the binding of the SH1 site on S-1 to the N-terminal segment of actin, the SH1 peptide IRICRKG-NH2(4+) was used. Cosedimentation experiments revealed the binding of three to six peptides per actin monomer. Peptide binding to actin was affected slightly, if at all, by F(ab)(1-7). The antibody also did not change the polymerization of G-actin by the peptides. The peptides caused a small reduction in the binding of S-1 to actin and did not change the binding of F(ab)(1-7).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Regulation of oxygen consumption in fast- and slow-twitch muscle

Phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and steady-state O2 consumption rates were obtained from ex vivo arterially perfused cat biceps brachii (fast twitch) and soleus (slow twitch) muscles during and after periods of isometric twitch stimulation at 30 degrees C. In the biceps muscles, steady-state O2 consumption increased and phosphocreatine (PCr) concentration decreased progressively with stimulation. PCr recovery after these stimulation periods followed first-order kinetics with a half time of 10 min. The results in the biceps could be explained by a feedback control of cellular respiration by ADP concentration. In the soleus, steady-state O2 consumption also increased and PCr concentration decreased as stimulation rates increased. The half time for PCr recovery in the soleus was approximately 5 min, but, in contrast to the pattern in the biceps, the kinetics was not first order. There was an overshoot during the recovery period in the PCr content of soleus and a corresponding undershoot of Pi compared with resting values. Mitochondrial regulation by ADP is not sufficient to account for respiratory control in slow-twitch soleus. The respiration rate in neither muscle was dependent on the Pi content. Thus we conclude that the mechanism of control of cellular respiration is both quantitatively and qualitatively different in fast- and slow-twitch skeletal muscle.

Mammalian skeletal muscle fibers distinguished by contents of phosphocreatine, ATP, and Pi

We tested the proposition that muscle cell types have different contents of phosphocreatine (PCr), ATP, and Pi by 31P NMR spectroscopy and HPLC analyses of adult rat and mouse muscles containing various volume fractions of different fiber types. There was a 2-fold difference in the PCr content between muscles with a high volume fraction of fiber types 1 and 2x versus those with fast-twitch (types 2a and 2b) fiber types. Pi content was low, and PCr and ATP contents were high in muscles with large contents of type 2b and 2a fibers; the reverse was true in muscles with a large volume fraction of type 1 and 2x fibers. There is a large range in the Pi/PCr ratios in normal resting muscles, from less than 0.05 in type 2 to 0.51 in type 1 fibers, depending upon the distribution of their component fiber types. In all muscles, the peak area resulting from the beta phosphate of ATP constituted approximately 13% of the sum of all peak areas observable in the 31P spectrum. Fiber types 2a and 2b were not distinguishable, and the content of type 2x fibers was similar to type 1 fibers. From the profile of these metabolites, we could distinguish only two classes of fibers. For type 2a and 2b fibers, the intracellular concentrations were 8 mM ATP, 39 mM total creatine, 32 mM PCr, 0.8 mM Pi, and 8 microM ADP. For type 1 and 2x fibers, these quantities were 5 mM ATP, 23 mM total creatine, 16 mM PCr, 6 mM Pi, and 11 microM ADP. Thus our results establish an additional criterion upon which to distinguish skeletal muscle cells, one based on the resting content of bioenergetically important metabolites. These results also provide the basis for estimating skeletal muscle fiber-type composition from noninvasive NMR spectroscopic data.

High-performance liquid chromatographic assays for free and phosphorylated derivatives of the creatine analogues beta-guanidopropionic acid and 1-carboxy-methyl-2-iminoimidazolidine (cyclocreatine)

Creatine and phosphocreatine are substrates for creatine kinase which is a key enzyme involved in energy transfer within the cell. Analogues of creatine have been fed to animals to determine the role this enzyme plays in energy metabolism, but progress in interpretation has been hampered by the lack of quantitative techniques to determine tissue content of these compounds. We describe the separation and quantitation of substituted guanidino compounds and their phosphorylated forms by high-performance liquid chromatography. First, a cation-exchange column is used to assay free creatine and its unphosphorylated analogues, and then phosphocreatine and its phosphorylated analogues as well as adenylate content (AMP, ADP, ATP) are assayed on an anion-exchange column. These methods have proven successful in measuring the chemical contents of these compounds in neutralized perchloric acid extracts of mammalian skeletal muscles. The sensitivity of this method ranges from 50 to 200 pmol, which is adequate to provide information from tissue extracts of 5- to 10-mg samples.

