Control of muscle contraction

Magnesium ion-dependent contraction of skinned frog muscle fibers in calcium-free solution

Skinned frog fibers were reversibly activated in Ca-free solutions containing 0 mM KCl, 23 microM free Mg, and having an ionic strength of approximately 50 mM. Contractile force was nearly maximal at 22 degrees - 25 degrees C and decreased at lower temperatures. Maximal force in Ca-free solution at 50 mM ionic strength was close to twice the calcium-activated force with pCa 5 and 190 mM ionic strength. The force in Ca-free solution could be reduced to zero by raising the concentration of free Mg from 23 microM to 1.0 mM at the same ionic strength (50 mM). On stretching the fiber from 2.0 to 3.2 micron the force decreased; this effect was similar to that seen with Ca-activated fiber and the data support the idea that Ca-free tension is made at the cross-bridge level. Isotonic contraction during Ca-free activation showed a velocity transient as in Ca-activated fiber at 190 mM ionic strength, but the transient in the present case was very much prolonged. This finding suggests that contraction mechanisms for force generation and for shortening are essentially the same in the two conditions, but that certain rate constants of cross-bridge turnover are slower for the Ca-free contraction. Also, the results indicate that, in low ionic strength, Ca binding to thin filaments is not essential for unmasking the cross-bridge attachment sites, which suggests that the steric blocking mechanism is modified under these conditions.

Calcium and cadmium binding to troponin C. Evidence for cooperativity

Proton NMR is used to compare the structural changes induced in bovine cardiac troponin C on binding of cadmium and calcium ions. The same spectral changes are observed for both ion species. The rate of the conformational changes associated with cadmium binding to the two high-affinity sites is slow, that associated with cadmium ions binding to the low-affinity site is high. 113Cd-NMR spectra of cardiac troponin C feature two signals interpreted as due to cadmium ions bound to the strong sites. Strong arguments are given in favour of cooperativity in binding of the first two cadmium or calcium ions to cardiac and skeletal muscle troponin C.

Calcium regulates troponin-tropomyosin binding in the reconstituted thin filament

Steady-state fluorescence anisotropy technique was used to determine the binding constant of troponin for IAEDANS-labeled tropomyosin under various conditions. In the absence of actin, Ca does not affect the binding between troponin and tropomyosin. The presence of actin greatly strengthens troponin-tropomyosin binding in the absence of Ca. However, Ca weakens troponin-tropomyosin binding by about 2.5-fold in the reconstituted filament. It is suggested that the Ca-regulated binding may serve as a molecular switch for the troponin molecule to get "on" and "off" the actin-myosin interaction site regulating muscle contraction-relaxation cycles.

Ca2+ and Mg2+-dependent complex formation of tropomyosin with phosphotroponin (P1TI2C) or dephosphotroponin (TI2C)

The reduced viscosity of troponin and dephosphotroponin is independent of the protein concentration in both states, either metal-free or with troponin C saturated with Ca2+ or Mg2+; that of tropomyosin increases linearly as function of the protein concentration, indicating aggregation. Addition of troponin to tropomyosin increases the reduced viscosity over the expected value being maximal at a 1:1 molar ratio of both proteins. The reduced viscosity of a 1:1 molar mixture of phosphotroponin-Mg4 or dephosphotroponin-Mg3 increases in two phases as function of the total protein concentration, indicating the formation of two kinds of troponin-tropomyosin complexes. In the first phase, troponin and tropomyosin form a non-aggregating 1:1 complex, which is characterized by a value of 0.45 dl/g for the intrinsic viscosity and a sedimentation coefficient of 3.6 S. Employing these two values a molecular weight of 150 000 can be calculated, which is in the range of the sum of molecular weights for troponin and tropomyosin (156 000). In the second phase the troponin-tropomyosin complex aggregates further, a process described by:n (troponin-tropomyosin) leads to (troponin-tropomyosin)n. This further aggregation occurs upon saturation of the Ca2+-specific sites in troponin C. A model is discussed which explains the shortening of 1.5 nm per tropomyosin molecule upon the shift of tropomyosin from the periphery into the groove of the actin filament by tropomyosin aggregation.

