The mechanism of muscle contraction

Protein phosphatase type-1, not type-2A, modulates actin microfilament integrity and myosin light chain phosphorylation in living nonmuscle cells

Dynamic reorganization of the actin microfilament networks is dependent on the reversible phosphorylation of myosin light chain. To assess the potential role of protein phosphatases in this process in living nonmuscle cells, we have microinjected the purified type-1 and type-2A phosphatases into the cytoplasm of mammalian fibroblasts. Our studies reveal that elevating type-1 phosphatase levels led to the rapid (within 30 min) and fully reversible disassembly of the actin microfilament network as determined by immunofluorescence analysis. In contrast, microinjection of equivalent amounts of the purified type-2A phosphatase had no effect on actin microfilament organization. Metabolic labeling of cells after injection of purified phosphatases was used to analyze changes in protein phosphorylation. Concomitant with the disassembly of the actin microfilaments induced by type-1 phosphatase, there was an extensive dephosphorylation of myosin light chain. No such change was observed when cells were injected with type-2A phosphatase. In addition, after extraction of fibroblasts with Triton X-100, the type-1 phosphatase could be specifically localized by immunofluorescence to a fibrillar network of microfilaments. Furthermore, neutralizing type-1 phosphatase activity in vivo by microinjection of an affinity-purified antibody, prevented the reorganization of actin microfilaments that we had previously described following injection of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. These data support the notion that type 1 and type-2 phosphatases have distinct substrate specificity in living cells, and that type-1 phosphatase plays a predominant role in the dephosphorylation of myosin light chain and thus in the modulation of actin microfilament organization in vivo in intact nonmuscle cells.

Effect of ADP on the orientation of spin-labeled myosin heads in muscle fibers: a high-resolution study with deuterated spin labels

We have used electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to determine the effects of ADP on the orientational distribution of nitroxide spin labels attached to myosin heads in skinned rabbit psoas muscle fibers. To maximize the specificity of labeling, we spin-labeled isolated myosin heads (subfragment 1) on a single reactive thiol (SH1) and diffused them into unlabeled muscle fibers. To maximize spectral and orientational resolution, we used perdeuterated spin labels, 2H-MSL and 2H-IASL, eliminating superhyperfine broadening and thus narrowing the line widths. Two different spin labels were used, with different orientation relative to the myosin head, to ensure that the results are not affected by unfavorable probe orientation. In rigor, a very narrow three-line spectrum was observed for both spin labels, indicating a narrow orientational distribution, as reported previously (Thomas & Cooke, 1980). ADP induced very slight changes in the spectrum, corresponding to very slight (but significant) changes in the orientational distribution. These changes were quantified by a digital analysis of the spectra, using a two-step simplex fitting procedure (Fajer et al., 1990). First, the magnetic tensor values and line widths were determined by fitting the spectrum of a randomly oriented sample. Then the spectrum of oriented fibers was fit to a model by assuming a Gaussian distribution of the tilt angle (theta) and twist angle (phi) of the nitroxide principal axes relative to the fiber axis. A single-Gaussian distribution resulted in inadequate fits, but a two-component model gave excellent results. ADP induces a small (less than 5 degrees) rotation of the major components for both spin labels, along with a similarly small increase of disorder about the average positions.

One-dimensional diffusion of microtubules bound to flagellar dynein

Dynein is a multisubunit ATPase that powers microtubule-based motility. We find that a dissociated dynein particle containing the beta heavy chain subunit translocates microtubules unidirectionally over a glass surface in the presence of ATP. However, after nucleotide hydrolysis is inhibited by vanadate, unidirectional translocation ceases, and microtubules instead undergo irregular back-and-forth motion along their longitudinal axes. Quantitative analysis reveals that this motion is due to thermal-driven diffusion, but, unlike a particle undergoing Brownian motion, the diffusion is restricted to one dimension. The properties of the diffusional movement indicate that dynein can interact with microtubules in a way that permits the latter to diffuse only along their longitudinal axes. This weak binding interaction may constitute an important intermediate state in dynein's force-generating cycle.

