Phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance evidence for two conformations of myosin subfragment-1.nucleotide complexes

A solid-state NMR tool box for the investigation of ATP-fueled protein engines

Motor proteins are involved in a variety of cellular processes. Their main purpose is to convert the chemical energy released during adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis into mechanical work. In this review, solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) approaches are discussed allowing studies of structures, conformational events and dynamic features of motor proteins during a variety of enzymatic reactions. Solid-state NMR benefits from straightforward sample preparation based on sedimentation of the proteins directly into the Magic-Angle Spinning (MAS) rotor. Protein resonance assignment is the crucial and often time-limiting step in interpreting the wealth of information encoded in the NMR spectra. Herein, potentials, challenges and limitations in resonance assignment for large motor proteins are presented, focussing on both biochemical and spectroscopic approaches. This work highlights NMR tools available to study the action of the motor domain and its coupling to functional processes, as well as to identify protein-nucleotide interactions during events such as DNA replication. Arrested protein states of reaction coordinates such as ATP hydrolysis can be trapped for NMR studies by using stable, non-hydrolysable ATP analogues that mimic the physiological relevant states as accurately as possible. Recent advances in solid-state NMR techniques ranging from Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP), ³¹P-based heteronuclear correlation experiments, ¹H-detected spectra at fast MAS frequencies >100 kHz to paramagnetic NMR are summarized and their applications to the bacterial DnaB helicase from Helicobacter pylori are discussed.

CaATP prolongs strong actomyosin binding and promotes futile myosin stroke

Calcium plays an essential role in muscle contraction, regulating actomyosin interaction by binding troponin of thin filaments. There are several buffers for calcium in muscle, and those buffers play a crucial role in the formation of the transient calcium wave in sarcomere upon muscle activation. One such calcium buffer in muscle is ATP. ATP is a fuel molecule, and the important role of MgATP in muscle is to bind myosin and supply energy for the power stroke. Myosin is not a specific ATPase, and CaATP also supports myosin ATPase activity. The concentration of CaATP in sarcomeres reaches 1% of all ATP available. Since 294 myosin molecules form a thick filament, naïve estimation gives three heads per filament with CaATP bound, instead of MgATP. We found that CaATP dissociates actomyosin slower than MgATP, thus increasing the time of the strong actomyosin binding. The rate of the basal CaATPase is faster than that of MgATPase, myosin readily produces futile stroke with CaATP. When calcium is upregulated, as in malignant hyperthermia, kinetics of myosin and actomyosin interaction with CaATP suggest that myosin CaATPase activity may contribute to observed muscle rigidity and enhanced muscle thermogenesis.

2,3-Butandione 2-monoxime inhibits skeletal myosin II by accelerating ATP cleavage

2,3-Butandione 2-monoxime (BDM) is a widely used myosin inhibitor with an unclear mode of action. In this report, we investigated the mechanism of BDM oxime group nucleophilic reactivity on the phosphoester bond of ATP. BDM increased the ATPase activity of skeletal myosin subfragment 1 (S1) under conditions in which ATP cleavage is the rate-limiting step (K⁺, EDTA-ATPase activity of native S1 and Mg²⁺-ATPase activity of trinitrophenylated S1 and partially unfolded S1). Furthermore, the effect of BDM on the S1-bound adenosine 5'-(β,γ-imido) triphosphate (AMPPNP) ³¹P NMR spectrum suggests that BDM changes the microenvironment around the phosphorus atoms of myosin-bound nucleotide. A computational search for the BDM-binding site in the adenosine 5'-[γ-thio] triphosphate (myosin-ATPγS) complex predicted that BDM is located adjacent to the nucleotide on myosin. Therefore, we propose that the BDM oxime group catalytically assists in ATP cleavage, thereby enhancing the ATPase activity of myosin in a manner analogous to pralidoxime-mediated reactivation of organophosphate-inactivated acetylcholinesterase. This is the first study suggesting that oxime provides catalytic assistance for ATP cleavage by an ATP-hydrolyzing enzyme.

Pressure response of 31P chemical shifts of adenine nucleotides

High pressure NMR spectroscopy is a powerful method for identifying rare conformational states of proteins from the pressure response of their chemical shifts. Many proteins have bound adenine nucleotides at their active centers, in most cases in a complex with Mg²⁺-ions. The ³¹P NMR signals of phosphate groups of the nucleotides can be used as probes for conformational transitions in the proteins themselves. For distinguishing protein specific pressure effects from trivial pressure responses not due to the protein interaction, data of the pressure response of the free nucleotides must be available. Therefore, the pressure response of ³¹P chemical shifts of the adenine nucleotides AMP, ADP, and ATP and their Mg²⁺-complexes has been determined at pH values several units distant from the respective pK-values. It is clearly non-linear for most of the resonances. A negative first order pressure coefficient B₁ was determined for all ³¹P resonances except Mg²⁺·AMP indicating an upfield shift of the resonances with pressure. The smallest and largest negative values are obtained for the α-phosphate group of ADP and β-phosphate group of Mg²⁺·ATP with -0.32 and -4.59ppm/GPa, respectively. With exception of the α-phosphate group of Mg²⁺·AMP the second order pressure coefficients are positive leading to a saturation like behaviour. The pressure response of the adenine nucleotides is similar but not identical to that observed earlier for guanine nucleotides. The obtained data show that the chemical shift pressure response of the different phosphate groups is rather different dependent on the position of phosphate group in the nucleotide and the nucleotide used.

Bringing dynamic molecular machines into focus by methyl-TROSY NMR

Large macromolecular assemblies, so-called molecular machines, are critical to ensuring proper cellular function. Understanding how proper function is achieved at the atomic level is crucial to advancing multiple avenues of biomedical research. Biophysical studies often include X-ray diffraction and cryo-electron microscopy, providing detailed structural descriptions of these machines. However, their inherent flexibility has complicated an understanding of the relation between structure and function. Solution NMR spectroscopy is well suited to the study of such dynamic complexes, and continued developments have increased size boundaries; insights into function have been obtained for complexes with masses as large as 1 MDa. We highlight methyl-TROSY (transverse relaxation optimized spectroscopy) NMR, which enables the study of such large systems, and include examples of applications to several cellular machines. We show how this emerging technique contributes to an understanding of cellular function and the role of molecular plasticity in regulating an array of biochemical activities.