The distribution of troponin-like proteins on thin filaments of the bay scallop, aequipecten irradians

Antibodies reacting either with bay scallop troponin-C-like protein or both bay scallop troponin-I-like protein and a possible scallop troponin-T were used to determine the distribution of the troponin complex on bay scallop striated muscle thin filaments. Both antibodies cause thin filaments to associate laterally and electron microscopy of such aggregates indicates a periodicity of approximately 38 nm, a distribution characteristic of proteins comprising the troponin complex in vertebrate and arthropod striated muscle. These studies therefore provide additional evidence for the presence of thin filament-linked regulation in bay scallops.

Calcium-sensitive binding of heavy meromyosin to regulated actin requires light chain 2 and the head-tail junction

Sedimentation in a preparative ultracentrifuge was used to determine the affinity of heavy meromyosin, HMM, for regulated actin, F-actin plus troponin-tropomyosin, in the presence of MgATP at pH 7.0, 20 degrees C, and mu = 18 mM. HMM was prepared from vertebrate striated muscle myosin by a mild chymotryptic digestion. This HMM contained 85-90% intact 19 000-dalton light chains, LC2. In the presence of calcium, 90% of the HMM bound to regulated actin with an association constant of (2-4) X 10(4) M-1. In the absence of calcium, while one-third of the HMM bound with an affinity similar to that observed in the presence of calcium, the rest bound much more weakly. It was not possible to accurately determine the association constant for this weakly binding HMM, but a 20-fold reduction in affinity is consistent with the binding data. The binding of single-headed heavy meromyosin to regulated actin was similarly sensitive to the calcium concentration. Since removal of calcium inhibits the regulated actin-activated ATPase of HMM greater than 20-fold, troponin-tropomyosin must be capable of inhibiting both the binding of HMM to regulated actin and a step which occurs after binding but prior to product release. Removal of LC2 increased the fraction of HMM with calcium-insensitive binding, and adding LC2 back to this depleted HMM restored most of the calcium sensitivity. Chymotryptic cleavage of LC2 to a 17 000-dalton fragment destroyed the calcium-sensitive binding of HMM to regulated actin. Phosphorylation of LC2, however, had no detectable effect on this binding. Thus, the calcium-sensitive binding of HMM to regulated actin requires that both the head-tail junction and the N-terminal part of LC2 be intact. Binding studies with cross-linked regulated actins and kinetic measurements of the rates of change in turbidity demonstrate that this calcium sensitivity is due to calcium binding to troponin and not to LC2.

Effects of tetracaine on charge movements and calcium signals in frog skeletal muscle fibers

Intramembrane charge movements in skeletal muscle fibers contain a tetracaine-sensitive component that can be isolated by the use of this drug. The time course and voltage dependence of this component, studied in relation to antipyrylazo III absorbance signals, suggest its direct involvement in the calcium release process in muscle.

Heavy metals induce rapid calcium release from sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles isolated from skeletal muscle

Micromolar concentrations of mercury, silver, and other reagents known to react with sulfhydryl groups are shown to stimulate ATPase activity and inhibit active calcium uptake in sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles derived from rabbit fast skeletal muscle. These effects are caused by a dramatic increase in the calcium permeability of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Measurements of Ca2+ permeability were made using both isotopes and by spectrophotometric techniques using the Ca2+ indicator arsenazo III. Air oxidation of a sulfhydryl group to a disulfide group also leads to a large increase in the calcium permeability of the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Relaxation of muscle fibres by photolysis of caged ATP

A novel method has been developed for studying the reaction kinetics of the force-generating mechanism in muscle. Inert photolabile precursors of ATP or ADP are incorporated into muscle fibres having their surface membrane barrier removed. The nucleotide is then rapidly liberated by laser pulse photolysis. This circumvents the limitation in time resolution set by diffusion of nucleotide from the medium bathing the fibre. This laser photolysis method may be applicable to studies of the dynamic properties of many biological systems.