Movement of microtubules by single kinesin molecules

Kinesin is a motor protein that uses energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to move organelles along microtubules. Using a new technique for measuring the movement produced in vitro by individual kinesin molecules, it is shown that a single kinesin molecule can move a microtubule for several micrometers. New information about the mechanism of force generation by kinesin is presented.

Regulation of vertebrate striated muscle contraction

Most current textbooks of cell biology and histology use the steric blocking model to describe the protein mechanism by which vertebrate striated muscle contraction is regulated. Evidence accumulated in the past decade, however, reveals the regulation of muscle contraction to be far more complex than this model predicts.

Microsecond rotational motion of spin-labeled myosin heads during isometric muscle contraction. Saturation transfer electron paramagnetic resonance

We have used saturation transfer electron paramagnetic resonance (ST-EPR) to detect the microsecond rotational motions of spin-labeled myosin heads in bundles of skinned muscle fibers, under conditions of rigor, relaxation, and isometric contraction. Experiments were performed on fiber bundles perfused continuously with an ATP-regenerating system. Conditions were identical to those we have used in previous studies of myosin head orientation, except that the fibers were perpendicular to the magnetic field, making the spectra primarily sensitive to rotational motion rather than to the orientational distribution. In rigor, the high intensity of the ST-EPR signal indicates the absence of microsecond rotational motion, showing that heads are all rigidly bound to actin. However, in both relaxation and contraction, considerable microsecond rotational motion is observed, implying that the previously reported orientational disorder under these conditions is dynamic, not static, on the microsecond time scale. The behavior in relaxation is essentially the same as that observed when myosin heads are detached from actin in the absence of ATP (Barnett and Thomas, 1984), corresponding to an effective rotational correlation time of approximately 10 microseconds. Slightly less mobility is observed during contraction. One possible interpretation is that in contraction all heads have the same mobility, corresponding to a correlation time of approximately 25 microseconds. Alternatively, more than one motional population may be present. For example, assuming that the spectrum in contraction is a linear combination of those in relaxation (mobile) and rigor (immobile), we obtained a good fit with a mole fraction of 78-88% of the heads in the mobile state. These results are consistent with previous STEPR studies on contracting myofibrils(Thomas et al., 1980). Thus most myosin heads undergo microsecond rotational motions most of the time during isometric contraction, at least in the probed region of the myosin head.These motions could arise primarily from the free rotations of heads detached from actin. However, if most of these heads are attached to actin during contraction, as suggested by stiffness measurements, this result provides support for the hypothesis that sub-millisecond rotational motions of actin-attached myosin heads play an important role in force generation.

Myosin cross-bridge orientation in rigor and in the presence of nucleotide studied by electron spin resonance

The tilt series electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrum from muscle fibers decorated with spin labeled myosin subfragment 1 (S1) was measured from fibers in rigor and in the presence of MgADP. ESR spectra were measured at low amplitude modulation of the static magnetic field to insure that a minimum of spectral lineshape distortion occurs. Ten tilt series ESR data sets were fitted simultaneously by the model-independent methodology described in the accompanying paper (Burghardt, T. P., and A. R. French, 1989. Biophys. J. 56:525-534). By this method the average and standard error in the mean of order parameters for the probe angular distribution were calculated for the two states of the fiber investigated. The average order parameters were used to reconstruct the probe angular distribution in two dimensions, one angular dimension corresponding to a polar angle measured relative to the fiber axis, and the other a torsional angular degree of freedom of the probe. We find that the probe angular distributions for the rigor and MgADP states of the fiber differ such that the rigor distribution is broader and shifted relative to the distribution in the presence of MgADP. The shape of the rigor distribution suggests the presence of two probe orientations, one similar to that in the presence of MgADP, and another at a different orientation. The shape of the distribution in the presence of MgADP suggests that the binding of the nucleotide to the rigor cross-bridge shifts the spin population into a more homogeneous one by causing a cross-bridge rotation.