Structural kinetics of myosin by transient time-resolved FRET

For many proteins, especially for molecular motors and other enzymes, the functional mechanisms remain unsolved due to a gap between static structural data and kinetics. We have filled this gap by detecting structure and kinetics simultaneously. This structural kinetics experiment is made possible by a new technique, (TR)(2)FRET (transient time-resolved FRET), which resolves protein structural states on the submillisecond timescale during the transient phase of a biochemical reaction. (TR)(2)FRET is accomplished with a fluorescence instrument that uses a pulsed laser and direct waveform recording to acquire an accurate subnanosecond time-resolved fluorescence decay every 0.1 ms after stopped flow. To apply this method to myosin, we labeled the force-generating region site specifically with two probes, mixed rapidly with ATP to initiate the recovery stroke, and measured the interprobe distance by (TR)(2)FRET with high resolution in both space and time. We found that the relay helix bends during the recovery stroke, most of which occurs before ATP is hydrolyzed, and two structural states (relay helix straight and bent) are resolved in each nucleotide-bound biochemical state. Thus the structural transition of the force-generating region of myosin is only loosely coupled to the ATPase reaction, with conformational selection driving the motor mechanism.

Actin-Induced Changes in the Dynamics of Myosin Subfragment-1 Detected by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Analysis of high resolution 1H NMR spectra for myosin and myosin subfragment-1 (S-1) indicates that S-1 has an unusual structure, about 20% of which is mobile. The rest of the myosin molecule and F-actin are rigid by comparison. A wide variety of perturbations do not affect the S-1 internal mobility and suggest that the mobile structure is located in the interior of S-1. Actin binding uniquely quenches the internal motions entirely. The F and G forms have a similar effect. Nucleotide binding restores the internal motions under conditions known to cause dissociation of the acto-S-1 complex. A model of force generation by the actomyosin-nucleotide system, which incorporates this striking actin-induced change in S-1 structural dynamics, is proposed and discussed.

GFP-tagged regulatory light chain monitors single myosin lever-arm orientation in a muscle fiber

Myosin is the molecular motor in muscle-binding actin and executing a power stroke by rotating its lever arm through an angle of approximately 70 degrees to translate actin against resistive force. A green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged human cardiac myosin regulatory light chain (HCRLC) was constructed to study in situ lever arm orientation one molecule at a time by polarized fluorescence emitted from the GFP probe. The recombinant protein physically and functionally replaced the native RLC on myosin lever arms in the thick filaments of permeabilized skeletal muscle fibers. Detecting single molecules in fibers where myosin concentration reaches 300 microM is accomplished using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. With total internal reflection fluorescence, evanescent field excitation, supercritical angle fluorescence detection, and CCD detector pixel size limits detection volume to just a few attoliters. Data analysis manages both the perturbing effect of the TIR interface on probe emission and the effect of high numerical aperture collection of light. The natural myosin concentration gradient in a muscle fiber allows observation of fluorescence polarization from C-term GFP-tagged HCRLC exchanged myosin from regions in the thick filament containing low and high myosin concentrations. In rigor, cross-bridges at low concentration at the end of the thick filament maintain GFP dipole moments at two distinct polar angles relative to the fiber symmetry axis. The lower angle, where the dipole is nearly parallel to fiber axis, is more highly populated than the alternative, larger angle. Cross-bridges at higher concentration in the center of the thick filament are oriented in a homogeneous band at approximately 45 degrees to the fiber axis. The data suggests molecular crowding impacts myosin conformation, implying mutual interactions between cross-bridges alter how the muscle generates force. The GFP-tagged RLC is a novel probe to assess single-lever-arm orientation characteristics in situ.

Myosin II from rabbit skeletal muscle and Dictyostelium discoideum and its interaction with F-actin studied by (1)H NMR spectroscopy

Mg-F-actin occurs in two conformational states, I and M, where the N-terminal amino acids are either immobile or highly mobile. In the rigor or ADP complex of rabbit myosin S1 with Mg-F-actin the N-terminal acetyl group of actin stays in its highly mobile state. The same is true for the complexes with the myosin motor domain from Dictyostelium discoideum. This excludes a direct strong interaction of the N-terminal amino acids with myosin in the rigor state as suggested. An interaction of the N-terminus of F-actin with myosin is also not promoted by occupying its low-affinity binding site(s) with divalent ions. The N-terminal high-mobility region may be part of a structural system which has evolved for releasing inadequate stress applied to the actin filaments.

Changes in the 31P NMR spectrum of rabbit muscle myosin subfragment 1. MgADP with temperature

In pioneering studies on the 31P NMR spectra of MgADP bound to the "molecular motor" myosin subfragment 1 (S1) in the temperature range of 0 to 25 degrees C, Shriver and Sykes [Biochemistry 20 (1981) 2004-2012/6357-6362; Biochemistry 21 (1982) 3022-3028], proposed that MgADP binds to myosin S1 as a mixture of two interconvertible conformers with different chemical shifts for the beta-P resonance of the S1-bound MgADP and that the concentrations of these conformers are related by an equilibrium constant K(T). Their model implied that the weighted average of the chemical shifts of the beta-P(MgADP) for S1-bound MgADP asymptotically approaches a high temperature limit. Here, and in our earlier paper [K. Konno, K. Ue, M. Khoroshev, H., Martinez, B.D. Ray, M.F. Morales, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97 (2000) 1461-1466], we report experimental similarities to Shriver and Sykes, but diverge from them (especially at 0 degrees C) in not finding two distinct peaks and in finding that the average chemical shift does not change with temperature. Our observations can be explained by chemical exchange of beta-P(MgADP) of S1-bound MgADP between two nearly energetically equivalent environments.

Effect of adenosine 5'-[beta,gamma-imido]triphosphate on myosin head domain movements

Conventional and saturation transfer electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR and ST EPR) was used to study the orientation of probe molecules in muscle fibers in different intermediate states of the ATP hydrolysis cycle. A separate procedure was used to obtain ST EPR spectra with precise phase settings even in the case of samples with low spectral intensity. Fibers prepared from rabbit psoas muscle were labeled with isothiocyanate spin labels at the reactive thiol sites of the catalytic domain of myosin. In comparison with rigor, a significant difference was detected in the orientation-dependence of spin labels in the ADP and adenosine 5'-[beta,gamma-imido]triphosphate (AdoPP[CH2]P) states, indicating changes in the internal dynamics and domain orientation of myosin. In the AdoPP[CH2]P state, approximately half of the myosin heads reflected the motional state of ADP-myosin, and the other half showed a different dynamic state with greater mobility.

The three-dimensional structure of septum site-determining protein MinD from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3 in complex with Mg-ADP

BACKGROUND

In Escherichia coli, the cell division site is determined by the cooperative activity of min operon products MinC, MinD, and MinE. MinC is a nonspecific inhibitor of the septum protein FtsZ, and MinE is the supressor of MinC. MinD plays a multifunctional role. It is a membrane-associated ATPase and is a septum site-determining factor through the activation and regulation of MinC and MinE. MinD is also known to undergo a rapid pole-to-pole oscillation movement in vivo as observed by fluorescent microscopy.