Parvalbumins and muscle relaxation: a computer simulation study

The distribution of Ca2+ and Mg2+ among the 'regulatory' cation binding sites of troponin (T-sites) and the strong, Ca2+-Mg2+ binding sites of troponin and parvalbumins (P-sites) in the sarcoplasm of a muscle was calculated. At rest, 60% of the T-sites were metal free, while 92% of the P-sites were loaded with Mg2+. In response to a Ca2+ pulse, troponin-calcium (T-Ca) complexes were rapidly formed, while the binding of Ca2+ to P-sites was limited by the slow rate of dissociation of the parvalbumin-magnesium (P-Mg) complexes. Muscle activation was not prevented by a high content of parvalbumins. Parvalbumin and the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) pump were complementary relaxing factors that removed Ca2+ from the cytosol and from the T-sites. Parvalbumins dominated the first part of relaxation, while the action of the SR was essential to ensure the return to a very low level of free Ca2+ ion and of T-Ca. After relaxation, a large fraction of the Ca2+ pulse was still bound to parvalbumins and returned slowly to the SR during the recovery. When the SR activity was reduced, the presence of parvalbumins preserved a fast rate of relaxation, at least for a few contractions. This may have a high adaptive value in cold-blooded animals.

Static and time-resolved structural studies of the Ca2+-ATPase of isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum

X-ray and neutron diffraction studies of oriented multilayers of isolated light sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) have provided the separate profile structures of the lipid bilayer and the Ca2+-ATPase molecule within the membrane profile to approximately 10 A resolution. These studies utilized biosynthetically deuterated SR phospholipids incorporated isomorphously into the isolated SR membranes via exchange proteins. Time-resolved x-ray diffraction studies of these oriented SR membrane multilayers have indicated that significant changes occur in the membrane profile structure within a single turnover of the Ca2+-transport cycle. These studies utilized the flash photolysis of caged ATP to effectively synchronize the ensemble of Ca2+-ATPase molecules in the multilayer, synchrotron x-radiation to provide 100- to 500-millisecond data collection times, and double-beam spectrophotometry to monitor Ca2+ transport in the oriented SR membrane multilayer.

Use of metallochromic dyes to measure changes in myoplasmic calcium during activity in frog skeletal muscle fibres

1. Changes in transmission of quasi-monochromatic light were measured in singly dissected, dye-injected twitch fibres following a single propagated action potential. The records, after correction for the intrinsic transmission signal, indicate changes in dye-related absorbance, DeltaA. This paper describes the different components of dye-related signals in fibres injected with either Arsenazo III, Antipyrylazo III or Dichlorophosphonazo III.2. Fibres injected with Arsenazo III can show two kinds of changes in dye-related absorbance, an early isotropic change and a later dichroic change. The isotropic signal, which is the main subject of this paper, is transient in nature; it starts to develop before tension, reaches a peak in about 10 msec and is nearly over by 0.1 sec (16 degrees C). This signal is largest at 650-660 nm and measurements in this range indicate that the peak DeltaA varies approximately linearly with dye concentration between 0.2 and 0.7 mM. The wavelength dependence of the peak amplitude can be qualitatively fitted by the Ca(2+)-difference spectrum determined from cuvette calibration measurements. There may be a small maintained (0.4-0.5 sec) absorbance change of a few percent of the peak value at 650-660 nm, possibly reflecting a maintained increase in myoplasmic pH or free [Mg(2+)].3. In a fibre injected with approximately 0.5 mM-Antipyrylazo III, there were two kinds of dye-related absorbance signals, both of which were isotropic. There was no signal that was obviously dichroic. The earlier signal was similar in time course to the early isotropic Ca(2+) signal which was measured with Arsenazo III, and its magnitude followed the wavelength dependence of the Ca(2+)-difference spectrum determined from cuvette calibration measurements. By contrast, the wavelength dependence of the later absorbance change was similar to either the H(+) or Mg(2+)-difference spectrum. The direction of this late signal (0.2 sec after stimulus) would correspond to an increase in either myoplasmic pH or free [Mg(2+)]. Records of the absorbance change at all wavelengths can be fitted by a linear combination of the Ca(2+) waveform and the H(+)/Mg(2+) waveform.4. Fibres injected with Dichlorophosphonazo III showed three dye-related absorbance changes. There was an early isotropic signal, a later dichroic signal and a second isotropic signal. The wavelength dependence of the first part of the early signal is similar to the Ca(2+)-difference spectrum whereas the wavelength dependence of the second isotropic signal is similar to the H(+)- or Mg(2+)-difference spectrum. As was the case with Arsenazo III and Antipyrylazo III, the direction of the second signal at late times would correspond to an increase in either pH or free [Mg(2+)]. Replacing H(2)O with D(2)O resulted in a marked diminution of the dichroic signal. In D(2)O, linear combinations of two basic isotropic waveforms were sufficient to account for the absorbance changes measured at all wavelengths.5. With all three metallochromic dyes, the time course of the early isotropic signal is similar to that of the second component of the intrinsic birefringence signal, at least to time of peak. On the assumption that this birefringence signal bears a unique temporal relationship to the myoplasmic free [Ca(2+)] waveform, at least to time of peak, the similarity suggests that all three dyes track free [Ca(2+)] with similar speed.6. The conclusion from the experiments is that there are, in general, two dye-related isotropic absorbance signals seen with Arsenazo III, Antipyrylazo III and Dichlorophosphonazo III. One has an early, transient time course and appears to be due to the formation of Ca(2+): dye complex in response to a transient increase in myoplasmic free [Ca(2+)]. The other signal persists after the free [Ca(2+)] transient has decayed. This appears to be due to a change in H(+): dye or Mg(2+): dye complex, such as would occur if there were a small maintained increase in myoplasmic pH or free [Mg(2+)].