Actin filaments mediate Dictyostelium myosin assembly in vitro

Because myosin thick filaments form in the actin-rich cortex of nonmuscle cells, we have examined the role of Dictyostelium actin filaments in the assembly of Dictyostelium myosin (type II). Fluorescence energy transfer and light-scattering assembly assays indicate that self-association of Dictyostelium myosin into bipolar thick filaments is kinetically regulated by actin filament networks. Regulation is nucleotide dependent but does not require ATP hydrolysis. Myosin assembly is accelerated approximately 5-fold by actin filaments when either 1 mM ATP or 1 mM adenosine 5'-[beta,gamma-imido]triphosphate (AMP-P[NH]P) is present. However, actin filaments together with 1 mM ADP abolish myosin assembly. Accelerated assembly appears to require transient binding of myosin molecules to actin filaments before incorporation into thick filaments. Fluorescence energy-transfer assays demonstrate that myosin associates with actin filaments at a rate that is equivalent to the accelerated myosin assembly rate, evidence that myosin to actin binding is a rate-limiting step in accelerated thick filament formation. Actin filament networks are also implicated in regulation of thick filament formation, since fragmentation of F-actin networks by severin causes immediate cessation of accelerated myosin assembly. Electron microscopic studies support a model of actin filament-mediated myosin assembly. In ADP, myosin monomers rapidly decorate F-actin, preventing extensive formation of thick filaments. In AMP-P[NH]P, myosin assembles along actin filaments, forming structures that resemble primitive stress fibers. Taken together, these data suggest a model in which site-directed assembly of thick filaments in Dictyostelium is mediated by the interaction of myosin monomers with cortical actin filament networks.

Form birefringence of muscle

We investigate the sensitivity of measurements of muscle birefringence to cross-bridge dynamics in the resting, active, and rigor states. The theory of form birefringence is reviewed, and an optical model is constructed for the form birefringence of muscle. Values for the parameters in the model are selected or deduced from the literature. As an illustration of the use of the model, plausible distributions for the orientations of cross-bridges in the resting, active, and rigor states are constructed using a model for cross-bridge dynamics suggested by Huxley and Kress (1985). The general magnitude of the predictions of our model is comparable with that of published measurements of muscle birefringence. However, the precise values of the predicted birefringence for the resting, active, and rigor states are sensitive to the assumed orientations of cross-bridges. We also investigate the dependence of muscle birefringence on sarcomere length and on disorder in the orientation of the myofilament array. We conclude that measurements of muscle birefringence can play a useful role in distinguishing between proposed models of cross-bridge dynamics.

A model of crossbridge action: the effects of ATP, ADP and Pi

We have explored a model of crossbridge kinetics that explains many of the effects on steady-state muscle contraction of ligands that bind to the nucleotide site on myosin. The mathematical model follows the basic framework for crossbridge function first established by A. F. Huxley. In the model, detached crossbridges initially bind in a weakly attached, A.M.D.Pi state (A, actin; M, myosin; D, ADP; Pi, orthophosphate) at the beginning of the region of positive force production. Pi release then results in transition to a strongly-bound A.M.D state, as has been suggested by other investigators from both biochemical and mechanical data. Mg2+ ADP release and subsequent crossbridge detachment due to Mg2+ ATP binding to the A.M state occur at the end of the region of positive force production. Work in a number of laboratories has now defined the effects on steady-state contraction of variations in the concentrations of Mg2+ ATP, Mg2+ ADP and Pi. These data provide valuable constraints that can be used to further refine current models. The maximum velocity of shortening (V max) and ATPase activity of muscle fibres exhibit classical saturation behaviour with respect to Mg2+ ATP concentration, with Mg2+ ADP acting as a competitive inhibitor. The model can reproduce this behaviour. The model also explains the observations that increasing [Mg2+ ATP] decreases isometric tension and increasing [Mg2+ ADP] increases tension. As the concentration of Pi increases, model predictions suggest that tension should decrease approximately as log[Pi], that ATPase activity should decrease less than tension and that V max should be almost unchanged, as has been found experimentally. The model also demonstrates that the connection between the parameters of contraction and the free energy of hydrolysis of Mg2+ ATP can be complex.