Vascular oxidative metabolism under different metabolic conditions

Control of respiration in vascular smooth muscle was examined while the metabolic state of the tissue was manipulated. During KCl-induced contractures in the presence of 5 mM glucose, oxygen consumption increased by 10 nmol/per min g without any decrease in phosphocreatine (PCr) or ATP as determined by 31P-NMR indicating a control of respiration which does not involve changes in high-energy phosphates (e.g., ADP, phosphorylation potential). However, when aortae with resting tone in the absence of substrate were then provided with 5 mM 2-deoxyglucose as the sole substrate, oxygen consumption increased 7.4 nmol/min per g while PCr decreased by more than 50% (resulting in a 2-fold increase in the calculated free ADP) with no change in tension from resting tone. During a subsequent KCl induced contracture in the presence of 2-deoxyglucose, oxygen consumption increased an additional 7.2 nmol/min per g while PCr continued to decline. Therefore, at least two mechanisms of respiratory control may exist in sheep aorta, one dependent and the other independent of changes in high-energy phosphates.

Molecular charge dominates the inhibition of actomyosin in skinned muscle fibers by SH1 peptides

It is not definitively known whether the highly conserved region of myosin heavy chain around SH1 (Cys 707) is part of the actin-binding site. We tested this possibility by assaying for competitive inhibition of maximum Ca-activated force production of skinned muscle fibers by synthetic peptides which had sequences derived from the SH1 region of myosin. Force was inhibited by a heptapeptide (IRICRKG) with an apparent K0.5 of about 4 mM. Unloaded shortening velocity of fibers, determined by the slack test, and maximum Ca-activated myofibrillar MgATPase activity were also inhibited by this peptide, but both required higher concentrations. We found that other cationic peptides also inhibited force in a manner that depended on the charge of the peptide; increasing the net positive charge of the peptide increased its efficacy. The inhibition was not significantly affected by altering solution ionic strength (100-200 mM). Disulfide bond formation was not involved in the inhibitory mechanism because a peptide with Thr substituted for Cys was inhibitory in the presence or absence of DTT. Our data demonstrate that the net charge was the predominant molecular characteristic correlated with the ability of peptides from this region of myosin heavy chain to inhibit force production. Thus, the hypothesis that the SH1 region of myosin is an essential part of the force-producing interaction with actin during the cross-bridge cycle (Eto, M., R. Suzuki, F. Morita, H. Kuwayama, N. Nishi, and S. Tokura., 1990, J. Biochem. 108:499-504; Keane et al., 1990, Nature (Lond.). 344:265-268) is not supported.

Effect of decreased pH on force and phosphocreatine in mammalian skeletal muscle

Phosphocreatine (PCr) and intracellular pH changes were monitored by 31P-NMR spectroscopy in isolated, arterially perfused cat biceps and soleus muscles, while the pH of the CO2-bicarbonate buffered perfusate was decreased from 7.1-7.4 to 6.4-6.7 by increasing the CO2 in the equilibrating gas from 5 to up to 70%. In biceps (fast twitch) muscles, intracellular pH decreased from 7.0 to 6.6 (30% CO2, 30 degrees C), peak tetanic force decreased by 8%, but the rise and relaxation times of tetanic were not significantly changed. In soleus muscles, intracellular pH decreased from 7.0 to 6.6 (30% CO2, 30 degrees C), peak tetanic force was unchanged, but the rise and relaxation times of tetani were increased by 27 and 112%, respectively. In both muscles greater decreases in tetanic force were observed during repetitive or ischemic stimulation, which resulted in intracellular pH similar to that produced by hypercapnia. Contrary to previous reports, there was no significant decrease in PCr level in either muscle type with decreased intracellular pH. In the soleus at 30 degrees C there was a significant increase in PCr level with decreased pH.