A functional in vitro model for studies of intracellular motility in digitonin-permeabilized erythrophores

Phase contrast cine results demonstrate that erythrophores maintain saltatory particle motion for hours after permeabilization with 0.001% digitonin in a cytoskeletal stabilizing solution at 23 degrees C. High voltage electron microscopy (HVEM) studies reveal that cytoskeletal elements are retained intact, except in immediate subplasmalemmal regions where the plasma membrane is punctured by digitonin. During digitonin treatments, cells are permeable to ions, small molecules, and antibodies. We find that motion is Ca2+ and ATP-sensitive, and optimal in PIPES buffer (pH 7.2 containing 1 mM Mg2+/ATP and EGTA-CA2+ (10(-7) M Ca2+) at 37 degrees C. Experiments testing the inhibitory effects of vanadate (0.4-10 microM), ouabain (100-600 microM), N-ethyl maleimide, and the cytochalasins B and D indicate that a dyneinlike ATPase may provide the motive force for driving saltatory pigment motion in erythropores.

Phosphorylation of myosin light chains in mouse fast-twitch muscle associated with reduced actomyosin turnover rate

Phosphorylation of the 18,000-dalton light chains of the fast-twitch myosin in mouse extensor digitorum longus muscles was correlated with reduction in the rate of the actomyosin adenosinetriphosphatase in vivo, but neither of these changes occurred in the soleus muscle. These results suggest that actomyosin interactions can be down-regulated by a reversible covalent modification of myosin light chains, that a mechanism for thick-filament regulation occurs in vertebrate skeletal muscle, and that the expression of this regulation may be limited to a specific fiber type.

Ouabain-insensitive Na+-stimulated ATPase activity of basolateral plasma membranes from guinea-pig kidney cortex cells. II. Effect of Ca2+

The ouabain-insensitive, Mg2+-dependent, Na+-stimulated ATPase activity present in fresh basolateral plasma membranes from guinea-pig kidney cortex cells (prepared at pH 7.2) can be increased by the addition of micromolar concentrations of Ca2+ to the assay medium. The Ca2+ involved in this effect seems to be associated with the membranes in two different ways: as a labile component, which can be quickly and easily 'deactivated' by reducing the free Ca2+ concentration of the assay medium to values lower than 1 microM; and as a stable component, which can be 'deactivated' by preincubating the membranes for periods of 3-4 h with 2 mM EDTA or EGTA. Both components are easily activated by micromolar concentrations of Ca2+. The Ka of the system for Na+ is the same, 8 mM, whether only the stable component or both components, stable and labile, are working. In other words, the activating effect of Ca2+ on the Na+-stimulated ATPase is on the Vmax, and not on the Ka of the system for Na+. The activating effect of Ca2+ may be related to some conformational change produced by the interaction of this ion with the membranes, since it can also be obtained by resuspending the membranes at pH 7.8 or by ageing the preparations. Changes in the Ca2+ concentration may modulate the ouabain-insensitive, Na+-stimulated ATPase activity. This modulation could regulate the magnitude of the extrusion of Na+ accompanied by Cl- and water that these cells show, and to which the Na+-ATPase has been associated as being responsible for the energy supply of this mode of Na+ extrusion.