Regulatory myosin light-chain genes of Caenorhabditis elegans

We have cloned and analyzed the Caenorhabditis elegans regulatory myosin light-chain genes. C. elegans contains two such genes, which we have designated mlc-1 and mlc-2. The two genes are separated by 2.6 kilobases and are divergently transcribed. We determined the complete nucleotide sequences of both mlc-1 and mlc-2. A single, conservative amino acid substitution distinguishes the sequences of the two proteins. The C. elegans proteins are strongly homologous to regulatory myosin light chains of Drosophila melanogaster and vertebrates and weakly homologous to a superfamily of eucaryotic calcium-binding proteins. Both mlc-1 and mlc-2 encode abundant mRNAs. We mapped the 5' termini of these transcripts by using primer extension sequencing of mRNA templates. mlc-1 mRNAs initiate within conserved hexanucleotides at two different positions, located at -28 and -38 relative to the start of translation. The 5' terminus of mlc-2 mRNA is not encoded in the 4.8-kilobase genomic region upstream of mlc-2. Rather, mlc-2 mRNA contains at its 5' end a short, untranslated leader sequence that is identical to the trans-spliced leader sequence of three C. elegans actin genes.

Addition of phosphate to active muscle fibers probes actomyosin states within the powerstroke

We have measured the effect of phosphate (Pi) on the tension and maximum shortening velocity of permeable rabbit psoas fibers. Work in a number of laboratories has established that addition of phosphate (0-25 mM) to active muscle fibers at physiological MgATP concentrations decreases isometric tension with little effect on the maximum shortening velocity. Here we extend these results to a wider range of Pi concentrations and to low MgATP concentrations. Low levels of Pi (approx. 150 microM-200 microM) were obtained by using sucrose phosphorylase and sucrose to reduce contaminating Pi in the solutions used to activate the fiber, and high levels (52-73 mM) were obtained by replacing acetate with Pi as the principal anion. In an activating solution containing either 50 microM or 4 mM MgATP, pH 6.2 or 7.0, isometric tension declines linearly with the logarithm of Pi concentration. Although the isometric tension decreases with increasing concentrations of H+ or MgATP, the slope of relative isometric tension as a function of log[Pi] is the same at the two values of pH and [MgATP]. At pH 7 and 4 mM MgATP, the velocity of contraction increased slightly as Pi increased from 0.2 to 52 mM. At 50 microM MgATP the velocity decreased slightly as Pi increased from 0.2 to 10 mM with a substantial decrease as Pi increased from 10 to 52 mM. These results are discussed in terms of models of cross-bridge energetics. The observation that force declines linearly with the logarithm of [Pi] is compatible with models in which a major force producing state occurs subsequent to Pi release.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Nucleotide-induced states of myosin subfragment 1 cross-linked to actin

Actomyosin interactions and the properties of weakly bound states in carbodiimide-cross-linked complexes of actin and myosin subfragment 1 (S-1) were probed in tryptic digestion, fluorescence, and thiol modification experiments. Limited proteolysis showed that the 50/20K junction on S-1 was protected in cross-linked acto-S-1 from trypsin even under high-salt conditions in the presence of MgADP, MgAMPPNP, and MgPPi (mu = 0.5 M). The same junction was exposed to trypsin by MgATP and MgATP gamma S but mainly on S-1 cross-linked via its 50K fragment to actin. p-Phenylenedimaleimide-bridged S-1, when cross-linked to actin, yielded similar tryptic cleavage patterns to those of cross-linked S-1 in the presence of MgATP. By using p-nitrophenylenemaleimide, it was found that the essential thiols of cross-linked S-1 were exposed to labeling in the presence of MgATP and MgATP gamma S in a state-specific manner. In contrast to this, the reactive thiols were protected from modification in the presence of MgADP, MgAMPPNP, and MgPPi at mu = 0.5 M. These modifications were compared with similar reactions on isolated S-1. Experiments with pyrene-actin cross-linked to S-1 showed enhancement of fluorescence intensity upon additions of MgATP and MgATP gamma S, indicating the release of the pyrene probe on actin from the sphere of S-1 influence. The results of this study contrast the "open" structure of weakly bound actomyosin states to the "tight" conformation of rigor complexes.

