Energy balance in frog sartorius muscle during an isometric tetanus at 20 degrees C

Energetics of contraction

Muscles convert energy from ATP into useful work, which can be used to move limbs and to transport ions across membranes. The energy not converted into work appears as heat. At the start of contraction heat is also produced when Ca(2+) binds to troponin-C and to parvalbumin. Muscles use ATP throughout an isometric contraction at a rate that depends on duration of stimulation, muscle type, temperature and muscle length. Between 30% and 40% of the ATP used during isometric contraction fuels the pumping Ca(2+) and Na(+) out of the myoplasm. When shortening, muscles produce less force than in an isometric contraction but use ATP at a higher rate and when lengthening force output is higher than the isometric force but rate of ATP splitting is lower. Efficiency quantifies the fraction of the energy provided by ATP that is converted into external work. Each ATP molecule provides 100 zJ of energy that can potentially be converted into work. The mechanics of the myosin cross-bridge are such that at most 50 zJ of work can be done in one ATP consuming cycle; that is, the maximum efficiency of a cross-bridge is ∼50%. Cross-bridges in tortoise muscle approach this limit, producing over 90% of the possible work per cycle. Other muscles are less efficient but contract more rapidly and produce more power.

Reappraisal of diffusion, solubility, and consumption of oxygen in frog skeletal muscle, with applications to muscle energy balance

Previously we tested the validity of the one-dimensional diffusion equation for O2 in the excised frog sartorius muscle and used it to measure the diffusion coefficient (D) for O2 in this muscle and the time course of its rate of O2 consumption (Qo2) after a tetanus (Mahler, 1978, 1979, J. Gen. Physiol., 71:533-557, 559-580, 73:159-174). A transverse section of the frog sartorius is in fact well fit by a hemi-ellipse with width divided by maximum thickness averaging 5.1 +/- 0.2. Using the previous techniques with the two-dimensional diffusion equation and this hemi-elliptical boundary yields a value for D that is 30% smaller than reported previously; the revised values at 0, 10, and 22.8 degrees C are 6.2, 7.9, and 10.8 X 10(-6) cm2/s, respectively. After a tetanus at 20 degrees C, Qo2 rose quickly to a peak and then declined exponentially, with a time constant (tau) approximately 15% faster than that reported previously; tau averaged 2.1 min in Rana temporaria and 2.6 min in Rana pipiens. A technique was devised to measure the solubility (alpha) of O2 in intact, respiring muscles, and yielded alpha (muscle)/alpha (H2O) = 1.26 +/- 0.04. With these modifications, the values for O2 consumption obtained with the diffusion method were in agreement with those measured by the direct method of Kushmerick and Paul (1976, J. Physiol. [Lond.]., 254:693-709). Using results from both methods, at 20 degrees C the ratio of phosphorylcreatine split during a tetanus to O2 consumption during recovery ranged from 5.2 to 6.2 mumol/mumol, and postcontractile ATP hydrolysis was estimated to be 13.6 +/- 4.1 (n = 3) nmol/mumol total creatine.

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.

The deficit of the isometric tetanic tension redeveloped after a release of frog muscle at a constant velocity

Frog sartorius muscles tetanized isometrically were released at a constant velocity from lengths lL to lS (delta l = lL -lS; Ls greater than lO). The tension PS redeveloped after the release was lower than the isometric tension PS at LS, and higher than the isometric tension PL at lL. The tension deficit D is defined as the difference PS-PS. The timing of the release during the tetanus did not influence D. D/PO was proportional to delta l/lO. The proportionality constant k was equal to 1.35 +/- 0.19 (n = 8) when the velocity of release was 2.5 mm/s. When the muscles were released the same delta l, D was found to be an exponential decreasing function of the velocity. The tension deficit was also found in experiments performed in the region lS less than lO. The proportionality constant k was smaller, but the influence of the velocity of the release on D was not modified. When the velocity of the release was changed during the release, D changed accordingly, showing that the effects of delta l and V are multiplicative. These facts suggest a working hypothesis based on the concept that the actin filaments which enter the overlap region during a release are strained by the tetanic stress and therefore unable to make normal cross-bridges.