Effect of cross-bridge kinetics on apparent Ca2+ sensitivity

Three different ways of shifting the pCa/tension curve on the pCa axis have been studied and related to changes in the rate constants of the cross-bridge cycle. The curve midpoint shifts to higher pCa's when the substrate (Mg-ATP) is reduced from 5 to 0.25 mM, when the phosphate concentration is reduced from 7.5 mM to 0, and when the ionic strength is reduced from 0.200 to 0.120. The Hill coefficients of the pCa/tension curve in our standard saline (5 mM substrate, 5 mM free ATP, 7.5 mM phosphate, ionic strength 0.200, 15 degree C) are between 5.1 and 5.6 and fall to 3.0 with the left shift of the curve brought about by reducing both substrate and phosphate. Left shifts of the curve produced by reduction in the ionic strength do not result ina lower Hill coefficient. Reducing eigher substrate or phosphate is associated with a reduction in the optimal frequency for oscillatory work, but reduction in ionic strength is not so associated. Maximum tension increases with the left shift of the curve brought about by reducing phosphate concentration or ionic strength, but tension decreases with the left shift of the curve accompanying substrate concentration reduction in phosphate-free saline. We argue that one mechanism for the observed shift of the curve along the pCa axis is the relationship between the time a cross-bridge takes to complete a cycle and the time Ca2+ stays bound to troponin C (TnC). If the cycle rate is decreased, a smaller fraction to TnC sites must be occupied to keep a given fraction of cross-bridges active. To illustrate this concept, we present a simplified model of the cross-bridge cycle incorporating the kinetics of Ca binding to TnC.

Studies on sarcoplasmic reticulum from slow-twitch muscle

Vesicles were isolated from membranes of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of rabbit slow-twitch muscle by differential and sucrose density gradient centrifugation after homogenization. In some experiments, the vesicles were further fractionated by loading them with calcium oxalate followed by centrifugation in a sucrose density gradient. Protein composition of the isolated vesicles was complex and differed from the protein composition of fast-twitch muscle vesicles. However, other protein components, which were also present in fast-twitch muscle SR vesicles, have been identified: Ca2 + -dependent ATPase, calsequestrin, 160 000 molecular weight glycoprotein and 53 000 molecular weight glycoprotein. The amount of the Ca2 + -dependent ATPase and calsequestrin was several times lower in the slow-twitch muscle SR vesicles. This has been observed in both the original and the loaded vesicles. The slow-twitch muscle SR vesicles showed active calcium transport, Ca2 + -dependent ATPase activity, and the formation of the phosphorylated intermediate under conditions similar to those established for fast-twitch muscle SR. However, these activities, when expressed per mg of total protein, were several times lower than the analogous activities in the SR vesicles isolated from fast-twitch skeletal muscle. When the same enzyme activities were expressed per mg of the 105 000 molecular weight ATPase, the values obtained were very similar in both kinds of vesicles. The results indicate that the slow rate of calcium transport, found in slow-twitch muscle SR vesicles, may be related to a low content of the calcium-transporting ATPase in the membrane.

The control of pigment migration in isolated erythrophores of Holocentrus ascensionis (Osbeck). II. The role of calcium

The integumental pigment cells (erythrophores) of the squirrel fish, Holocentrus ascensionis, are specialized for rapid radial transport of the pigment granules contained within their cytoplasm. Pigment granules in isolated denervated erythrophores alternate spontaneously between a centrally aggregated state and a radially dispersed state. In the absence of external calcium, pigment aggregation does not occur spontaneously and cannot be induced by the aggregating agents epinephrine or high concentration of external K+. Pigment aggregation is also impaired in the presence of D600 or papaverine, compounds reported to antagonize calcium influx into the cell. Pigment aggregation can be induced by experimental elevation of the concentration of cytoplasmic free Ca2+, with a Ca-EGTA buffer system in conjunction with ionophore A23187. The threshold concentration of Ca2+ required to produce this effect is 5 X 10(-6) M. These results suggest that cytoplasmic free Ca2+ is involved in mediating pigment aggregation and that some, if not all, the Ca2+ is supplied by influx from the extracellular space.