Muscle energy metabolism, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and their potential in the study of fibromyalgia

The fields of muscle physiology and biochemistry have already identified some of the key components of ATPase hydrolysis products that are involved in muscle fatigue. The concentration of the relevant chemical species can be readily measured by nuclear magnetic resonance techniques in muscle. Now the question is: is alteration of cellular energy balance and the normal balance between supply and demand disturbed in fibromyalgia? Since these chemical events account for a very large amount of muscle reduced performance as well as reduction in both velocity and force, at the very least one ought to identify how large these changes are in any patient in whom we are trying to assess the degree to which these chemical changes might be associated with muscle fatigue. An objective chemical criteria for muscle performance is possible with modern noninvasive phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Administration of a creatine analogue induces isomyosin transitions in muscle

A creatine analogue, beta-guanidinopropionic acid (beta-GPA), was administered in the food (2% wt/wt) and the water (0.5% wt/vol) of male CD-1 mice. Uptake of the phosphorylated analogue and depletion of phosphocreatine in hindlimb muscle was monitored by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance and was found to be complete within 7 wk. After this time, the isomyosin composition of soleus, extensor digitorum longus (EDL), and ventricle was analyzed by pyrophosphate gel electrophoresis. The analogue was found to induce significant alterations in the type of myosin expressed in soleus and EDL. Normal soleus contains both intermediate (IM) and slow (SM) myosins, and treatment reduced the relative content of IM by approximately 50%. In EDL, treatment decreased fast isomyosin FM3 by 60% compared with controls. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis also showed a decrease of parvalbumin in EDL by approximately 50%. Treatment had no significant effect on the isomyosin composition of heart ventricle. Levels of physical activity and concentrations of serum glucose and thyroxine of treated mice were not significantly different from controls. These results indicate a role for intracellular energetics in mediating adaptive changes in the phenotype of muscle in mature animals.

Brain creatine phosphate and creatine kinase in mice fed an analogue of creatine

Brain phosphocreatine (PCr) concentration and creatine kinase (CK) activity have been studied by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in mice fed an analogue of creatine, beta-guanidinopropionic acid (GPA). The phosphorylated analogue (GPAP), which almost completely replaces PCr in skeletal muscle, is a poor substrate for CK. Mice, which received GPA in food (2%) and water (0.5%) for up to 9 months beginning at 35 days of age, were normal in appearance and activity. Maximal brain GPAP concentration, reached after two weeks of feedings, was approximately equal to the concentration of PCr. The concentration of PCr decreased at least 20% relative to that of the nucleoside triphosphates. When GPA feedings were stopped, GPAP disappeared in about 20 days from skeletal muscle, but only after 40-50 days from brain. Steady-state NMR saturation transfer studies showed a markedly reduced chemical exchange rate from PCr to ATP in brains of GPA-fed mice. These results suggest a compartmentation of brain PCr. The GPA-accessible PCr compartment has a slow rate of PCr turnover compared to skeletal muscle. The slow reaction rate of the GPA-inaccessible PCr as a CK substrate is consistent with the hypothesis that this residual PCr is the same compartment which is stable in hypoxic or seizing animals.

Chemical exchange magnetic resonance imaging (CHEMI)

Systems investigated with NMR spectroscopy are sometimes heterogeneous with respect to chemical composition, rates of chemical exchange, and other properties influencing magnetic resonance parameters. A method was developed to spatially encode reaction kinetic information and produce NMR images sensitive to chemical exchange. A modified spin-echo pulse sequence was used to allow chemical shift-selective imaging and chemical exchange encoding. 1H and 31P images with microscopic resolution were obtained which yielded chemical exchange as a function of position. Chemical exchange images of the base-catalyzed proton exchange of acetylacetone and of the enzyme-catalyzed 31P transfer between PCr and ATP were obtained at 8.4 T in phantoms at 360 and 146 MHz, respectively. These images demonstrate a means of investigating kinetic heterogeneity and compartmentalization of reactions that are important in the study of both living and non-living systems.

Myosin alkali light chain and heavy chain variations correlate with altered shortening velocity of isolated skeletal muscle fibers