The relationship between initial creatine phosphate breakdown and recovery oxygen consumption for a single isometric tetanus of the frog sartorius muscle at 20 degrees C

A previous paper (Mahler, M. 1978 J. Gen. Physiol. 71:559--580) describes the time-course of the suprabasal rate of oxygen consumption (delta QO2) in the sartorius muscle of R. pipiens after isometric tetani of 0.1--1.0 s at 20 degrees C. To test whether these were the responses to impulse changes in the rate of ATP hydrolysis, we compared the total suprabasal oxygen consumption during recovery (delta[O2]) with the amount of ATP hydrolyzed during a contraction, measured indirectly as the decrease in creatine phosphate (delta[CP]O). If suprabasal ATP hydrolysis during recovery is negligible in comparison with that during contraction, delta[CP]0/delta[O2] should approximate the P:O2 ratio for oxidative metabolism, which has an expected value of 6.1--6.5. We found: formula; see text. We conclude that in this muscle at 20 degrees C: (a) after a tetanus of 0.2--1.0 s, delta QO2(t) can be considered the response to an impulse increase in the rate of ATP hydrolysis; (b) the reversal during recovery of unidentified exothermic reactions occurring during the contraction (Woledge, R. C. 1971. Prog. Biophys. Mol. Biol. 22:39--74) can be coupled to an ATP hydrolysis that is at most a small fraction of delta[CP]0; (c) the pooled mean for delta[CP]0/delta[O2], 6.58 +/- 0.55, sets an experimental lower bound for the P:O2 ratio in vivo.

Energetics of anaerobic glycolysis in dog gastrocnemius

Thermally isolated gastrocnemii were stimulated to exhaustion, by rhythmic isotonic (70 N) tetanic contractions, during complete occlusion of blood flow. Enthalpy change (h = work + heat) and work output (w) (kJ/kg) were obtained from records of deep muscle temperature and shortening. The lactate produced (LA, mol/kg) was measured in the outflow after reestablishement of blood flow. The following relationships were obtained: h = 76LA + 1.2, and w = 19.8LA + 0.30. As the energy liberated at exhaustion by alactic energy sources (approximately P and O2 stores) is constant, deltah/deltaLA = 76 (+/- 10.5; S.E.) kJ/mol is the enthalpy change for lactate formation (delta HLA). The neutralization heat was estimated on muscle homogenates at 12kJ/mol, leaving approximately 64 kJ/MOL for deltaH of LA formation proper. The mechanical efficiencies of work related to LA formation (ELA) and of that not related to LA formation (EnonLA) were practically identical (0.25). From these values and from deltaHLA, the enthalpy change of approximately P splitting was estimated in the range of 52--62kJ/mol, depending on the value of the ratio delta approximately P/deltaLA assumed in the calculation.

Chemical energetics of single isometric tetani in mammalian smooth muscle

A rabbit taenia coli preparation has been used to study the chemical energetics of smooth muscle contraction. Under the experimental conditions, the muscle had no spontaneous mechanical activity, but could be fully activated with the use of electrical field stimulation. ATP resynthesis from glycolysis and respiration was stopped with a procedure that involved treatment with metabolic inhibitors at 5 degrees C followed by rewarming to 18 degrees C. This procedure did not alter the high-energy phosphate contents of mechanical responses of the muscle. Use of this preparation to determine ATP and phosphorylcreatine changes during isometric tetani at 18 degrees C and a length of 86% LO showed that there was net ATP breakdown initially with no significant phosphorylcreatine splitting. This was followed by an increase in the rate of phosphorylcreatine splitting with net ATP synthesis. The average rate of total high-energy phosphate utilization was about 0.01 mumol/g.s for up to 60 s or about 150 times less than that of frog sartorius at the same temperature.