Regulatory myosin light-chain genes of Caenorhabditis elegans

We have cloned and analyzed the Caenorhabditis elegans regulatory myosin light-chain genes. C. elegans contains two such genes, which we have designated mlc-1 and mlc-2. The two genes are separated by 2.6 kilobases and are divergently transcribed. We determined the complete nucleotide sequences of both mlc-1 and mlc-2. A single, conservative amino acid substitution distinguishes the sequences of the two proteins. The C. elegans proteins are strongly homologous to regulatory myosin light chains of Drosophila melanogaster and vertebrates and weakly homologous to a superfamily of eucaryotic calcium-binding proteins. Both mlc-1 and mlc-2 encode abundant mRNAs. We mapped the 5' termini of these transcripts by using primer extension sequencing of mRNA templates. mlc-1 mRNAs initiate within conserved hexanucleotides at two different positions, located at -28 and -38 relative to the start of translation. The 5' terminus of mlc-2 mRNA is not encoded in the 4.8-kilobase genomic region upstream of mlc-2. Rather, mlc-2 mRNA contains at its 5' end a short, untranslated leader sequence that is identical to the trans-spliced leader sequence of three C. elegans actin genes.

Comparison of the structure of myosin subfragment 1 bound to actin and free in solution. A neutron scattering study using actin made "invisible" by deuteration

The structure of subfragment 1 (S1) bound to F-actin has been compared to the structure of free S1 using neutron scattering. The F-actin was rendered "invisible" to neutrons by selective deuteration and solvent contrast matching. Highly deuterated actin was purified from the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, which was fed deuterated Escherichia coli. The properties of this actin were found to be similar to those of protonated actin. The neutron-scattering pattern of S1 bound to this "invisible" actin was compared to that of free S1. At near-physiological ionic strength, a strong interference effect was observed, which arose from pairs of S1 molecules cross-linking actin filaments. However, at low ionic strength the only differences that could be observed were attributed to interference effects between neutrons scattered from S1s bound randomly to equivalent sites on an actin filament. These effects became negligible as the fraction of actin sites occupied by S1 approached zero. Thus, we conclude that the scattering by S1 attached to F-actin is identical with that of free S1, to a resolution of about 2.5 nm. The difference in apparent radii of gyration is less than 0.05 nm. Modeling calculations have been carried out to determine the sensitivity of neutron scattering to possible S1 deformations. The calculations showed that deformations of the structure of S1 that are large enough ultimately to produce a powerstroke of 5 nm or greater are only consistent with the data if they involve at most about 20% of the S1 mass. These results restrict the class of plausible models describing force generation in muscle contraction.

Sulphate is a competitive inhibitor of the binding of nucleotide to myosin. A comparison with phosphate

By the use of rapid reaction methods (rapid flow quench and stopped flow) it has been shown that sulphate is a competitive inhibitor of the binding of epsilon-ATP and ATP to myosin. At low ionic strengths, the Ki was in the micromolar range. Under several conditions used sulphate was more effective than phosphate. Neither anion was very effective in inhibiting the binding of epsilon-ATP to actomyosin.

Visualization of domains in native and nucleotide-trapped myosin heads by negative staining

Electron microscopy of negatively stained vertebrate skeletal muscle myosin molecules has revealed substructure suggestive of globular domains in the head portions of the molecule. This head substructure has been examined after both low and high electron doe. The results suggest it is probably not an artefact of radiation damage. The most common appearance is of one or two stain-filled clefts which run roughly perpendicular to the long axis of the head, giving rise to the appearance of two or three domains in a line. A large domain is located at the end of the head, while two smaller domains are arranged between this and the head-tail junction. The size of the large distal domain (about 10 nm long and about 7 nm wide at its widest point) is similar in heads showing either two or three domains. Stable analogues of M.ATP and M.ADP.Pi, the predominant complexes present during hydrolysis of ATP by myosin, were prepared by crosslinking the two reactive SH groups (SH1 and SH2) in the myosin head heavy chain with N,N'-p-phenylenedimaleimide (pPDM) in the presence of ADP, and by forming a complex with vanadate ion and ADP. At this resolution (approximately 2 nm) the heads of these modified molecules did not appear markedly different from those of the untreated protein, although there was a small increase in the number of straight as opposed to curved heads after cross-linking with pPDM.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer within the complex formed by actin and myosin subfragment 1. Comparison between weakly and strongly attached states