RESULTS

The three-dimensional structure of the MinD-2 from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3 (PH0612) has been determined at 2.3 A resolution by X-ray crystallography using the Se-Met MAD method. The molecule consists of a beta sheet with 7 parallel and 1 antiparallel strands and 11 peripheral alpha helices. It contains the classical mononucleotide binding loop with bound ADP and magnesium ion, which is consistent with the suggested ATPase activity.

CONCLUSIONS

Structure analysis shows that MinD is most similar to nitrogenase iron protein, which is a member of the P loop-containing nucleotide triphosphate hydrolase superfamily of proteins. Unlike nitrogenase or other member proteins that normally work as a dimer, MinD was present as a monomer in the crystal. Both the 31P NMR and Malachite Green method exhibited relatively low levels of ATPase activity. These facts suggest that MinD may work as a molecular switch in the multiprotein complex in bacterial cell division.

CaATP as a substrate to investigate the myosin lever arm hypothesis of force generation

In an effort to test the lever arm model of force generation, the effects of replacing magnesium with calcium as the ATP-chelated divalent cation were determined for several myosin and actomyosin reactions. The isometric force produced by glycerinated muscle fibers when CaATP is the substrate is 20% of the value obtained with MgATP. For myosin subfragment 1 (S1), the degree of lever arm rotation, determined using transient electric birefringence to measure rates of rotational Brownian motion in solution, is not significantly changed when calcium replaces magnesium in an S1-ADP-vanadate complex. Actin activates S1 CaATPase activity, although less than it does MgATPase activity. The increase in actin affinity when S1. CaADP. P(i) is converted to S1. CaADP is somewhat greater than it is for the magnesium case. The ionic strength dependence of actin binding indicates that the change in apparent electrostatic charge at the acto-S1 interface for the S1. CaADP. P(i) to S1. CaADP step is similar to the change when magnesium is bound. In general, CaATP is an inferior substrate compared to MgATP, but all the data are consistent with force production by a lever arm mechanism for both substrates. Possible reasons for the reduced magnitude of force when CaATP is the substrate are discussed.

Consequences of placing an intramolecular crosslink in myosin S1

This paper describes the placement of a crosslinking agent (dibromobimane) between two thiols (Cys-522 and Cys-707) of a fragment, "S1," of the motor protein, myosin. It turns out that fastening the first anchor of the crosslinker is easy and rapid, but fastening the second anchor (Cys-522) is very temperature dependent, taking 30 min at room temperature but about a week on ice. Moreover, crystallography taken at 4 degrees C would seem to predict that the linkage is impossible, because the span of the crosslinking agent is much less than the interthiol distance. The simplest resolution of this seeming paradox is that structural fluctuations of the protein render the linkage increasingly likely as the temperature increases. Also, measurements of the affinity of MgADP for the protein, as well as the magnetic resonance of the P-atoms of the ADP once emplaced, suggest that binding the first reagent anchor to Cys-707 initiates an influence that travels to the rather distant ADP-binding site, and it is speculated what this "path of influence" might be.

Nucleotide binding by the nitrogenase Fe protein: a 31P NMR study of ADP and ATP interactions with the Fe protein of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Investigation of the interaction of MgADP- and MgATP2- with the Fe protein of Klebsiella pneumoniae nitrogenase by 31P NMR showed that the adenine nucleotides are reversibly bound in slow exchange with free nucleotides. Dissociation of the MgADP--Fe protein complex was slow enough to enable its isolation by gel filtration, thus permitting the assignment of resonances to bound nucleotides. Spectra of ADP bound to Kp2 were similar to spectra of ADP bound to the myosin motor domain. Oxidative inactivation of a Kp2-MgADP- complex with excess ferricyanide ion eliminated exchange between bound and free ADP, indicating that the intact iron sulphur cluster, located 20 A from the binding sites, is required for the reversible binding of MgADP-. A change in conformation on controlled oxidation of Kp2 with indigocarmine increased the chemical shift of the beta phosphate resonance of bound MgADP-. Both oxidized and reduced conformers were observed transiently in the absence of dithionite. The 31P resonances of both the beta and gamma phosphates of bound MgATP2- indicated major changes in environment and labilization of both groups on binding to the Fe protein. Highly purified Kp2 slowly hydrolysed ATP, resulting in mixtures of bound nucleotides. Partial occupation of Kp2 MgATP2--binding sites (N=1.9+/-0.2, Kd=145 microM) in concentrated protein solutions was demonstrated by flow dialysis. Scatchard plots of data for bound and free ligand obtained after equilibration with Kp2 were linear and no co-operative interactions were detected. We conclude that MgADP- stabilizes the oxidized Fe protein conformer and this conformation in turn triggers the dissociation of the Fe protein from the MoFe protein in the rate-limiting step of the overall process of dinitrogen reduction.

Kinetic tuning of myosin via a flexible loop adjacent to the nucleotide binding pocket

A surface loop (25/50-kDa loop) near the nucleotide pocket of myosin has been proposed to be an important element in determining the rate of ADP release from myosin, and as a consequence, the rate of actin-myosin filament sliding (Spudich, J. A. (1991) Nature 372, 515-518). To test this hypothesis, loops derived from different myosin II isoforms that display a range of actin filament sliding velocities were inserted into a smooth muscle myosin backbone. Chimeric myosins were produced by baculovirus/Sf9 cell expression. Although the nature of this loop affected the rate of ADP release (up to 9-fold), in vitro motility (2.7-fold), and the Vmax of actin-activated ATPase activity (up to 2-fold), the properties of each chimera did not correlate with the relative speed of the myosin from which the loop was derived. Rather, the rate of ADP release was a function of loop size/flexibility with the larger loops giving faster rates of ADP release. The rate of actin filament translocation was altered by the rate of ADP release, but was not solely determined by it. Through a combination of solute quenching and transient fluorescence measurements, it is concluded that, as the loop gets smaller, access to the nucleotide pocket is more restricted, ATP binding becomes less favored, and ADP binding becomes more favored. In addition, the rate of ATP hydrolysis is slowed.

Kinetic characterization of brush border myosin-I ATPase

Brush border myosin-I (BBM-I) is a single-headed unconventional myosin found in the microvilli of intestinal epithelial cells. We used stopped-flow kinetic analysis to measure the rate and equilibrium constants for several steps in the BBM-I ATPase cycle. We determined the rates for ATP binding to BBM-I and brush border actomyosin-I (actoBBM-I), the rate of actoBBM-I dissociation by ATP, and the rates for the steps in ADP dissociation from actoBBM-I. The rate and equilibrium constants for several of the steps in the actoBBM-I ATPase are significantly different from those of other members of the myosin superfamily. Most notably, dissociation of the actoBBM-I complex by ATP and release of ADP from actoBBM-I are both very slow. The slow rates of these steps may play a role in lengthening the time spent in force-generating states and in limiting the maximal rate of BBM-I motility. In addition, release of ADP from the actoBBM-I complex occurs in at least two steps. This study provides evidence for a member of the myosin superfamily with markedly divergent kinetic behavior.

