Applicability of the sliding filament/crossbridge paradigm to smooth muscle

Membrane adhesion junctions regulate airway smooth muscle phenotype and function

The local environment surrounding airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells has profound effects on the physiological and phenotypic properties of ASM tissues. ASM is continually subjected to the mechanical forces generated during breathing and to the constituents of its surrounding extracellular milieu. The smooth muscle cells within the airways continually modulate their properties to adapt to these changing environmental influences. Smooth muscle cells connect to the extracellular cell matrix (ECM) at membrane adhesion junctions that provide mechanical coupling between smooth muscle cells within the tissue. Membrane adhesion junctions also sense local environmental signals and transduce them to cytoplasmic and nuclear signaling pathways in the ASM cell. Adhesion junctions are composed of clusters of transmembrane integrin proteins that bind to ECM proteins outside the cell and to large multiprotein complexes in the submembranous cytoplasm. Physiological conditions and stimuli from the surrounding ECM are sensed by integrin proteins and transduced by submembranous adhesion complexes to signaling pathways to the cytoskeleton and nucleus. The transmission of information between the local environment of the cells and intracellular processes enables ASM cells to rapidly adapt their physiological properties to modulating influences in their extracellular environment: mechanical and physical forces that impinge on the cell, ECM constituents, local mediators, and metabolites. The structure and molecular organization of adhesion junction complexes and the actin cytoskeleton are dynamic and constantly changing in response to environmental influences. The ability of ASM to rapidly accommodate to the ever-changing conditions and fluctuating physical forces within its local environment is essential for its normal physiological function.

Interactions of airway smooth muscle cells with their tissue matrix: implications for contraction

The ability of airway smooth muscle to alter its stiffness and contractility in response to mechanical oscillation and stretch is critically important for the regulation of normal airway responsiveness during breathing. The properties of mechanical adaptation in airway smooth muscle are proposed to result from dynamic cytoskeletal processes outside of the actomyosin interaction. The actomyosin interaction and crossbridge cycling are viewed as components of a complex and integrated array of cytoskeletal events that occur during cell contraction. These events are orchestrated by macromolecular protein complexes that associate with the cytoplasmic domains of integrin proteins at the adhesion junctions between muscle cells and the extracellular matrix. According to this paradigm, these concerted cytoskeletal events are essential components of the process of active tension generation in airway smooth muscle, and also serve to adapt the shape and stiffness of the smooth muscle cell to its environment. Contractile stimuli initiate actin polymerization within the submembranous cortex of the airway smooth muscle cell that may serve to determine the cells shape and strengthen the membrane. The recruitment of structural proteins such as alpha-actinin to adhesion junctions fortifies the strength of the connections between membrane adhesion junctions and actin filaments. These processes create a strong and rigid cytoskeletal framework for the transmission of force generated by the interaction of myosin and actin filaments. This model for the regulation of airway smooth muscle function can provide novel perspectives to explain the normal physiologic behavior of the airways and pathophysiologic properties of the airways in asthma.

Length adaptation of airway smooth muscle: a stochastic model of cytoskeletal dynamics

To account for cytoskeleton remodeling as well as smooth muscle length adaptation, here we represent the cytoskeleton as a two-dimensional network of links (contractile filaments or stress fibers) that connect nodes (dense plaques or focal adhesions). The network evolves in continuous turnover with probabilities of link formation and dissolution. The probability of link formation increases with the available fraction of contractile units, increases with the degree of network activation, and decreases with increasing distance between nodes, d, as 1/d(s), where s controls the distribution of link lengths. The probability of link dissolution decays with time to mimic progressive cytoskeleton stabilization. We computed network force (F) as the vector summation of link forces exerted at all nodes, unloaded shortening velocity (V) as being proportional to the average link length, and network compliance (C) as the change in network length per change in elastic force. Imposed deformation caused F to decrease transiently and then recover dynamically; recovery ability decreased with increasing time after activation, mimicking observed biological behavior. Isometric contractions showed small sensitivity of F to network length, thus maintaining high force over a wide range of lengths; V and C increased with increasing length. In these behaviors, link length regulation, as described by the parameter s, was found to be crucial. Concerning length adaptation, all phenomena reported thus far in the literature were captured by this extremely simple network model.