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements have been made between Cys-374 on actin and Cys-177 on the alkali light chain of myosin subfragment 1 (S1) using several pairs of donor-acceptor chromophores. The labeled light chain was exchanged into subfragment 1 and the resulting fluorescently labeled subfragment 1 isolated by ion-exchange chromatography on SP-Trisacryl. The efficiency of energy transfer was measured by steady-state fluorescence in a strong binding complex of acto-S1 and found to represent a spatial separation between the two probes of 5.6-6.3 nm. The same measurements were then made with weak binding acto-S1 complexes generated in two ways. First, actin was complexed with p-phenylenedimaleimide-S1, a stable analogue of S1-adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP), obtained by cross-linking the SH1 and SH2 heavy-chain thiols of subfragment 1 [Greene, L. E., Chalovich, J. M., & Eisenberg, E. (1986) Biochemistry 25, 704-709]. Large increases in transfer efficiency indicated that the two probes had moved closer together by some 3 nm. Second, weak binding complexes were formed between subfragment 1 and actin in the presence of the regulatory proteins troponin and tropomyosin, the absence of calcium, and the presence of ATP [Chalovich, J. M., & Eisenberg, E. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 2432-2437]. The measured efficiency of energy transfer again indicated that the distance between the two labeled sites had moved closer by about 3 nm. These data support the idea that there is a considerable difference in the structure of the acto-S1 complex between the weakly and strongly bound states.

Regulation of actin microfilament integrity in living nonmuscle cells by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase and the myosin light chain kinase

Microinjection of the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (A-kinase) into living fibroblasts or the treatment of these cells with agents that elevate the intracellular cAMP level caused marked alterations in cell morphology including a rounded phenotype and a complete loss of actin microfilament bundles. These effects were transient and fully reversible. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to analyze the changes in phosphoproteins from cells injected with A-kinase. These experiments showed that accompanying the disassembly of actin microfilaments, phosphorylation of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) increased and concomitantly, the phosphorylation of myosin P-light chain decreased. Moreover, inhibiting MLCK activity via microinjection of affinity-purified antibodies specific to native MLCK caused a complete loss of microfilament bundle integrity and a decrease in myosin P-light chain phosphorylation, similar to that seen after injection of A-kinase. These data support the idea that A-kinase may regulate microfilament integrity through the phosphorylation and inhibition of MLCK activity in nonmuscle cells.

Microsecond rotational dynamics of phosphorescent-labeled muscle cross-bridges

We have measured the microsecond rotational motions of myosin heads in muscle cross-bridges under physiological ionic conditions at 4 degrees C, by detecting the time-resolved phosphorescence of eosin-maleimide covalently attached to heads in skeletal muscle myofibrils. The anisotropy decay of heads in rigor (no ATP) is constant over the time range from 0.5 to 200 microsecond, indicating that they do not undergo rotational motion in this time range. In the presence of 5 mM MgATP, however, heads undergo complex rotational motion with correlation times of about 5 and 40 microsecond. The motion of heads in relaxed myofibrils is restricted out to 1 ms, as indicated by a nonzero value of the residual anisotropy. The anisotropy decay of eosin-labeled myosin, extracted from labeled myofibrils, also exhibits complex decay on the 200-microsecond time scale when assembled into synthetic thick filaments. The correlation times and amplitudes of heads in filaments (under the same ionic conditions as the myofibril experiments) are unaffected by MgATP and very similar to the values for heads in relaxed myofibrils. The larger residual anisotropy and longer correlation times seen in myofibrils are consistent with a restriction of rotational motion in the confines of the myofibril protein lattice. These are the first time-resolved measurements under physiological conditions of the rotational motions of cross-bridges in the microsecond time range.