A comparison of the energy balance in two successive isometric tetani of frog muscle

1. Measurements were made of the energy produced as heat and work (h + w) and the chemical changes which occurred between the beginning and end of each of two periods of stimulation. The muscles contracted tetanically under isometric conditions. Each period of stimulation (tetanus) lasted 5 sec and there was an interval of 3 sec between them. The tension developed in the second tetanus was 91% of that in the first.2. The observed (h + w) was greater in each tetanus than the quantity expected from the measured chemical changes. This excess was 230 +/- 43 mJ/g dry wt. (mean +/- S.E. of mean) in the first tetanus, but only 89 +/- 46 mJ/g in the second tetanus (mean +/- S.E. of mean). The result for the first tetanus agrees with previous findings.3. The observed (h + w) was divided into two parts, labile and stable, which were defined by Aubert (1956). This division was made on the basis of the time course of the (h + w) production, without reference to the chemical changes. The labile part of the (h + w) has an exponentially declining rate, and the stable part has a constant rate.4. The observed (h + w) was less in the second tetanus than in the first. This was due largely to the decrease in the labile part in the second tetanus; it was only ca. 0.35 of that in the first tetanus. However, the stable part remained relatively constant, 0.83 of that in the first tetanus. Aubert & Maréchal (1963) and Aubert (1968) have reported similar results.5. Having divided the (h + w) into the stable and labile parts, we found that the stable part could be accounted for by the chemical change, but the labile part could not. Thus, for both tetani, the stable part of the energy is about equal to the explained energy, and the labile part is about equal to the unexplained energy. The possible interpretations of these equalities are discussed.

Time course of regeneration of minced frog muscles estimated by the level of energetic substrates

1. Gastrocnemius muscles of frogs have been excised, chopped and put back into the leg. 2. The weight of the implanted muscles increases until the 8th day after the operation and then decreases to 1/3 of that of the control by the 30th day. 3. The inulin space is twice as high in regenerating muscle as in the unoperated controls. 4. Adenosine nucleotides are in an enzymatic equilibrium set by the ratio creatine/phosphorylcreatine during regeneration of the muscle. 5. Glycolytic intermediates (hexose monophosphate, fructose-1,6-diphosphate, alpha-glycerophosphate and lactate) have been measured during the course of muscle regeneration up to the 30th day. The results suggest that the glycolysis of regenerating muscle is very active. 6. The total creatine (sum of creatine and phosphorylcreatine) is very low after the operation: 5% of that of the controls; it rises sharply after the 8th day, and reaches 30% of that of the control on the 30th day. 7. The amount of total creatine seems proportional to the progress of the muscle regeneration. It is suggested to use this substance as a biochemical reference for biochemical works on muscle regeneration.

Relationship between initial chemical reactions and oxidative recovery metabolism for single isometric contractions of frog sartorius at 0 degrees C

1. Measurements of intitial chemical changes and recovery oxygen consumption (deltaO2) were made in unpoisoned aerobic frog sartorius muscles at 0 degrees C to provide independent measures of the chemical energy used for isometric tetani of various durations. 2. DeltaO2 was measured polarographically and increased in a curvilinear fashion with stimulus duration. For stimulations longer than 4 sec deltaO2 was a linear function of the tension-time integral. 3. Measurements of the changes in the content of phosphorylcreatine, 'free' creatine and inorganic phosphate were made in muscles rapidly frozen during a tetanus. The average of these quantities, delta approximately P, was used to measure the initial 'high energy' phosphate utilization. No break-down of 'high-energy' phosphate compounds was detected up to 200 sec after relaxation of tension. Changes in the content of ATP were not observed except for a small decrease (-0-25+/-0-1 mumole/g) in muscles tetanized for 1 sec. 4. Delta approximately P also increase curvilinearly with tetanus duration and, for tetanic durations greater than 4 sec, was a linear function of the tension-time integral. 5. Both deltaO2 and delta approximately P were quantitatively related by a constant scaling factor of about 4-3 (delta approximately P/deltaO2) throughout the range of tetanic durations studied. The constancy of this ratio.provides evidence against the hypothesis that a significant 'missing reaction' provides energy during any one portion of the tetanus. Several hypothesis may account for the numerical value of the ration delta approximately P/deltaO2.

