The substructure of myosin and the reaction mechanism of its adenosine triphosphatase

Protein-bound adenosine 5'-triphosphate: properties of a key intermediate of the magnesium-dependent subfragment 1 adenosinetriphosphatase from rabbit skeletal muscle

The time course of formation and decay of protein-bound adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) has been monitored during single turnovers of the myosin subfragment 1 ATPase with nonspectrophotometric techniques. The rate constant controlling the ATP cleavage step increases markedly with ionic strength, so that in low salt the protein--ATP complex is observed transiently at higher concentration than the protein-products complex. The kinetics of the ATP cleavage step in a single turnover of the actosubfragment 1 ATPase indicates that under appropriate conditions this step is partially rate limiting during overall steady-state ATPase activity. It follows that a binary subfragment 1-ATP complex is a significant component of the steady-state intermediate of the actosubfragment 1 ATPase. Transient kinetic studies of ATP and adenosine 5'-(3-thiotriphosphate) [ATP (gamma S)] binding show directly that a substrate-induced protein isomerization accompanies ligand binding. The rate constant of the isomerization is 170 s-1 at pH 7.0, 15 degrees C, and 0.01 M ionic strength. Under these conditions nucleotide binding appears to be accompanied by a protein fluorescence increase that is 50% of the increase associated with magnesium-dependent steady-state ATPase activity.

Histochemical demonstration of myosin Ca2+-ATPase accumulation in primary cultures of skeletal and heart muscle cells

A modified histochemical technique is described for the improved detection of myosin Ca2+-ATPase activity in single muscle cells in culture. The method was used to demonstrate the increase in myosin Ca2+-ATPase activity in differentiating chick skeletal muscle cells. Functional muscle cells were also positively identified in the heterogeneous cell population of primary hamster heart cell cultures. An age-dependent increase in the number of cells with high levels of myosin ATPase activity in mitotically arrested heart cell cultures was shown. Maturation of individual muscle cells could thus be evaluated.

Early phosphate burst of heart myosins- Phylogenic variations

The phosphate burst of cardiac myosins from different animal species was studied by a rapid quench-flow technique. The rate constant of the phosphate burst varied from one species to another. Moreover it was lower for cardiac myosins than for skeletal myosin. The phosphate burst rate correlated with the ATPase in the steady state and with the muscle-shortening speed. By contrast, the amplitude of the phosphate burst did not vary significantly. Its value was 0.8--0.9 per myosin site for each of the myosins studied. Deviations from this stoichiometry were related to the mode of preparation of the myosin and to denaturation by a high pH.

Kinetic analysis of ATPase mechanisms

At even the simplest level we can expect an ATPase mechanism to comprise the following four steps: the binding of ATP, the reaction of ATP with water on the enzyme, and the release of the products ADP and P1. So at the outset techniques are needed to investigate these four processes. The range of techniques needed is soon extended once questions are asked about the role of protons and metal ions, the possibility of a multistep hydrolytic process, multistep substrate and product binding processes, and protein–lipid or protein–protein interactions. Since ATPases and ATP synthases are almost universally involved in some form of energy transduction there is a particular need in an ATPase or ATP synthase reaction to evaluate the equilibrium constants of the steps in the mechanism and to investigate the possibility of alternate reaction pathways. The nature of the coupling process by the protein of the chemical reactions of ATP to the other energetic process, be it muscle contraction, active transport, respiration or photosynthesis, is likewise of profound interest. Finally we would like to know as much as possible about the ATPase or ATP synthase mechanism during the period when the various forms of energy transduction are occurring.