Effects of AMPPNP on the orientation and rotational dynamics of spin-labeled muscle cross-bridges

We have used electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to investigate the orientation, rotational motion, and actin-binding properties of rabbit psoas muscle cross-bridges in the presence of the nonhydrolyzable nucleotide analogue, 5'-adenylylimido-diphosphate (AMPPNP). This analogue is known to decrease muscle tension without affecting its stiffness, suggesting an attached cross-bridge state different from rigor. We spin-labeled the SH1 groups on myosin heads and performed conventional EPR to obtain high-resolution information about the orientational distribution, and saturation transfer EPR to measure microsecond rotational motion. At 4 degrees C and 100 mM ionic strength, we find that AMPPNP increases both the orientational disorder and the microsecond rotational motion of myosin heads. However, computer analysis of digitized spectra shows that no new population of probes is observed that does not match either rigor or relaxation in both orientation and motion. At 4 degrees C, under nearly saturating conditions of 16 mM AMPPNP (Kd = 3.0 mM, determined from competition between AMPPNP and an ADP spin label), 47.5 +/- 2.5% of myosin heads are dynamically disoriented (as in relaxation) without a significant decrease in rigor stiffness, whereas the remainder are rigidly oriented as in rigor. The oriented heads correspond to actin-attached heads in a ternary complex, and the disoriented heads correspond to detached heads, as indicated by EPR experiments with spin-labeled subfragment 1 (S1) that provide independent measurements of orientation and binding. We take these findings as evidence for a single-headed cross-bridge that is as stiff as the double-headed rigor cross-bridge. The data are consistent with a model in which, in the presence of saturating AMPPNP, one head of each cross-bridge binds actin about 10 times more weakly, whereas the remaining head binds at least 10 times more strongly, than extrinsic S1. Thus, although there is no evidence for heads being attached at nonrigor angles, the attached cross-bridge differs from that of rigor. The heterogeneous behavior of heads is probably due to steric effects of the filament lattice.

Domain structure of the myosin head in correlation-averaged images of shadowed molecules

Electron microscope images of rotary shadowed myosin heads and subfragment-1 (S1) have been computationally aligned and averaged using correlation methods. Average images show reproducible detail within the 'pear-shaped' envelope of the head; the major features are invariant in S1 and in intact heads, in two mirror-related views of the head, and in the presence and absence of ATP. The averages support the view that the head contains two main structural domains separated by a cleft, and that the region of the neck close to the head-rod junction is flexible. They also reveal the inadequacy of the conventional method of correcting the measured dimensions of shadowed particles for the supposed thickness of the 'metal coat'.

Energetics of the actomyosin bond in the filament array of muscle fibers

The interaction between actin and myosin in the filament array of glycerinated muscle fibers has been monitored using paramagnetic probes and mechanical measurements. Both fiber stiffness and the spectra of probes bound to a reactive sulfydral on the myosin head were measured as the actomyosin bond was weakened by addition of magnesium pyrophosphate (MgPPi) and glycerol. In the absence of MgPPi, all myosin heads are attached to actin with oriented probes. When fibers were incubated in buffers containing MgPPi, a fraction of the probes became disordered, and this effect was greater in the presence of glycerol. To determine whether the heads with disordered probes were detached from actin, spin-labeled myosin subfragment-1 (MSL-S1) was diffused into unlabeled fibers, and the fractions bound to actin and free in the medium were correlated with the oriented and disordered spectral components. These experiments showed that the label was oriented when MSL-S1 was attached to actin in a ternary complex with the ligand and that all heads with disordered probes were detached from actin. Thus the fraction of oriented labels could be used to determine the fraction of heads attached to actin in a fiber in the presence of ligand. The fraction of myosin heads attached to actin decreased with increasing [MgPPi], and in the absence of glycerol approximately 50% of the myosin heads were dissociated at 3.3 mM ligand with little change in fiber stiffness. In the presence of 37% glycerol plus ligand, up to 80% of the heads could be detached with a 50% decrease in fiber stiffness. The data indicate that there are two populations of myosin heads in the fiber. All the data could be fit with a model in which one population of myosin heads (comprising approximately 50% of the total) sees an apparent actin concentration of 0.1 mM and can be released from actin with little change in fiber stiffness. A second population of myosin heads (approximately 50%) sees a higher actin concentration (5 mM) and is only released in the presence of both glycerol and ligand.