Aerobic recovery metabolism following a single isometric tetanus in frog sartorius muscle at 0 degrees C

1. Basal and recovery O2 consumption, delatO2, in frog sartorius muscles at 0 degrees C were measured with a polarographic electrode. Reproducible observations were made with the same muscle over many hours. 2. The experimental records had an exponential form except for the early phases of recovery following a single isometric tetanus. Diffusion of O2 within the muscle was adequate to account for this deviation from an exponential time course of recovery. The time constant of the recovery O2 consumption increased with the duration of tetanic stimulation from 5 to 20 sec. 3. Lactate synthesis was measureable in unstimulated aerobic muscles and increased in proportion to total O2 consumption as long as the muscle did not lack O2. The contribution of glycolysis to the total chemical energy production during recovery was 6-9%; for hypoxic muscles it was greater. 4. The resynthesis of phosphorylcreatine and the decrease in inorganic phosphate and free creatine following a tetanus showed an exponential time course similar to recovery O2. Initial concentrations were re-attained within 60 min following a 20 sec tetanus. 5. We conclude that recovery O2 consumpation is a useful and accurate measure of the net chemical energy utilization for a single contraction.

Heat production and chemical changes during isometric contractions of the human quadriceps muscle

1. Development of a new thermal probe and use in conjunction with chemical analysis of needle biopsy samples, has made possible a thermodynamic study of the energetics of muscular contraction in the human quadriceps. 2. The observed rate of muscle temperature rise was proportional to the force of the contraction. During maximal contractions the rate of heat production was 54 +/-8-5 W/kg wet muscle (mean +/- s.d.). 3. The observed rates of muscle temperature rise agreed well with the rates calculated from the measured metabolite changes when standard values for the enthalpy changes of the reactions involved were used. 4. During prolonged stimulation of the quadriceps at 15/sec via the femoral nerve, the rate of heat production per unit force fell to nearly half the initial value. It is estimated that this represented a two- to fourfold increased in economy of ATP turn-over required to maintain a given force. 5. Relaxation becomes progressively slower during prolonged contractions and it is suggested that the slowing of relaxation and the increased economy of force maintenance may both be due to an increased cross-bridge cycle time in the fatigued muscle.

Heat production and metabolism during the contraction of mammalian skeletal muscle

Methods are described whereby initial processes of muscular contraction may be investigated in a mammalian preparation, the soleus muscle of the rat. Conditions are chosen so that recovery is avoided. An isometric tetanus is investigated and an energy balance sheet is drawn up. It is found that there is more heat evolved than can be accounted for in terms of measured chemical reaction. This discrepancy is discussed with reference to the similar results that have been obtained using frog muscle.

Equilibrium of nucleotides in frog sartorius muscle during an isometric tetanus at 20 degrees C

1. The concentrations of creatine, phosphorylcreatine (PC), ATP, ADP, AMP and IMP have been measured in frog sartorius muscles at 20 degrees C during isometric tetani lasting from 0.5 to 12 sec. Each muscle was tetanized once only for the chosen duration. The muscles were poisoned with iodoacetic acid and nitrogen to prevent oxidative and glycolytic activity.2. The rate of PC splitting decreased exponentially with the duration of the tetanus (alpha = 0.16 sec(-1)). Net ATP splitting began after 2 sec, accompanied by an increase in AMP and ADP; inosine monophosphate (IMP) also appeared both earlier and faster than adenosine monophosphate (AMP).3. On the basis of two equilibrium reactions, the Lohmann and myokinase reactions, the concentration of adenosine nucleotides should be a function of the ratio creatine/phosphorylcreatine.4. The agreement between nucleotide concentrations predicted by this equilibrium hypothesis and those observed experimentally was good provided it was assumed that 90% of the acid-labile ADP found in resting muscle was bound in vivo and remained so throughout the tetanus. The validity of this assumption is discussed.5. The IMP concentration was an exponential function of the ratio creatine/phosphorylcreatine.