Calcium metabolism in vertebrate photoreceptors

So far all attempts to demonstrate a rapid, light-stimulated release of calcium from disks into the cytosol at a sufficiently high stoichiometry have failed. Either the release stoichiometry was too small or the velocity too slow to account for the amplification in visual transduction. The multitude of failures demonstrate that regulation of intracellular calcium is a very delicate process and the idea of a robust calcium channel in the disk membrane that is opened by rhodopsin itself is certainly an oversimplification. The strongest evidence in favour of the "calcium transmitter hypothesis" is the large calcium efflux from rods in a retina. However as long as the source of the calcium efflux inside the rod cells is unknown conclusions about the role of this calcium efflux are premature. Unfortunately, measurements of intracellular calcium, such as those by Brown and coworkers (93,94) in their pioneering work on photoreceptors in the ventral eye of Limulus, have not yet been feasible in vertebrates.

Proton-magnetic-resonance studies on the interaction of rabbit skeletal-muscle troponin I with troponin C and actin

1. The p.m.r. spectra of the larger CNBr-cleavage peptides of troponin I from rabbit fast-twitch skeletal muscle corresponded largely to those of fairly flexible solution structures. 2. On addition of troponin C to each of the CNBr-cleavage peptides in turn, perturbations of side chains were noted only for peptides CN5 (residues 1-21) and CN4 (residues 96-116). 3. In the presence of Ca2+, troponin C induced perturbations of the side chains of threonine-11, alanine, isoleucine and arginine residues of peptide CN5. 4. In the presence of Ca2+, troponin C induced perturbations of the side chains of phenylalanine, lysine and leucine residues of peptide CN4. 5. Irrespective of the presence or absence of Ca2+, specific interaction with actin was observed only with peptide CN4. In this case the side chains of arginine residues were perturbed. 6. It is concluded that actin interacts with the C-terminal region of peptide CN4, whereas troponin C interacts with the N-terminal region of peptide CN4 and with peptide CN5.

Effect of subarachnoid hemorrhage on the extracellular microenvironment

Local experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) was produced over the cerebral cortex in 15 cats. The cellular response was monitored using ion-specific electrodes for extracellular potassium (K+) and calcium (Ca++) activity, DC cortical potential, and electrocorticogram. The response was characterized by a profound cellular depolarization and extracellular calcium (Ca++) depletion which accompanied extracellular potassium (K+) accumulation. The prehemorrhage baseline calcium levels measured 1.14 +/- 0.11 mM, and were lowered to 0.4 to 0.7 mM/liter in different experiments. The K+ accumulation reached levels between 16 and 31 mM from a baseline of 3.17 +/- 0.52 mM and were cleared to normal or nearly normal within 5 minutes. The Ca++ levels also returned to normal within 5 minutes, but remained depressed for the duration of the experiment in two animals. These results confirm that blood extravasated into the subarachnoid space had a direct effect on parenchymal elements. The combination of transient K+ elevations and calcium depression may play an important role in the development of vascular spasm by inducing or facilitating a contraction in the muscular layer in the wall of major intracranial vessels.

Ultrastructural localization of the Ca2+ + Mg2+-dependent ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum in rat skeletal muscle by immunoferritin labeling of ultrathin frozen sections

The ultrastructural localization of the Ca2+ + Mg2+-dependent ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum in rat gracilis muscle was determined by indirect immunoferritin labeling of ultrathin frozen sections. Simultaneous visualization of ferritin particles and of adsorption-stained cellular membranes showed that the Ca2+ + Mg2+-ATPase was concentrated in the longitudinal sarcoplasmic reticulum and in the nonjunctional regions of the terminal cisternae membrane but was virtually absent from mitochondria, plasma membranes, transverse tubules, and junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum. Ferritin particles were found preponderantly on the cytoplasmic surface of the membrane, in agreement with published data showing an asymmetry of the Ca2+ + Mg2+-ATPase within the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane. Comparison of the density of ferritin particles in fast and slow myofibers suggested that the density of the Ca2+ + Mg2+-ATPase in the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane in a fast myofiber is approximately two times higher than in a slow myofiber.