The developmentally regulated expression of two linked myosin heavy-chain genes

The organization of two linked chicken myosin heavy-chain (MHC) genes is described. Using probes derived from the 3' and 5' ends of the genes, chromosome walks were carried out, resulting in the isolation of a clone which encompassed the 5' end of one MHC gene and the 3' end of a different MHC gene. Further analysis showed that both genes (each approximately 25 kbp in length) are oriented head to tail and are separated by an intergenic region of 7.5 kbp. Despite extensive homologies, a transcript-specific probe for each of the genes could be prepared from the 5' untranslated regions. These probes were used to determine the transcriptional pattern for each of the genes. The data show that the gene located at the 5' end of the linkage pair is expressed during the neonatal stages of development, while the gene located at the 3' end of the pair is expressed predominantly during the embryonic stages of development.

The influence of doubly attached crossbridges on the mechanical behavior of skeletal muscle fibers under equilibrium conditions

A simple model of a double-headed crossbridge is introduced to explain the retardation of force decay after an imposed stretch in skeletal muscle fibers under equilibrium conditions. The critical assumption in the model is that once one of the heads of a crossbridge is attached to one of the available actin sites, the attachment of the second head will be restricted to a level of strain determined by the attachment of the first head. The crossbridge structure, namely the connection of both heads of a crossbridge to the same tail region, is assumed to impose this constraint on the spatial configurations of crossbridge heads. The unique feature of the model is the prediction that, in the presence of a ligand (PPi, ADP, AMP-PNP) and absence of Ca2+, the halftime of force decay is many times larger than the inverse rate of detachment of a crossbridge head measured in solution. This prediction is in agreement with measured values of half-times of force decay in fibers under similar conditions (Schoenberg, M., and E. Eisenberg. 1985. Biophys. J. 48:863-871f). It is predicted that a crossbridge head is more likely to re-attach to its previously strained position than remain unattached while the other head is attached, leading to the slow decay of force. Our computations also show that the apparent cooperativity in crossbridge binding observed in experiments (Brenner, B., L. C. Yu, L. E. Greene, E. Eisenberg, and M. Schoenberg. 1986. Biophys. J. 50:1101-1108) can be partially accounted by the double-headed crossbridge attachment. Our model predictions fit the aforementioned data best when the crossbridge stiffness does not change significantly with the dissociation of one of the two attached heads. This observation suggests that crossbridge stiffness is determined either by the extensibility (flexibility) of the double helical tail region or its junction to the thick filament backbone.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements of distances in actin and myosin. A critical evaluation

The contractile proteins actin and myosin are of considerable biological interest. They are essential for muscle contraction and in eukaryotic cells they play a crucial role in most contractile phenomena. Over the years since the first fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) paper appeared, an extensive body of literature has accumulated on this technique using actin, myosin and the actomyosin complex. These papers are reviewed with several aims in mind: we assess the reliability and consistency of intra- and inter-molecular distances measured between the fluorescent probes attached to specific sites on these proteins; we determine whether the measurements can be assembled into an internally consistent model which can be fitted to the known dimensions of the actomyosin complex; several of the FRET distances are consistent with the available structural data from crystallographic and electron microscopic dimensions; the modelled FRET distances suggest that the assumed value of the orientation factor (k2 = 2/3) is reasonable; we conclude that the model has a predictive value, i.e. it suggests that a small number of the published dimensions may be incorrect and predicts the magnitude of a larger number of measurements which have not yet been reported; and finally (vi) we discuss the contribution of FRET determinations to the current debate on the molecular mechanism of contraction.

Movement of myosin fragments in vitro: domains involved in force production

We have used the Nitella-based movement assay to localize the site of force production in myosin. Methods were developed to use nonfilamentous myosin or proteolytic fragments of myosin in place of the thick filaments used in the original assay. In the experiments described here, the tail of myosin or its subfragments is anchored via antibodies to the surface of small particles. Nonfilamentous myosin or its subfragments move along Nitella actin cables at speeds similar to those obtained with filamentous myosin. We generated short HMM, a myosin fragment containing the heads and only 400 A of the tail. Although short HMM lacks the "hinge" region proposed by Harrington to be the site of force generation, and is incapable of forming thick filaments, it moves along actin at speeds above 1 micron/sec. Therefore, neither a thick filament nor the carboxy-terminal 1100 A of the tail is required for movement along actin. The results indicate that force production occurs in or near the myosin heads.