Hydrolysis of AMPPNP by the motor domain of ncd, a kinesin-related protein

AMPPNP was found to be hydrolyzed by the motor domain of ncd (the product of a Drosophila gene, non-claret disjunctional), a kinesin-related protein. This hydrolysis could be monitored by 31P NMR spectroscopy and by an assay of phosphate, one of the products of the hydrolysis. The rate was approximately 0.00004 s(-1), 1% of the ATP turnover rate. The AMPPNP turnover was not stimulated by microtubules. Kinesin motor domain also turned over AMPPNP but at a somewhat lower rate. Although the turnover was slow, the present finding may present an important caveat, since AMPPNP has been widely used for investigations of kinesin and kinesin-related proteins as a non-hydrolyzable ATP analogue.

Covalent modification of nitrogenase MoFe protein by ADP

MgADP- reacted with the nitrogenase molybdenum-iron (MoFe) protein of Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp1) over a period of 2 h to yield a stable, catalytically active conjugate. The isolated protein exhibited a new, broad 31P NMR resonance at -1 p.p.m. lacking phosphorus J coupling. The adenine ring of [8-14C]ADP remained associated with the conjugate. A covalently bound nucleotide was identified as AMP by NMR and TLC. Extended dialysis of Kp1 against MgADP- resulted in further AMP binding at the protein surface. ADP was initially bound tightly to Kp1 at a site distinct from the AMP sites. ATP did not replace ADP. The time course of the formation of the Kp1-AMP was altered by the nitrogenase iron protein (Kp2) and was dependent on redox potential. Kp1-AMP was stable to concentration and oxidation with ferricyanide ion at -350 mV. Slow hydrolysis of Kp1-AMP over a period of 6 h yielded AMP and unaltered Kp1. The adenine ring of ADP exchanged with adenine of MgATP2- during reductant-limited turnover of nitrogenase under N2, indicating reversibility of ATP hydrolysis at 15 degrees C. [32P]Pi exchanged with the terminal phosphate group of both ADP and ATP on incubation with Kp1. 32P exchange and the catalytic activity of Kp1 were inhibited by a 20-fold molar excess of the lysine-modifying reagent, o-phthalaldehyde (OPT). Preincubation with MgADP- protected against OPT inactivation. Two potentially reactive lysine residues on the alpha chain of the MoFe protein near a putative hydrophobic docking site for the nitrogenase Fe protein are proposed as sites of OPT and nucleotide binding. Azotobacter vinelandii MoFe protein (Av1) also formed an AMP adduct but Kp2 did not. Catalase did not interact with ADP. The reactions of the nitrogenase MoFe protein with adenine nucleotides have no counterpart in known protein-nucleotide interactions.

Kinetic mechanism of a monomeric kinesin construct

The kinetic mechanism is analyzed for a monomeric human kinesin construct K332. In the absence of microtubules, the rate constants of the ATPase cycle are very similar to dimeric human kinesin K379 and whole kinesin from bovine brain. The microtubule-activated ATPase is 60 s(-1) at 20 degrees C; Km(Mt) is 5 microM; dissociation constants in the presence of ATP and ADP are 9 microM and 16 microM, respectively. The values of dissociation constants are 5 times larger than for K379. Binding of K332 to microtubules increased the rate of the hydrolysis step from 7 s(-1) to greater than 200 s(-1) and the 2'-(3')-O-(N-methylanthraniloyl) (mant) ADP dissociation step from 0.02 s(-1) to greater than 100 s(-1). At higher ionic strength, more than one ATP is hydrolyzed before dissociation of MtK332 (small processivity). Data are fitted to the kinetic scheme. [equation: see text] Approximate values of rate constants are k1 = 500 s(-1), k2 > or = 200 s(-1), k3k4/(k3 + k4) = 100 s(-1), k(dis) = 80+/-10 s(-1). Two experiments to measure k4 gave 110 s(-1) from the maximum rate of dissociation of mant ADP for reaction of K x ADP with microtubules and 300 s(-1) from extrapolation to zero concentration of rate of binding of mant ADP to MtK. It is proposed that mant ADP dissociation is a two-step process. In the simple scheme, k4 is the effective rate of the two-step release of ADP, k4 = 150 s(-1) to 200 s(-1), and k3 = 150 s(-1) to 200 s(-1) to account for the steady state rate.

Structural studies of kinesin-nucleotide intermediates

We have investigated the structural changes that occur in the molecular motor kinesin during its ATPase cycle, utilizing two bacterially expressed constructs. The structure of both constructs has been examined as a function of the nature of the nucleotide intermediate occupying the active site by means of sedimentation velocity, sedimentation equilibrium, fluorescence solute quenching, fluorescence anisotropy decay, and limited proteolysis. While the molecular weight of monomeric and dimeric human kinesin constructs, as measured by sedimentation velocity and sedimentation equilibrium, and the tryptic cleavage pattern are unaffected by the nucleotide intermediate occupying the active site, significant changes in the rotational correlation time of fluorescently labeled kinesin-nucleotide intermediates can be detected. These results suggest that kinesin contains an internal "hinge" whose flexibility varies through the course of the ATPase cycle. In prehydrolytic, "strong" binding states, this hinge is relatively rigid, while in posthydrolytic, "weak" binding states, it is more flexible. Our results, in conjunction with anisotropy decay studies of myosin, suggest that these two molecular motors may share a common structural feature; viz. weak binding states are characterized by segmental flexibility, which is lost upon assumption of a strong binding conformation.

Myosin catalytic domain flexibility in MgADP

Conventional EPR studies of muscle fibers labeled with a novel alpha-iodoketo spin label at Cys-707 of the myosin head revealed substantial internal domain reorganization on the addition of ADP to rigor fibers. The spin probes that are well-ordered in the rigor state become disordered and form two distinct populations. These orientational changes do not correspond to rotation of the myosin catalytic domain as a whole because other probes (maleimide and iodoacetamide nitroxides attached to the same Cys-707 of myosin head) report only a small (5-10 degrees) torsional rotation and little or no change in the tilt angle [Ajtai et al. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 207-17; Fajer (1994) Biophys. J. 66, 2039-50]. In the presence of ADP, the labeled domain becomes more flexible and executes large-amplitude microsecond motions, as measured by saturation-transfer EPR with rates (tau r = 150 microseconds) intermediate between the rotations of detached (tau r = 7 microseconds) and rigor heads (tau r = 2500 microseconds). This finding contrasts with an absence of global motion of the myosin head in ADP (tau r = 2200 microseconds) as reported by the maleimide spin label. Our results imply that the myosin head in a single chemical state (AM.ADP) is capable of attaining many internal configurations, some of which are dynamic. The presence of these slow structural fluctuations might be related to the slow release of the hydrolysis products of actomyosin ATPase.