Construction, mathematical study and numerical simulation of a calcium turnover model during skeletal muscle contraction

Starting from recent physiological data we establish a first order non-linear differential system which models the calcium turnover during skeletal muscular contraction. We describe the methods allowing one to calculate with a computer the non-experimentally directly-measured initial conditions. In order to ensure the consistency of the system with physiology we prove the positivity, a priori inequalities and both the existence and the uniqueness of the solutions. To obtain a complete knowledge of the system during a twitch, the aim is to identify, using the experimental data the calcium, two re-uptake constants and the function describing its ejection rate. We demonstrate the uniqueness of the identification problem, we establish an original algorithm for the identification of the two constants, and we show that the function to be identified is the solution of an integral equation for the resolution of which we give an algorithm whose convergence is proved. According to this mathematical study the model is numerically simulated on a computer; this allows us thus to find again experimental data in a consistent frame, and to predict the values of some non-measured constants and functions.

The dependence on extent of shortening of the extra energy liberated by rapidly shortening frog skeletal muscle

1. Pairs of frog sartorius muscles were stimulated for 2 sec at 0 degrees C, after 1 sec of isometric contraction, were released at a constant velocity. The total excess heat (shortening heat) and work associated with the release were determined by comparison with isometric control tetani. 2. Shortening heat and work production were non-linearly related to the distance shortened. There was proportionally more energy liberation for smaller releases. 3. The dependence of shortening heat on muscle length was investigated within the sarcomere length range 2.1--2.6 micrometer (as measured in resting muscle) and was found to be similar to that of isometric tension. 4. A simple model in which heat and work are produced in a two-state cycle can describe these and previous results concerning the energetics of rapidly shortening muscle.

High-energy phosphate metabolism and energy liberation associated with rapid shortening in frog skeletal muscle

1. High-energy phosphate metabolism and energy liberated as heat and work were measured in 3 sec tetani of frog sartorius muscles at 0 degrees C.2. Three contraction periods were studied: (a) shortening at near-maximum velocity for 0.3 sec from sarcomere length 2.6 to 1.8 mum, beginning after 2 sec of isometric stimulation, (b) the 0.7 sec isometric period immediately following such rapid shortening, (c) the period from 2 to 3 sec in an isometric tetanus at sarcomere length 1.8 mum.3. There were no significant changes in levels of ATP, ADP or AMP in any contraction period. The observed changes in inorganic phosphate and creatine levels indicated that the only significant reaction occurring was phosphocreatine splitting.4. The mean rate of high-energy phosphate splitting during rapid shortening, 0.48 +/- 0.24 mumole/g.sec (mean +/- s.e. of mean, n = 29; ;g' refers to blotted muscle weight), was not significantly different from that in the 1 sec period in the isometric tetanus, 0.32 +/- 0.11 mumole/g.sec (n = 17). The mean rate in the post-shortening period, 0.71 +/- 0.10 mumole/g.sec (n = 22), was greater than that in the 1 sec period in the isometric tetanus, and this difference is significant (P < 0.02, t test).5. A large quantity of heat plus work was produced during the rapid shortening period, but less than half of this could be accounted for by simultaneous chemical reactions. The unexplained enthalpy production was 6.5 +/- 2.6 mJ/g (mean +/- s.e. of mean). No significant unexplained enthalpy was produced in the 1 sec period in the isometric tetanus.6. In the post-shortening period the observed enthalpy was less, by 6.2 +/- 2.6 mJ/g, than that expected from the simultaneous chemical reactions.7. The results are interpreted in terms of an exothermic shift in the population of cross-bridge states during rapid shortening. It is suggested that a relatively slow subsequent step prevents many of these cross-bridges from completing the cycle and splitting ATP until after the end of shortening.

Dynamic aspects of structural proteins in vertebrate skeletal muscle

In this review, our current knowledge on the structural proteins of vertebrate skeletal muscle is briefly outlined. Structural proteins include the contractile proteins (actin and myosin), the major regulatory proteins (troponin and tropomyosin), the minor regulatory proteins (M-protein, C-protein, F-protein, I-protein, and actinins), and the scaffold proteins (connectin, desmin, and Z-protein). In addition, the relative turnover rates of the muscle proteins (M-protein greater than or equal to troponin greater than soluble protein as a whole greater than tropomyosin not equal to alpha-actinin greater than myosin greater than 10S-actinin greater than actin) are discussed. The changes in the turnover of muscle proteins are compared in denervated and dystrophic muscles. The properties of the various proteases in muscle, including alkaline protease, calcium-activated neutral protease (CANP), and acidic protease (cathepsins), and the structural alterations of myofibrils by these proteases are also described. Finally, the role of proteases and their inhibitors in diseased muscle is summarized, with focus on CANP and its inhibitors, leupeptin and E-64.