This study examines the myosin isozyme heterogeneity (in terms of both alkali light chains and myosin heavy chains) among skeletal muscle fibers of the rabbit and correlates these isozyme differences with the differences in a contractile property, the velocity of unloaded shortening, of the fibers. The mean velocities of unloaded shortening (pCa 4.3; 12 degrees C) were as follows: psoas IIb fibers, 2.07 fiber lengths/s (n = 25); tibialis anterior (IIb) fibers, 1.63 fiber lengths/s (n = 18); vastus intermedius IIa fibers, 0.98 fiber lengths/s (n = 15); fibers (IIa) from chronically stimulated tibialis anterior, 0.86 fiber lengths/s (n = 16). Peptide maps of the myosins showed that the myosin heavy chains of the two groups of IIb fibers were indistinguishable from each other, but different from the heavy chains of the IIa fibers. However, the difference in maximal shortening velocity of the two groups of IIb fibers was correlated with a difference in the alkali light chain ratio deduced from the intensity ratio of myosin isoforms separated by gel electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions. The vastus intermedius (IIa) and chronically stimulated tibialis anterior (IIa) fibers were indistinguishable in terms of either velocities of unloaded shortening or myosin isozyme contents. Soleus fibers contained only slow-twitch myosin. Thus, among fibers that contained a variety of myosin isozymes, differences in shortening velocities were correlated with the alkali light chain ratio, myosin heavy chain type, or a combination of both.

Effects of pH on contraction of rabbit fast and slow skeletal muscle fibers

We have investigated (a) effects of varying proton concentration on force and shortening velocity of glycerinated muscle fibers, (b) differences between these effects on fibers from psoas (fast) and soleus (slow) muscles, possibly due to differences in the actomyosin ATPase kinetic cycles, and (c) whether changes in intracellular pH explain altered contractility typically associated with prolonged excitation of fast, glycolytic muscle. The pH range was chosen to cover the physiological pH range (6.0-7.5) as well as pH 8.0, which has often been used for in vitro measurements of myosin ATPase activity. Steady-state isometric force increased monotonically (by about threefold) as pH was increased from pH 6.0; force in soleus (slow) fibers was less affected by pH than in psoas (fast) fibers. For both fiber types, the velocity of unloaded shortening was maximum near resting intracellular pH in vivo and was decreased at acid pH (by about one-half). At pH 6.0, force increased when the pH buffer concentration was decreased from 100 mM, as predicted by inadequate pH buffering and pH heterogeneity in the fiber. This heterogeneity was modeled by net proton consumption within the fiber, due to production by the actomyosin ATPase coupled to consumption by the creatine kinase reaction, with replenishment by diffusion of protons in equilibrium with a mobile buffer. Lactate anion had little mechanical effect. Inorganic phosphate (15 mM total) had an additive effect of depressing force that was similar at pH 7.1 and 6.0. By directly affecting the actomyosin interaction, decreased pH is at least partly responsible for the observed decreases in force and velocity in stimulated muscle with sufficient glycolytic capacity to decrease pH.

Measurements on permeabilized skeletal muscle fibers during continuous activation

A mechanical stabilization technique involving the cycling of calcium activated rabbit psoas fibers between states of isometric force development and isovelocity shortenings at near maximal velocity (Vmax) was evaluated. This protocol succeeded in stabilizing both the sarcomere striation pattern and mechanical performance (isometric force and velocity of unloaded shortening) of the fibers for up to 10 min of continuous maximal calcium activation at 12 degrees C and for greater than 15 min at half-maximal activation. Between these cycling events, a variety of mechanical measurements can be made. A description of the strategies involved in the measurements and specific illustrations are presented. A general description of a computerized fiber mechanics system, which utilizes separate microprocessors for experimental control and data collection, is given. The techniques should be of general applicability to muscle physiologists studying permeabilized preparations and offer the great advantage of providing reproducibility of measurement in a stable preparation.