[2-3H]ATP synthesis and 3H NMR spectroscopy of enzyme-nucleotide complexes: ADP and ADP.Vi bound to myosin subfragment 1

The synthesis of [2-3H]ATP with specific activity high enough to use for 3H NMR spectroscopy at micromolar concentrations was accomplished by tritiodehalogenation of 2-Br-ATP. ATP with greater than 80% substitution at the 2-position and negligible tritium levels at other positions had a single 3H NMR peak at 8.20 ppm in 1D spectra obtained at 533 MHz. This result enables the application of tritium NMR spectroscopy to ATP utilizing enzymes. The proteolytic fragment of skeletal muscle myosin, called S1, consists of a heavy chain (95 kDa) and one alkali light chain (16 or 21 kDa) complex that retains myosin ATPase activity. In the presence of Mg2+, S1 converts [2-3H]ATP to [2-3H]ADP and the complex S1.Mg[2-3H]ADP has ADP bound in the active site. At 0 degrees C, 1D 3H NMR spectra of S1.Mg[2-3H]ADP have two broadened peaks shifted 0.55 and 0.90 ppm upfield from the peak due to free [2-3H]ADP. Spectra with good signal-to-noise for 0.10 mM S1.Mg[2-3H]ADP were obtained in 180 min. The magnitude of the chemical shift caused by binding is consistent with the presence of an aromatic side chain being in the active site. Spectra were the same for S1 with either of the alkali light chains present, suggesting that the alkali light chains do not interact differently with the active site. The two broad peaks appear to be due to the two conformations of S1 that have been observed previously by other techniques. Raising the temperature to 20 degrees C causes small changes in the chemical shifts, narrows the peak widths from 150 to 80 Hz, and increases the relative area under the more upfield peak. Addition of orthovanadate (Vi) to produce S1.Mg[2-2H]ADP.Vi shifts both peaks slightly more upfield without changing their widths or relative areas.

Effects of nucleotide binding on thermal transitions and domain structure of myosin subfragment 1

The thermal unfolding and domain structure of myosin subfragment 1 (S1) from rabbit skeletal muscles and their changes induced by nucleotide binding were studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The binding of ADP to S1 practically does not influence the position of the thermal transition (maximum at 47.2 degrees C), while the binding of the non-hydrolysable analogue of ATP, adenosine 5'-[beta, gamma-imido]triphosphate (AdoPP[NH]P) to S1, or trapping of ADP in S1 by orthovanadate (Vi), shift the maximum of the heat adsorption curve for S1 up to 53.2 and 56.1 degrees C, respectively. Such an increase of S1 thermostability in the complexes S1-AdoPP[NH]P and S1-ADP-Vi is confirmed by results of turbidity and tryptophan fluorescence measurements. The total heat adsorption curves for S1 and its complexes with nucleotides were decomposed into elementary peaks corresponding to the melting of structural domains in the S1 molecule. Quantitative analysis of the data shows that the domain structure of S1 in the complexes S1-AdoPP[NH]P and S1-ADP-Vi is similar and differs radically from that of nucleotide-free S1 and S1 in the S1-ADP complex. These data are the first direct evidence that the S1 molecule can be in two main conformations which may correspond to different states during the ATP hydrolysis: one of them corresponds to nucleotide-free S1 and to the complex S1-ADP, and the other corresponds to the intermediate complexes S1-ATP and S1-ADP-Pi. Surprisingly it turned out that the domain structure of S1 with ADP trapped by p-phenylene-N, N'-dimaleimide (pPDM) thiol cross-linking almost does not differ from that of the nucleotide-free S1. This means that pPDM-cross-linked S1 in contrast to S1-AdoPP[NH]P and S1-ADP-Vi can not be considered a structural analogue of the intermediate complexes S1-ATP and S1-ADP-Pi.

Nucleotide- and temperature-induced changes in myosin subfragment-1 structure

The effects of nucleotide binding and temperature on the internal structural dynamics of myosin subfragment 1 (S1) were monitored by intrinsic tryptophan phosphorescence lifetime and fluorescence anisotropy measurements. Changes in the global conformation of S1 were monitored by measuring its rate of rotational diffusion using transient electric birefringence techniques. At 5 degrees C, the binding of MgADP, MgADP,P and MgADP,V (vanadate) progressively reduce the rotational freedom of S1 tryptophans, producing what appear to be increasingly more rigidified S1-nucleotide structures. The changes in the luminescence properties of the tryptophans suggest that at least one is located at the interface of two S1 subdomains. Increasing the temperature from 0 to 25 degrees C increases the apparent internal mobility of S1 tryptophans in all cases and, in addition, a reversible temperature-dependent transition centered near 15 degrees C was observed for S1, S1-MgADP and S1-MgADP,P, but not for S1-MgADP,V. The rotational diffusion constants of S1 and S1-MgADP were measured at temperatures between 0 and 25 degrees C. After adjusting for the temperature and viscosity of the solvent, the data indicate that the thermally induced transition at 15 degrees C comprises local conformational changes, but no global conformational change. Structural features of S1-MgADP,P, which may relate to its role in force generation while bound to actin, are presented.

Small-angle synchrotron x-ray scattering reveals distinct shape changes of the myosin head during hydrolysis of ATP

In the energy transduction of muscle contraction, it is important to know the nature and extent of conformational changes of the head portion of the myosin molecules. In the presence of magnesium adenosine triphosphate (MgATP), fairly large conformational changes of the myosin head [subfragment-1 (S1)] in solution were observed by small-angle x-ray scattering with the use of synchrotron radiation as an intense and stable x-ray source. The presence of MgATP reduced the radius of gyration of the molecule by about 3 angstrom units and the maximum chord length by about 10 angstroms, showing that the shape of S1 becomes more compact or round during hydrolysis of MgATP. Comparison with various nucleotide-bound S1 complexes that correspond to the known intermediate states during ATP hydrolysis indicates that the shape of S1 in a key intermediate state, S1-bound adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and phosphate [S1**.ADP.P(i)], differs significantly from the shape in the other intermediate states of the S1 adenosine triphosphatase cycle as well as that of nucleotide-free S1.