Fatigue and metabolism of frog muscle fibers during stimulation and in response to caffeine

Tension and metabolite concentrations were measured in single frog muscle fibers at 15 degrees C in vitro, in response to electrical stimulation or to immersion in caffeine- or potassium chloride-Ringer. Sarcomere length equaled 2.3 micrometers. Interrupted stimulation for 150 s at 20 Hz or stimulation for 7.5 min at 1 Hz was followed by at least 20 min of fatigue, evidenced by a reduced 200-ms test contraction. Fatigued fibers contracted maximally in potassium chloride- or caffeine-Ringer. They had high lactate and glucose 6-phosphate concentrations and a reduced phosphocreatine (PCr) concentration. Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) concentration was approximately normal but was markedly reduced by a caffeine contracture. A plot of PCr consumption against the tension-time integral at different stimulation frequencies (25, 35, or 50 Hz) and durations had an intercept of 25.5 nmol PCr/mg protein at time zero and a corrected slope of 0.65 nmol approximately P/mg protein per kg . s . cm-2. Prolonged fatigue is not due to energy exhaustion or to the inability of muscle fibers to consume residual ATP but probably arises from long-lasting interference in excitation-contraction coupling, which can be reversed by KCl- or caffeine-induced release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores.

A proton gradient controls a calcium-release channel in sarcoplasmic reticulum

Sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles from mammalian skeletal muscle have previously been shown to develop a proton gradient (alkaline inside) of 0.15-0.5 pH units during active Ca2+ uptake. We found that dissipation of this gradient by the proton ionophores gramicidin, nigericin, and carbonyl cyanide p-trichloromethoxyphenylhydrazone caused a rapid transient tension in skinned rabbit psoas muscle fibers. Increases, but not decreases, in medium pH of approximately 0.2 units over the range from pH 6.5 to pH 7.5 also elicited transient tensions. In isolated vesicles, physiological levels of Ca2+ (3.3 microM), inhibited pH-induced Ca2+ release. Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide blocked pH- and ionophore-induced Ca2+ release under conditions in which it could bind to sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins but did not inhibit Ca2+ uptake. We propose that a proton gradient generated across sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes during Ca2+ uptake maintains a Ca2+ release channel in a closed conformation and that dissipation of this gradient permits the Ca2+ release channel to open. We further propose that elevated myoplasmic Ca2+ also causes the Ca2+ channel to close, permitting Ca2+ uptake through Ca2+/Mg2+-ATPase to function effectively. As the proteolipids of sarcoplasmic reticulum bind dicyclohexylcarbodiimide under conditions in which Ca2+ release is blocked and as they have previously been shown to have Ca2+ ionophoric activity, we propose that the Ca2+-release channel either resides in the proteolipids or is controlled by H+ fluxes through the proteolipids.

Analysis of cooperativity observed in pH titrations of proton nuclear magnetic resonances of histidine residues of rabbit cardiac tropomyosin

We have investigated in detail the cooperativity which we had previously observed in the pH titration profiles of the histidine residues of rabbit tropomyosin [Edwards, B. F. P., & Sykes, B. D. (1978) Biochemistry 17, 684]. Nonpolymerizing tropomyosin was prepared by carboxypeptidase digestion, and the titration profiles of its histidine residues were compared with those of undigested tropomyosin which was fully polymerized (in 0.1 M KCl) throughout the titration. We have concluded that both histidine-153 and histidine-273 have significant cooperativity in their pH titrations only in polymerized tropomyosin, that the cooperativity arises from an intrinsic pH-dependent conformational transition which links the two residues together and not from the known pH dependence of the polymerization, and that the best model for the cooperativity is a biallosteric adaption of the Monod--Wyman--Changeux formalism involving two classes of binding sites for the same ligand (protons). Three other models which postulated either a Hill transition, an interaction with a neighboring residue that also titrates, or a pH-dependent polymerization were also considered.