Energetics studies of muscles of different types

31P-NMR studies were performed in isolated perfused striated and smooth muscles. Important qualitative and quantitative differences were found in resting muscles. In resting fast-twitch skeletal muscle the chemical potential of ATP obtained from the measured intracellular pH, ATP and inorganic phosphate concentrations and from the ADP concentrations calculated from the position of the creatine kinase equilibrium was -72 kJ/mol ATP. This high value was the result of a very low free ADP and inorganic phosphate content. In resting slow-twitch skeletal muscle, in smooth muscle, and in cardiac muscle at low work rates (literature data), the chemical potential of ATP was lower (approximately -50 to -60 kJ/mol), the difference being primarily due to a much higher inorganic phosphate content (especially in slow-twitch and smooth muscle) and/or a higher ADP concentration (especially in cardiac muscle). Upon stimulation or, for the heart, working at higher work rates, the pattern of chemical changes of phosphocreatine, creatine and inorganic phosphate was the same for all types of muscle. The phosphocreatine levels decreased and the inorganic phosphate concentration increased stoichiometrically without a change in the ATP content so long as the phosphocreatine pool was not totally depleted (greater than or equal to 10%). The rate and extent of these chemical changes was dependent on the inherent ATPase and ATP synthesis rates. The exception was in the intracellular pH changes. In fast-twitch and smooth muscle, pH decreased with contractile activity, as expected from the large glycolytic capacity. However, an alkalinization was observed in slow-twitch skeletal muscle and this difference was attributed to the uptake of H+ during the net hydrolysis of phosphocreatine to creatine plus inorganic phosphate, and to the absence of significant lactate production. The pH of cardiac muscle does not appear to change with work load. The common bioenergetic pattern in all types of muscles is consistent with a graded increase in ADP concentration (from below to well above the apparent Km for nucleotide translocase ANT) with increasing work as a regulator of mitochondrial respiration. In fast-twitch muscle these changes are also accompanied by large changes in inorganic phosphate concentration (3-30 mM) which may also play a role in metabolic regulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

31P NMR spectroscopy, chemical analysis, and free Mg2+ of rabbit bladder and uterine smooth muscle

31P NMR spectra of isolated rabbit bladder and uterus were obtained under steady-state arterial perfusion in vitro at rest and while stimulated. The spectra contained seven major peaks: phosphoethanolamine, sn-glycero(3)phosphocholine, inorganic phosphate (Pi), phosphocreatine, and the gamma, alpha, and beta peaks of ATP. Chemical analyses, high-pressure liquid chromatography, and NMR spectroscopy of aqueous extracts of bladders identified a number of other components that also made contributions to, but were not resolved in, the spectra of the intact tissues: UTP, GTP, UDP-Glc, NAD+, phosphocholine, and sn-glycero(3)phosphoethanolamine. Intracellular pH of unstimulated bladders and uteri, measured from the chemical shift of the Pi peak, was 7.10 +/- 0.09 S.D. and 7.01 +/- 0.12 S.D., respectively. The chemical shift of the beta-ATP peak in the smooth muscles was significantly upfield (-0.3 ppm) compared to the chemical shift observed in striated muscles (cat biceps and rat myocardium). An ADP peak was identified in stimulated and ischemic bladders. The chemical shifts of the nucleotides observed in perfused bladders were calibrated as a function of free Mg2+ concentration in solutions containing phosphocreatine, Pi, ADP, and ATP at an ionic strength of 180 mM. We derived the following estimates for the intracellular free Mg2+ concentration: uterus, 0.40 mM; unstimulated bladder, 0.46 mM; stimulated and ischemic bladder, 0.50 mM (from the ATP chemical shift) and 0.45 (from the ADP chemical shift); cat biceps, 1.5 mM; and rat myocardium, 1.4 mM.

Velocity of shortening and myosin isozymes in two types of rabbit fast-twitch muscle fibers

The fast-twitch tibialis anterior muscle of the rabbit was stimulated (10 Hz, 8 h/day for 7 wk) to cause complete transformation of the fibers from type IIb to type IIa. The velocity of unloaded shortening of permeabilized single fiber segments dissected from control and chronically stimulated tibialis anterior muscles was measured by the slack test at 20 degrees C. The myosin isozymes in these segments were separated on pyrophosphate-containing polyacrylamide gels. Peptide mapping of the myosin chain was performed on the myosin bands cut from the gels. The velocity of unloaded shortening of the IIb fibers was significantly higher (2.50 +/- 0.09 fiber length/s; n = 6) than that of the IIa fibers (1.33 +/- 0.08 fiber lengths/s; n = 6). The two groups of fibers differed with respect to their alkali light chain complement, as assessed by nondenaturing gel analyses, and with respect to their myosin heavy chain complement, as demonstrated by peptide mapping. Thus two groups of fast-twitch muscle fibers that contain distinguishable myosin isozyme contents differ in their velocities of unloaded shortening by a factor of two.