Two different acto-S1 complexes

Based on change in anisotropy of fluorescently labelled S1 and on increase in turbidity of acto-S1 complex when S1 bound to F-actin, we reported previously that depending on the molar ratio of S1 to actin two different complexes of actin monomer (A) and myosin subfragment 1 (S1) could be formed: A1*S1 (one actin with one S1) and A2*S1 (two actins with one S1). Here we extend these findings to F-actin labelled with pyrene and cross-linked to S1 with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl-aminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC). The fluorescence of pyrene F-actin decreased with increase in S1 concentration and reached saturation at a molar ratio of S1 to actin of either 0.5 or 1.0, depending on whether S1 was added slowly (5 min) or quickly (10-20 s between additions). Incubation of A2*S1 complex in excess of S1 for > 1 h caused a shift in equilibrium towards the A1*S1 complex. The A2*S1 complexes were not formed at high S1 to actin ratios (> 1.0) owing to competition between heads. Crosslinking experiments showed that the formation of EDC crosslinked products, 175-185 kDa doublet and 265 kDa band, depended on the ratio S1 to actin. To assess the relative ratio of S1 and actin in crosslinked products, we labelled S1 and F-actin with different fluorescent probes (5-IAF and IATR). The S1 to actin ratio was proportional to the ratio of intensities of fluorescence of labelled S1 and actin. The S1 to actin ratio in 265 kDa product was two times smaller than in 175-185 kDa doublet (which is believed to be A1*S1 complex) and therefore 265 kDa band corresponded to A2*S1. Transition between two types of binding may be important to understanding how muscle contracts.

The kinetics of a two-state transition of myosin subfragment 1. A temperature-jump relaxation study

Temperature-jump measurements were carried out on myosin subfragment 1 (S1) labeled at Cys-707 with 5-(iodoacetamido)fluorescein (S1-AF). The relaxation was monitored by following the increase in the fluorescence intensity of the attached probe after a jump of 5.8 degrees C. A single relaxation process was observed over a range of final temperatures, and the relaxation time decreased from 16.69 ms at 15 degrees C to 3.91 ms at 27 degrees C. The relaxation results are interpreted in terms of a two-state transition: (S1-AF)L K+ in equilibrium with K- (S1-AF)H, and the observed single relaxation time (tau) equals l/(k(+) + k-). The individual first-order rate constants, k+ and k-, were calculated from tau and the equilibrium constant previously determined. The activation energy was 21.9 kcal/mol for the forward reaction and 9.3 kcal/mol for the reverse reaction, corresponding to an enthalpy value of 12.6 kcal/mol for the two-state transition. The results provide, for the first time, direct kinetic evidence of a two-state transition of S1 in the absence of bound nucleotide, and support a two-state model of unliganded myosin subfragment 1.

Actin mediated regulation of muscle contraction

Striated and smooth muscles have different mechanisms of regulation of contraction which can be the basis for selective pharmacological alteration of the contractility of these muscle types. The progression in our understanding of the tropomyosin-troponin regulatory system of striated muscle from the early 1970s through the early 1990s is described along with key concepts required for understanding this complex system. This review also examines the recent history of the putative contractile regulatory proteins of smooth muscle, caldesmon and calponin. A contrast is made between the actin linked regulatory systems of striated and smooth muscle.

Transduction of enzyme-ligand binding energy into catalytic driving force

We propose a testable general mechanism by which ligand binding energy can be used to drive a catalytic step in an enzyme catalyzed reaction or to do other forms of work involving protein molecules. This energy transduction theory is based on our finding of the widespread occurrence of ligand binding-induced protein macrostate interconversions each having a large invariant delta H0 accompanied by a small but highly variable delta G0. This phenomenon, which can be recognized by the large delta Cp0's it generates, can provide the necessary energy input step but is not in itself sufficient to constitute a workable transduction mechanism. A viable mechanism requires the additional presence of an 'energy transmission step' which is terminated to trigger the 'power' stroke at a precise location on the reaction coordinate, followed by an energetically inexpensive 'return' step to restore the machine to its initial conditions. In the model we propose here, these additional steps are provided by the existence of ligand inducible 2-state transitions in the free enzyme and in each of the enzyme complexes that occur along the reaction coordinate, and by the selective blocking of certain of these interconversions by high energetic barriers. We provide direct experimental evidence supporting the facts that these additional mechanistic components do exist and that the liver glutamate dehydrogenase reaction is indeed driven by just such machinery. We describe some aspects of the chemical nature of these transitions, and evidence for their occurrence in other systems.

C-terminal structure and mobility of rabbit skeletal muscle light meromyosin as studied by one- and two-dimensional 1H NMR spectroscopy and X-ray small-angle scattering

Intact rabbit myosin and two different C-terminal fragments of rabbit muscle light meromyosin (LMM) expressed in Escherichia coli, LMM-30, and LMM-30C', were studied by 1H NMR spectroscopy. X-ray small-angle scattering shows that at high ionic strength two polypeptide chains of LMM-30 (which consists of the C-terminal 262 amino acids of myosin heavy chain) or LMM-30C' (which corresponds to LMM-30 but lacks the last 17 residues) assemble to form an alpha-helical coiled-coil as it is found also in myosin. The last 12 C-terminal residues of one polypeptide chain of LMM-30 and the last 9 C-terminal residues of the other chain are very mobile. The last 8 residues of the two strands are equivalent from the NMR point of view and unfolded; the valine residues in position 255 in the two strands are not equivalent, suggesting an interaction between the two strands, Ser-252, Arg-253, and Asp-254 are completely immobilized in one of the polypeptide strands and partly mobile in the other. Essentially the same pattern is observed in intact myosin. In spite of the large molecular weights of LMM-30 and LMM-30C', it is possible to resolve almost all aromatic residues and to determine the pK values of all the 4 tyrosine and of 9 (out of 10) histidine residues. The tyrosine residues in the two strands are equivalent in the two polypeptide chains and both have a pK of 10.5. The pK values of the histidine residues vary between 5.7 and 7.0.

Conformational flexibility of the Cys 697-Cys 707 segment of myosin subfragment-1. Distance distributions by frequency-domain fluorometry

The separation between Cys 697 (SH1) and Cys 707 (SH2) of the heavy chain of myosin subfragment-1 was previously measured by fluorescence resonance energy transfer with a donor linked to SH1 and an acceptor to SH2. In the present study the distribution of the distances between the two thiols was recovered from frequency-domain fluorometry. In the native state and in the presence of ligands such as MgADP, pyrophosphate, orthovanadate (Vi) and actin, we found wide distributions of the separations between SH1 and SH2 (11-16 A) comparable to that found in the random-coil state (20 A). These results suggest that the SH1-SH2 segment has a high degree of conformational flexibility even in native S1. The flexibility is not much affected by the physiological state of S1. However, the ligands MgADP, Vi and MgADP + Vi decrease significantly the mean SH1-SH2 distance from 27 to 17 A with the effect of MgADP+ Vi being the most pronounced. The anisotropy decay of donor-labeled S1 is biphasic with two rotational correlation times. The long component is decreased by these ligands from 289 to 93 ns, suggesting a more compact symmetric structure of S1 in the presence of the ligands. The complex S1(MgADP)Vi has been shown to be a stable analogue of S1(MgADP)Pi, an unstable intermediate that is generated in the actomyosin ATPase cycle during muscle contraction. Since the power stroke of muscle is accompanied by release of Pi from S1(MgADP)Pi, the present results are consistent with a model in which force generation can be accompanied by transition of S1 from a highly symmetric or compact structure to a more extended structure.

