Elementary processes of the magnesium ion-dependent adenosine triphosphatase activity of heavy meromyosin. A transient kinetic approach to the study of kinases and adenosine triphosphatases and a colorimetric inorganic phosphate assay in situ

Cross-bridge conformation as revealed by x-ray diffraction studies on insect flight muscles with ATP analogues

The effects of three ATP analogues, alpha,beta-methylene-ATP [ATP(alpha,beta-CH1)], adenosine 5'-0-(3-thiotrophosphate) [ATP(gamma-S)], and beta,gamma-amino-ATP [ATP(beta,gamma-NH)] at various concentrations and temperatures on the X-ray fiber diagrams of glycerinated flight muscles from a water bug (Lethocerus maximus) have been investigated. It is shown that the "relaxed" state can be obtained with all three analogues at high concentrations, the result being particularly clear with ATP(gamma-S). It is inferred that the binding of an ATP-like molecule suffices to produce the relaxed state. At low concentrations ATP(beta,gamma-NH) produces state intermediate between rigor and relaxed which is not simply a mixture of the two. The possible nature of the intermediate is discussed.

Transient kinetic and isotopic tracer studies of the myosin adenosine triphosphatase reaction

From transient kinetic studies of the Mg2+-dependent adenosine triphosphatase of myosin subfragment 1, prepared from rabbit skeletal muscle, a seven-step mechanism has been proposed. Features of this mechanism include two-step processes for ATP and ADP binding in which the binary complex isomerizes in addition to a rapid nucleotide association step. In the case of ATP a large negative standard free energy change is associated with the isomerization. An overall rate-limiting isomerization of the myosin-product complex prior to product release has been identified. Studies on the mechanism of cleavage of ATP bound to the active site indicate the process is readily reversible and can account for the observation that more than one oxygen of the product phosphate arises from water. This proposal has been substantiated by the finding that the oxygen atoms of the gamma-phosphoryl group of bound ATP also undergo extensive exchange with water.

Time-dependent fluorescence depolarization and lifetime studies of myosin subfragment-one in the presence of nucleotide and actin

Time-dependent fluorescence depolarization and lifetime studies have been made on myosin subfragment 1 to obtain information about mobility changes and dye environment changes when different nucleotides are added. Data are reported for static and actively hydrolyzing systems containing G- and F-actin. Preliminary data indicate that myosin labeled with the fluorophore 1, 5 IAEDANS and treated with DTT preserves its actin-activated Vmax. S1 prepared in this manner gives lifetime changes which are nearly identical for all systems studied. S1 labeling without DTT addition gives a pattern of lifetimes similar, though not identical to ESR work. Either type of labeling produces no observable change in the polarization decay, and we set an upper limit of 15% length change for the elongate S1. An unusually long fluorescence decay lifetime for the S1-Mg++ ATP-G-actin system is found which may indicate a new acto-S1 state stabilized by G-actin. The method for obtaining the bound fraction of S1's in the presence of actin is presented and applied to the S1-F-actin-Mg++ ATP system. Qualitative agreement is obtained with other methods.

Does myosin-substrate interaction in vitro result in a delocalized conformation change?

The effect of substrate on the far UV (185-250 nm) and near UV (250-325 nm) circular dichroism (CD) of myosin and heavy meromyosin (HMM) was studied. The following results were obtained with the addition of ATP (during various conditions of hydrolysis), ADP, and pyrophosphate: (1) no changes were observed in the far UV CD, (2) ATP and ADP perturbed the near UV CD only at spectral regions below 280 nm coinciding with the regions of their optical activity, (3) the optically inactive pyrophosphate caused no change in the near UV CD, and (4) myosin and HMM gave exactly the same results. These results suggest that myosin-substrate interaction in vitro does not result in a delocalized conformational change.

The magnesium ion-dependent adenosine triphosphatase of myosin. Two-step processes of adenosine triphosphate association and adenosine diphosphate dissociation

The kinetics of protein-fluorescence change when rabbit skeletal myosin subfragment 1 is mixed with ATP or adenosine 5'-(3-thiotriphosphate) in the presence of Mg(2+) are incompatible with a simple bimolecular association process. A substrate-induced conformation change with DeltaG(0)<-24kJ.mol(-1) (i.e. DeltaG(0) could be more negative) at pH8 and 21 degrees C is proposed as the additional step in the binding of ATP. The postulated binding mechanism is M+ATPright harpoon over left harpoonM.ATPright harpoon over left harpoonM*.ATP, where the association constant for the first step, K(1), is 4.5x10(3)m(-1) at I 0.14m and the rate of isomerization is 400s(-1). In the presence of Mg(2+), ADP binds in a similar fashion to ATP, the rate of the conformation change also being 400s(-1), but with DeltaG(0) for that process being -14kJ.mol(-1). The effect of increasing ionic strength is to decrease K(1), the kinetics of the conformation change being essentially unaltered. Alternative schemes involving a two-step binding process for ATP to subfragment 1 are possible. These are not excluded by the experimental results, although they are perhaps less likely because they imply uncharacteristically slow bimolecular association rate constants.