Mechanical state of airway smooth muscle at very short lengths

Although the shortening of smooth muscle at physiological lengths is dominated by an interaction between external forces (loads) and internal forces, at very short lengths, internal forces appear to dominate the mechanical behavior of the active tissue. We tested the hypothesis that, under conditions of extreme shortening and low external force, the mechanical behavior of isolated canine tracheal smooth muscle tissue can be understood as a structure in which the force borne and exerted by the cross bridge and myofilament array is opposed by radially disposed connective tissue in the presence of an incompressible fluid matrix (cellular and extracellular). Strips of electrically stimulated tracheal muscle were allowed to shorten maximally under very low afterload, and large longitudinal sinusoidal vibrations (34 Hz, 1 s in duration, and up to 50% of the muscle length before vibration) were applied to highly shortened (active) tissue strips to produce reversible cross-bridge detachment. During the vibration, peak muscle force fell exponentially with successive forced elongations. After the episode, the muscle either extended itself or exerted a force against the tension transducer, depending on external conditions. The magnitude of this effect was proportional to the prior muscle stiffness and the amplitude of the vibration, indicating a recoil of strained connective tissue elements no longer opposed by cross-bridge forces. This behavior suggests that mechanical behavior at short lengths is dominated by tissue forces within a tensegrity-like structure made up of connective tissue, other extracellular matrix components, and active contractile elements.

The first three minutes: smooth muscle contraction, cytoskeletal events, and soft glasses

Smooth muscle exhibits biophysical characteristics and physiological behaviors that are not readily explained by present paradigms of cytoskeletal and cross-bridge mechanics. There is increasing evidence that contractile activation of the smooth muscle cell involves an array of cytoskeletal processes that extend beyond cross-bridge cycling and the sliding of thick and thin filaments. We review here the evidence suggesting that the biophysical and mechanical properties of the smooth muscle cell reflect the integrated interactions of an array of highly dynamic cytoskeletal processes that both react to and transform the dynamics of cross-bridge interactions over the course of the contraction cycle. The activation of the smooth muscle cell is proposed to trigger dynamic remodeling of the actin filament lattice within cellular microdomains in response to local mechanical and pharmacological events, enabling the cell to adapt to its external environment. As the contraction progresses, the cytoskeletal lattice stabilizes, solidifies, and forms a rigid structure well suited for transmission of tension generated by the interaction of myosin and actin. The integrated molecular transitions that occur within the contractile cycle are interpreted in the context of microscale agitation mechanisms and resulting remodeling events within the intracellular microenvironment. Such an interpretation suggests that the cytoskeleton may behave as a glassy substance whose mechanical function is governed by an effective temperature.

Actin polymerization stimulated by contractile activation regulates force development in canine tracheal smooth muscle

1. The role of actin polymerization in the regulation of smooth muscle contractility was investigated in canine trachealis muscle strips. The effect of contractile activation on the content of monomeric globular (G)-actin was estimated by the method of DNase I inhibition. The G-actin content was 30 % lower in extracts of muscle strips activated with 10-4 M acetylcholine (ACh) than in extracts from unstimulated muscle strips. The decrease in G-actin in response to contractile stimulation was prevented by latrunculin-A, an agent that prevents actin polymerization by binding to G-actin monomers. 2. The inhibition of actin polymerization by latrunculin-A markedly depressed force development in response to ACh but had no effect on ACh-induced myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation. Latrunculin also suppressed the length sensitivity of force during ACh-induced isometric contractions. The actin-capping agent cytochalasin-D also markedly inhibited force and caused only a slight decrease in MLC phosphorylation. Cytochalasin-D also inhibited force in alpha-toxin-permeabilized muscle strips that were activated either by Ca2+ or by ACh at constant pCa. No disorganization of smooth muscle cell ultrastructure was detected by electron microscopy or by immunofluorescence microscopy of muscles treated with either agent. 3. The results suggest that the polymerization of actin is stimulated by the contractile activation of tracheal smooth muscle and that this actin polymerization contributes directly to force development. In addition, actin filament remodelling contributes to the length sensitivity of tracheal smooth muscle contractility.