Phosphagen and intracellular pH changes during contraction of creatine-depleted rat muscle

To evaluate the functional role of phosphocreatine (PCr) and creatine in muscle metabolism, these compounds were depleted by feeding rats the creatine analogue, beta-guanidinopropionate (beta-GPA, 2% of diet). Changes in phosphate metabolites and intracellular pH were monitored in gastrocnemius muscle in situ by phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance (31P-NMR) at 162 MHz using the surface coil technique. After 3 mo of feeding, 25 mumol/g of phosphorylated beta-GPA (beta-GPAP) had accumulated, and PCr, creatine, and ATP levels were reduced to 6, 17, and 56%, respectively, compared with muscles of control animals. In resting muscle, there was no measurable exchange of phosphate between beta-GPAP and ATP by the NMR saturation transfer method. During muscle stimulation at 1 and 5 Hz, the maximum net rate of beta-GPAP hydrolysis was 10% that of PCr in control muscles, so that after 150 s inorganic phosphate had increased to less than 50% of the level attained in control muscles. At both rates, peak twitch force declined toward a steady state more rapidly in beta-GPA-loaded muscles, but after 100 s force was either not different (1 Hz) or significantly greater (5 Hz) in the beta-GPA-fed animals. Intracellular pH initially decreased more rapidly during stimulation and recovered more rapidly afterward in the beta-GPA-loaded muscles compared with controls. This difference could be explained by the difference in expected proton consumption due to net PCr hydrolysis. However, despite buffering by PCr hydrolysis, pH ultimately decreased more in control muscle (6.1 vs. 6.3 for 5 Hz), indicating greater acid accumulation compared with beta-GPA-loaded muscles. In the superficial, predominantly fast-twitch glycolytic section of muscles clamp-frozen after 5-Hz stimulation for 150 s, lactate accumulation was twofold greater in controls. The results indicate that PCr is not essential for steady-state energy production but that the phosphate from PCr hydrolysis may be important for maximum activation of glycogenolysis and/or glycolysis.

Myosin phosphorylation in permeabilized rabbit psoas fibers

The 18,000-Da myosin light chains in segments of rabbit psoas fibers were stably phosphorylated to assess the mechanical effects of this modification. Before and after phosphorylation of the same fiber, the maximal shortening velocity (Vmax) was measured at 12 degrees C by a quick-release slack test and by extrapolation to Vmax of hyperbolic force-velocity curves from isotonic releases. The experiments were performed at saturating concentrations of Ca2+, as determined from isometric force-pCa curves, under conditions in which the pH and ATP-ADP ratio were buffered. No effect of phosphorylation on isometric force, Vmax, or the shape of the force-velocity curve was detected under conditions of maximal calcium activation. Thus we find no mechanical evidence for a modulation by light chain phosphorylation of actomyosin interaction in these fiber segments.

Chemical changes in rat leg muscle by phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance

Phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance spectra at 145 MHz were obtained with a surface coil from the gastrocnemius-plantaris muscles of anesthetized rats. Phosphocreatine (PCr) and inorganic phosphate (Pi) contents and intracellular pH were measured before, during, and after periods of contractile activity induced by twitch or tetanic stimulation of the sciatic nerve. Reduced levels of PCr, increased levels of Pi, and intracellular acidification were achieved in a graded fashion with increased rates of twitch stimulation from 2 to 10 Hz without detectable changes in the ATP content. In all cases, the decrease in PCr was matched by a stoichiometric increase in Pi content. The time constant of resynthesis of PCr averaged 30 s, was five times faster than the restoration of intracellular pH to control levels, and was independent of the degree of intracellular acidosis at the beginning of recovery.

Phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance of fast- and slow-twitch muscle

Phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra were obtained at 109.3 MHz from isolated, arterially perfused cat biceps brachi (greater than 75% fast-twitch, glycolytic fibers) and soleus (greater than 92% slow-twitch, oxidative) muscles at 30 degrees C. The perfused muscles were stable with respect to O2 consumption, twitch characteristics, and ATP and phosphocreatine (PC) levels for up to 10 h. NMR spectra showed a higher PC/Pi ratio in the biceps (11) than in the soleus (1.7). Relatively higher Pi levels were observed in extracts of clamp-frozen muscles than in the intact muscles. This difference could be accounted for by artifactual hydrolysis of PC during muscle freezing. Based on the NMR and chemical data, the free cytosolic ADP level, calculated from the creatine kinase equilibrium, was 14 microM in the soleus and less than 1 microM in the biceps. Intracellular Pi concentration was 10 mM in the soleus and 3 mM in the biceps. Intracellular pH, estimated from the chemical shift of phosphate or 2-deoxyglucose 6-phosphate, was 7.0 in both muscles (perfusate pH 7.2). Both extracellular space and pH measurements were obtained from NMR spectra of muscles perfused with 10 mM sodium phenylphosphonate added to the perfusate. These results document larger differences in the phosphate metabolites in the two types of mammalian muscles than previously reported.