Spin-echo 1H NMR studies of differential mobility in gizzard myosin and its subfragments

The unexpectedly narrow resonances in the 1H NMR spectra of gizzard myosin, heavy meromyosin, and subfragment 1 were examined by spin-echo NMR spectroscopy. These resonances originated predominantly in the myosin heads, or subfragment 1 units. Smooth muscle myosin undergoes a dramatic change in hydrodynamic properties and can exist either as a folded (10S) or as an extended (6S) species. Factors that influence this transition, namely, ionic strength and phosphorylation (or thiophosphorylation), were varied in the NMR experiments. T2 relaxation experiments on dephosphorylated myosin indicated several components of different relaxation times that were not influenced by changes in ionic strength. Our experiments focused on the components with longer relaxation times, i.e., corresponding to nuclei with more mobility, and these were observed selectively in a spin-echo experiment. With dephosphorylated myosin and HMM, increases in ionic strength caused an increased intensity in several of the narrower resonances. The ionic strength dependence of these changes paralleled that for the 10S to 6S transition. With thiophosphorylated myosin and HMM, changes in ionic strength also influenced the intensities of the narrower resonances, and in addition changes in the 1H NMR spectrum due to thiophosphorylation were observed. The narrow resonances seen with myosin and HMM were observed with S1, but the spin-echo spectra of S1 were not influenced either by changes in ionic strength or by phosphorylation. These results suggest that a fraction of the 1H resonances in smooth muscle myosin and its fragments originates from both aliphatic and aromatic residues of increased mobility compared to the mobility expected from hydrodynamic properties of these proteins. In general, the intensities of these residues increase with increasing ionic strength, and this is consistent with an increase in the percentage of mobile residues during the 10S to 6S transition. Segmental flexibility appeared also to be influenced by phosphorylation within the 6S conformation. These changes were not detected in the isolated myosin heads and thus required a higher order of structure, either the subfragment 2 region or the interaction of myosin heads.

Differential scanning calorimetry of a conformational transition in heavy meromyosin

We have investigated the potential use of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to characterize conformational changes in proteins with emphasis on a conformational change in the myosin head which may be related to the power-stroke providing force production in muscle contraction. Simulations indicate that two-state conformational transitions with enthalpy changes greater than approximately 30 kcal/mol should be observable by DSC. We present here differential scanning calorimetric studies of a predenaturation structural change in heavy meromyosin. The high concentration of protein required for these experiments leads to potential contributions from intermolecular interactions. The technical difficulties associated with studying conformational transitions by DSC are discussed.

Effect of nucleotides, actin and temperature on thermolysin digestion of myosin subfragment-1

Myosin subfragment-1 from rabbit skeletal muscle was digested by thermolysin at 25 degrees, 12 degrees and 0 degree C. Thermolysin cleaves subfragment-1 heavy chain into two stable fragments, 28 kDa and 70 kDa, aligned in this order from the N-terminus [Applegate, D. & Reisler, E. (1983) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 80, 7109-7112]. The rate of digestion at 25 degrees C was significantly increased in the presence of MgATP and somewhat less in the presence of MgADP, or magnesium pyrophosphate. This activating effect of the nucleotides was decreased at 12 degrees C and completely eliminated at 0 degrees C. The results can be explained by assuming that there are two subfragment-1 conformers [Shriver, J. W. & Sykes, B. D. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 2004-2012], and that both the addition of ATP or its analogs, and lowering the temperature, shift the conformational equilibrium in the direction that is more susceptible to thermolysin. Actin inhibited thermolysin digestion of subfragment-1 at all three temperatures studied. Actin inhibition can be explained either by shifting the equilibrium of the conformers in the direction of the less susceptible form or by direct interference of actin with the binding of thermolysin to subfragment-1. Actin inhibition of thermolysin digestion also prevailed when subfragment-1 was in a ternary complex with nucleotide and actin, in both the strongly and weakly attached states. Similarly, actin inhibited the digestion of subfragment-1 modified by 4-phenylenedimaleimide [corrected], which also forms a weakly attached complex with actin. No difference could be found in the accessibility of the thermolysin-susceptible site of subfragment-1 at the 28-70 kDa junction in either rigor, strongly or weakly attached states, which indicates the similarity of the structure proximal to this specific site in the three attached states.

Off-resonance rotating frame spin-lattice NMR relaxation studies of phosphorus metabolite rotational diffusion in bovine lens homogenates

The rotational diffusion behavior of phosphorus metabolites present in calf lens cortical and nuclear homogenates was investigated by the NMR technique of 31P off-resonance rotating frame spin-lattice relaxation as a means of assessing the occurrence and extent of phosphorus metabolite-lens protein interactions. 31P NMR spectra of calf lens homogenates were obtained at 10 and 18 degrees C (below and above the cold cataract phase transition temperature, respectively) at 7.05 T. Effective rotational correlation times (tau 0,eff) for the major phosphorus metabolites present in cortical and nuclear bovine calf lens homogenates were derived from nonlinear least-squares analysis of R vs omega e (spectral intensity ratio vs precessional frequency about the effective field) data with the assumption of isotropic reorientational motion. Intramolecular dipole-dipole (1H-31P, 31P-31P), chemical shift anisotropy (CSA), and solvent (water) translational intermolecular dipole-dipole (1H-31P) relaxation contributions were assumed in the analyses. In those cases where the limiting value of the spectral intensity ratio failed to reach unity at large offset frequency, a modified formalism incorporating chemical exchange mediated saturation transfer between two sites was used. Values of tau 0,eff for phosphorus metabolites present in the cortex varied from a low of ca. 2 ns [L-alpha-glycero-phosphocholine (GPC)] to a high of 12 ns (alpha-ATP) at 10 degrees C, whereas at 18 degrees C the range was from ca. 1 to 9 ns. For the nucleus the tau 0,eff values ranged from ca. 3 ns (GPC) to 41 ns (Pi) at 10 degrees C; at 18 degrees C the corresponding values ranged from 4 to 39 ns. For PME (phosphomonoester; in lens the predominant metabolite is L-alpha-glycerol phosphate) at 18 degrees C evidence was obtained for binding and subsequent exchange with solid like protein domains. The diversity in tau 0,eff values for lenticular phosphorus metabolites is suggestive of differential binding to more slowly tumbling macromolecular species, most likely lens crystallin proteins. Corresponding measurement of tau 0,eff values for the mobile protein fraction present in calf lens cortical and nuclear homogenates at 10 and 18 degrees C, by 13C off-resonance rotating frame spin-lattice relaxation, provided average macromolecular correlation times that were assumed to represent the bound metabolite state. A fast-exchange model (on the T1 time scale), between free and bound forms, was employed in the analysis of the metabolite R vs omega e curves to yield the