The characterization of myosin-product complexes and of product-release steps during the magnesium ion-dependent adenosine triphosphatase reaction

Evidence is presented that the myosin subfragment-1-ADP complex, generated by the addition of Mg(2+) and ADP to subfragment 1, is an intermediate within the myosin Mg(2+)-dependent adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) turnover cycle. The existence of this species as a steady-state intermediate at pH8 and 5 degrees C is demonstrated by fluorescence measurements, but its concentration becomes too low to measure at 21 degrees C. This arises because there is a marked temperature-dependence on the rate of the process controlling ADP dissociation from subfragment 1 (rate=1.4s(-1) at 21 degrees C, 0.07s(-1) at 5 degrees C). In the ATPase pathway this reaction is in series with a relatively temperature-insensitive process, namely an isomerization of the subfragment-1-product complex (rate=0.055s(-1) at 21 degrees C, 0.036s(-1) at 5 degrees C). By means of studies on the P(i) inhibition of nucleotide-association rates, a myosin subfragment-1-P(i) complex was characterized with a dissociation equilibrium constant of 1.5mm. P(i) appears to bind more weakly to the myosin subfragment-1-ADP complex. The studies indicate that P(i) dissociates from subfragment 1 at a rate greater than 40s(-1), and substantiates the existence of a myosin-product isomerization before product release in the elementary processes of the Mg(2+)-dependent ATPase. In this ATPase mechanism Mg(2+) associates as a complex with ATP and is released as a complex with ADP. In 0.1m-KCl at pH8 1.0mol of H(+) is released/mol of subfragment 1 concomitant with the myosin-product isomerization or P(i) dissociation, and 0.23 mol of H(+) is released/mol of subfragment when ATP binds to the protein, but 0.23 mol of H(+) is taken up again from the medium when ADP dissociates. Within experimental sensitivity no H(+) is released into the medium in the step involving ATP cleavage.

Tension responses to quick length changes of glycerinated skeletal muscle fibres from the frog and tortoise

1. Twitch fibres isolated from the sartorius muscle of the frog were glycerinated (cf. Heinl, 1972) and thin fibre bundles dissected from the m. ileofibularis of the tortoise were briefly glycerinated as described by Julian (1971).2. The glycerinated fibres (length 0.3-0.5 cm) were fixed to an apparatus which performed length changes within 5 msec and recorded the time course of tension changes in the fibres.3. The fibres were suspended in a relaxing medium, containing ATP and 4 mM-EGTA. Contraction was induced by raising the calcium concentration to 4 mM-CaEGTA.4. The tension time course of activated fibres following quick length changes (0.1-1% L(0)) was studied. The tension records produced by quick releases and stretches could be resolved into four phases similar to the kind shown in Fig. 1 a.5. The phase of quick tension recovery was found to take place more rapidly in frog than in tortoise fibres: it was completed in approximately 30 msec (after stretch) and in approximately 20 msec (after release) in frog fibres (3 degrees C). The corresponding values obtained for tortoise fibres were approximately 300 and approximately 400 msec (3 degrees C).6. In tortoise fibres the size of the elastic and quick recovery phase increased with rising isometric tension (induced by raising the calcium concentration (pCa 8 to 5)), and decreased with increasing sarcomere length (2.5-4.2 mum). In fibres, in which the rigor state was induced by withdrawal of ATP, no quick tension recovery was recorded.7. It is suggested that the rotational movement of the crossbridge head on the actin filament, postulated by Huxley & Simmons (1971 b) is taking place more slowly in the tortoise than in the frog muscle. Furthermore, it is suggested that this rotational movement does not occur in the rigor state, as no quick tension recovery was recorded there.

Theory of muscular contraction extended to groups of actin sites

It was shown in an earlier paper how to connect, in principle, the biochemical states of a cross-bridge with the mechanics of muscular contraction, by the methods of statistical mechanics. The treatment applies to cross-bridges that are able to interact with only one actin site at a time. The present paper shows that it is a straightforward matter to extend the theory to groups of actin sites (three, five, etc.), say 55 A apart, as suggested by the work of Moore, H. E. Huxley, and DeRosier. The possibility of the cross-bridge attachment slipping between sites is included. This provides an alternative molecular interpretation of the model introduced by A. F. Huxley and Simmons. A second possible interpretation is also suggested: their discrete stable angles correspond to different biochemical (attached) states. The Huxley-Simmons analysis of an example is rederived and extended somewhat (x averaging), from the point of view of the present theory. Their qualitative conclusions are left unchanged by the x averaging, but significant quantitative effects are possible. Possible consequences of fast slipping in isotonic contraction are discussed in a preliminary way.

The reversibility of adenosine triphosphate cleavage by myosin

For the simplest kinetic model the reverse rate constants (k(-1) and k(-2)) associated with ATP binding and cleavage on purified heavy meromyosin and heavy meromyosin subfragment 1 from rabbit skeletal muscle in the presence of 5mm-MgCl(2), 50mm-KCl and 20mm-Tris-HCl buffer at pH8.0 and 22 degrees C are: k(-1)<0.02s(-1) and k(-1)=16s(-1). Apparently, higher values of k(-1) and k(-2) are found with less-purified protein preparations. The values of k(-1) and k(-2) satisfy conditions required by previous (18)O-incorporation studies of H(2) (18)O into the P(i) moiety on ATP hydrolysis and suggest that the cleavage step does involve hydrolysis of ATP or formation of an adduct between ATP and water. The equilibrium constant for the cleavage step at the myosin active site is 9. If the cycle of events during muscle contraction is described by the model proposed by Lymn & Taylor (1971), the fact that there is only a small negative standard free-energy change for the cleavage step is advantageous for efficient chemical to mechanical energy exchange during muscle contraction.

Individual states in the cycle of muscle contraction

By using appropriate analogs of ATP, isometrically-held glycerol-extracted psoas fibers from rabbits are forced successively into states corresponding to molecular species in the contractile cycle. In each state measurements are made of P[unk], a fluorescence polarization parameter thought to relate to attitude of S-1 moieties of the myosin molecules. Also, the value of P[unk] is measured during active tension development. It is suggested that this value is a time-average of the P[unk] as S-1 moieties move through the various states of the cycle. Proposals are made concerning the sequence of states in the cycle.