Patterns in mammalian muscle energetics

A description of cellular energetics of muscular contraction is given in terms of the rates and extents of high-energy phosphate splitting during contractile activity, in terms of high-energy phosphate resynthesis by respiration and net anaerobic glycolysis, and in terms of the associated uptake and/or release of H+. These chemical changes have been studied quantitatively by rapid freeze-clamping methods and by 31P-NMR methods. The pattern of chemical changes in a fast-twitch glycolytic muscle is rapid depletion of phosphocreatine and later ATP levels, cellular acidification, and a much slower rate of resynthesis of high-energy phosphate compounds during the recovery period afterwards than occurs in the slow-twitch oxidative muscles. In steady-state contractile activity below the maximal, graded levels of high-energy phosphates and of cellular respiration are achieved in both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles. Within the metabolic range up to the maximal aerobic capacity, which differs several-fold for different fibre types, this gradation is mediated by the creatine kinase reaction and phosphocreatine stores. Thus while the amount of enzyme present and the content of phosphocreatine differs among muscles of different types, the same general energetic function is seen to occur in all muscle cells. The creatine kinase reaction is both an energy reservoir and a buffer preventing large swings in the ATP/ADP ratios.

A simple analysis of the "phosphocreatine shuttle"

The diffusive mobility of solutes chemically connected by reversible reactions in cells is analyzed as a problem of facilitated diffusion. By this term we mean that the diffusive flux of any substance, X, which is in one metabolic pathway, is effectively increased when it participates in a second and equilibrium reaction with another substance Y because the total flux of X in the pathway is the sum of the fluxes of X and Y. This notion is generalized and is seen to include the familiar enhanced intracellular diffusion of oxygen by oxymyoglobin. In this framework the function of creatine kinase (CK) is seen to have two aspects: 1) phosphocreatine (PCr) via the CK reaction buffers the cellular ATP and ADP concentrations and 2) transport of high-energy phosphates is predominantly in the chemical form of PCr. This predominance of PCr is a consequence of the maintained ATP, ADP, and total creatine levels and of the apparent equilibrium constant of the reaction. Thus experimental results demonstrating the transport aspects of the CK reaction emphasize only one feature of a more general notion of facilitated diffusion by near-equilibrium metabolic reactions and do not per se establish the existence of any physical or functional compartmentation of ATP, ADP, PCr, or creatine. PCr can be a large source for increasing inorganic phosphate levels during contractile activity, possibly as a metabolic regulator. Neither the transport nor buffer aspects can be quantitatively important in cells with small distances between ATP-utilizing and ATP-generating sites, such as is the case with cardiac myofibrils and mitochondria.

Tension and ATPase rate in steady-state contractions of rabbit soleus fiber segments

Steady-state isometric tension and ATPase were studied in hyperpermeable segments of single muscle fibers from rabbit soleus muscle at 22 degrees C. The ATPase activity was due to actomyosin. The ratio of fiber ATPase to tension was used as an index of steady-state cross-bridge kinetics. Increasing the calcium ion concentration from pCa 8 to pCa 5 activated both tension and ATPase. The maximal tension was 1.35 +/- 0.07 kg/cm2. The maximal ATPase was 1.05 +/- 0.13 mumol X g-1. s-1 at pCa 5.2. ATPase activity increased with tension, such that the ratio of ATPase to tension remained constant at all calcium concentrations. In the absence of calcium, increasing the concentration of MgATP from 1 to 7 X 10(-7) M increased tension from zero to a maximum of 0.46 +/- 0.03 kg/cm2. Increasing MgATP concentration further to 1 X 10(-6) M inhibited tension. In the phase of rising tension, ATPase increased proportionally to tension, to 0.11 +/- 0.01 mumol X g-1 X s-1 at maximum tension. However, the ratio of ATPase to tension on the rising phase had a value only one-third of that seen with calcium-activated tension. Thus, low substrate concentrations, but not low calcium ion concentrations, influence cross-bridge kinetics under steady-state isometric conditions, possibly by an increase in the tension-time product during a cross-bridge cycle.