Characterization of membrane-associated actin in boar spermatozoa

Biochemical, immunological, and electron microscopic methods have been used to provide semi-quantitative estimates and to localize actin in membranes of boar spermatozoa. Immunoblots, using a monoclonal antibody raised against actin from chicken gizzard, detected the protein in caput and cauda sperm plasma membranes. Immunoassay indicated that approximately 1% of the total plasma membrane protein was actin. Monomeric actin accounted for more than one-half of the membrane actin. Approximately 30-40% of plasma membrane actin was insoluble in Triton X-100, and approximately 10% of the total actin remained insoluble after treatment with guanidine hydrochloride. The presence of F-actin in sperm plasma membranes and in plasma membrane detergent-insoluble proteins was detected by fluorescence microscopy using the specific probe NBD phallacidin. When S1 myosin subfragments attached to colloidal gold were used to localize F-actin by electron microscopy, the label was restricted to the outer acrosomal membrane of intact epididymal and ejaculated sperm. Filaments appeared in short arrays along the anterior region of the membrane. S1/gold labeled detergent-insoluble plasma membrane fractions but did not label the plasma membrane in intact sperm. Filaments were least prominent in intact caput spermatozoa and most prominent in ejaculated spermatozoa. We conclude that most actin associated with sperm membranes is in monomeric form in boar spermatozoa, but that actin filaments or protofilaments are components of the outer acrosomal membrane. These filaments may also associate with the plasma membrane overlying the acrosome.

The effect of nucleotide upon a specific isomerization of actomyosin subfragment 1

The binding of actin to myosin subfragment 1 (S1) has been shown to occur as a two-step reaction [Coates, Criddle & Geeves (1985) Biochem. J. 232, 351-356]. In the first step actin is weakly bound and the second step involves the complex isomerizing to a more tightly bound state. This isomerization can be followed specifically by monitoring the fluorescence of actin that has been covalently labelled with N-(pyren-1-yl)-iodoacetamide at Cys-374 [Geeves, Jeffries & Millar (1986) Biochemistry 25, 8454-8458]. We report here that the presence of nucleotides and nucleotide analogues affects the equilibrium between the strongly bound and weakly bound states (referred to as K2). In the presence of ATP, [gamma-thio]ATP or ADP and vanadate a value of approx. less than 10(-2) was estimated for K2. In the presence of PPi or ADP a value of approx. 2.3 or 10 respectively was obtained. An increase in KCl concentration or the presence of 40% ethylene glycol was found to decrease K2 in the presence of ADP. The data presented here are consistent with the two-step binding model proposed by Geeves, Goody & Gutfreund [(1984) J. Muscle Res. Cell Motil. 5, 351-361], where it was suggested that the transition between weakly bound and strongly bound states is closely associated with the force-generating event in whole muscle.

Conformational transitions in the myosin head induced by temperature, nucleotide and actin. Studies on subfragment-1 of myosins from rabbit and frog fast skeletal muscle with a limited proteolysis method

Tryptic digestion patterns reveal a close similarity of the substructure of frog subfragment-1 (S1) to that established for rabbit S1. The 97-kDa heavy chain of chymotryptic S1 of frog myosin is preferentially cleaved into three fragments with apparent molecular masses of 29 kDa, 49 kDa and 20 kDa. These fragments correspond to the 27-kDa, 50-kDa and 20-kDa fragments of rabbit S1, respectively; this is indicated by the sequence of their appearance during digestion, by the suppression by actin of the generation of the 49-kDa and 20-kDa peptides, and by a nucleotide-promoted cleavage of the 29-kDa peptide to a 24-kDa fragment and the 49-kDa peptide to a 44-kDa fragment, analogous to the nucleotide-promoted cleavage of the 27-kDa and 50-kDa fragments of rabbit S1 to the 22-kDa and 45-kDa peptides. The same changes in the digestion patterns as those produced by the presence of nucleotide (ATP or its beta,gamma-imido analog AdoP P[NH]P) at 25 degrees C were observed when the digestion was carried out at 0 degrees C in the absence of nucleotide. The low-temperature-induced changes were particularly well seen in the preparations from frog myosin. The presence of ATP or AdoP P[NH]P at 0 degrees C enhanced, whereas the complex formation with actin prevented, the low-temperature-induced changes. The results are consistent with there being two fundamental conformational states of the myosin head in an equilibrium that is dependent on the temperature, the nucleotide bound at the active site, and the presence or absence of actin.

Lack of communication between LC2 light chain and the SH1 region of myosin S-1 studied by 19F-NMR

Myosin subfragment-1 (S-1) which contains the LC2 light chain has been labelled with fluorine to allow an 19F-NMR study of the coupling and energetics of structural changes in the myosin head. Two fluorine-containing reagents, N-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl iodoacetamide and N-3,5-di(trifluoromethyl)phenyl iodoacetamide, have been used to label the myosin heavy chain at the unusually reactive sulfhydryl-1 (SH1) position. The chemical shift of both reagents on S-1 is sensitive to a structural transition in the region of SH1 which occurs upon increasing the temperature from 0 degrees C to 35 degrees C. The midpoint of the transition in both papain and chymotryptic S-1 is at approximately 11 degrees C at pH 7 (0.1 M CKl). The temperature dependence of the chemical shift may be fit assuming a two-state equilibrium where delta G degree' (T) = 101-110T +0.386 T2 (where T is the temperature in Kelvin). Both delta H degree' (T) and delta S degree' (T) have a small temperature dependence from 0 to 35 degrees C: at 20 degrees C, delta H degree' (T) = -33 kcal/mol. delta S degree' (T) = -116 e.u. and delta Cp = -226 cal/mol per deg (pH 7.0, 0.1 M KCl). The NMR data indicate that the presence of the LC2 light chain in papain S-1 does not modify the structure of S-1 in the vicinity of SH1, nor does it modify the energetics of the structural transition from that seen in its absence with chymotryptic S-1. The presence of calcium which is bound by the LC2 of papain S-1 also does not alter the energetics of the transition. Thus it would appear that the LC2 light chain (on myosin S-1) does not participate in the two-state transition, nor does it interact strongly with regions of the heavy chain which participate in the transition.