scholarly journals Extensibility of the myofilaments in vertebrate skeletal muscle as revealed by stretching rigor muscle fibers.

1983 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 531-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Suzuki ◽  
H Sugi
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Psoas Muscle ◽  
Thick Filament ◽  
Force Extension ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Thin Filaments ◽  
Extension Curve ◽  
Electron Microscopic Data ◽  
Vertebrate Skeletal Muscle

The extensibility of the myofilaments in vertebrate skeletal muscle was studied by stretching glycerinated rabbit psoas muscle fibers in rigor state and examining the resulting extension of sarcomere structures under an electron microscope. Although stretches applied to rigor fibers produced a successive yielding of the weakest sarcomeres, the length of the remaining intact sarcomeres in many myofibrils was fairly uniform, being definitely longer than the sarcomeres in the control, nonstretched part of rigor fibers. The stretch-induced increase in sarcomere length was found to be taken up by the extension of the H zone and the I band, whereas the amount of overlap between the thick and thin filaments did not change appreciably with stretches of 10-20%. The thick filament extension in the H zone was localized in the bare regions, whereas the thin filament extension in the I band appeared to take place uniformly along the filament length. No marked increase in the Z-line width was observed even with stretches of 20-30%. These results clearly demonstrate the extensibility of the thick and thin filaments. The possible contribution of the myofilament compliance to the series elastic component (SEC) in vertebrate skeletal muscle fibers is discussed on the basis of the electron microscopic data and the force-extension curve of the SEC in rigor fibers.

scholarly journals Bridgelike interconnections between thick filaments in stretched skeletal muscle fibers observed by the freeze-fracture method.

1986 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 1093-1098 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Suzuki ◽  
G H Pollack
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Thick Filament ◽  
Rapid Freezing ◽  
Semitendinosus Muscle ◽  
Thin Filaments ◽  
Thick Filaments ◽  
Cross Bridges ◽  
Half Length

The ultrastructure of frog semitendinosus muscle was explored using the freeze-fracture, deep-etch, rotary-shadowing technique. Mechanically skinned fibers were stretched to decrease or eliminate the overlap of thick and thin filaments before rapid freezing with liquid propane. In relaxed, contracting, and rigor fibers, a significant number of bridgelike interconnections, distinct from those observed in the M-region, were observed between adjacent thick filaments in the non-overlap region. Their half-length and diameter corresponded approximately to the known dimensions of the cross-bridge (or myosin S-1). The interconnection may thus be formed by the binding of two apposed cross-bridges projecting from adjacent thick filaments. Fixation with 0.5% glutaraldehyde for 5-10 min before freezing effectively preserved these structures. The results indicate that the interconnections are genuine structures that appear commonly in stretched muscle fibers. They may play a role in stabilizing the thick filament lattice, and possibly in the contractile process.

scholarly journals ULTRASTRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION OF OBLIQUELY STRIATED MUSCLE FIBERS IN ASCARIS LUMBRICOIDES

1965 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Rosenbluth
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Striated Muscle ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Electron Microscopic Examination ◽  
Thick Filament ◽  
Ultrastructural Organization ◽  
Striated Muscles ◽  
Three Dimensional Model ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Thin Filaments

The somatic musculature of the nematode, Ascaris, is currently thought to consist of smooth muscle fibers, which contain intracellular supporting fibrils arranged in a regular pattern. Electron microscopic examination shows that the muscle fibers are, in fact, comparable to the striated muscles of vertebrates in that they contain interdigitating arrays of thick and thin myofilaments which form H, A, and I bands. In the A bands each thick filament is surrounded by about 10 to 12 thin filaments. The earlier confusion about the classification of this muscle probably arose from the fact that in one longitudinal plane the myofilaments are markedly staggered and, as a result, the striations in that plane of section are not transverse but oblique, forming an angle of only about 6° with the filament axis. The apparent direction of the striations changes with the plane of the section and may vary all the way from radial to longitudinal. A three-dimensional model is proposed which accounts for the appearance of this muscle in various planes. Z lines as such are absent but are replaced by smaller, less orderly, counterpart "Z bundles" to which thin filaments attach. These bundles are closely associated with fibrillar dense bodies and with deep infoldings of the plasma membrane. The invaginations of the plasma membrane together with intracellular, flattened, membranous cisternae form dyads and triads. It is suggested that these complexes, which also occur at the cell surface, may constitute strategically located, low-impedance patches through which local currents are channeled selectively.

Determinants of relaxation rate in skinned frog skeletal muscle fibers

1998 ◽  
Vol 274 (6) ◽  
pp. C1608-C1615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip A. Wahr ◽  
J. David Johnson ◽  
Jack. A. Rall
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Slow Phase ◽  
Frog Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Force Of Contraction ◽  
Thin Filaments ◽  
Fast Phase ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Fibers ◽  
Kinetics Of ◽  
Overall Kinetics

The influences of sarcomere uniformity and Ca2+ concentration on the kinetics of relaxation were examined in skinned frog skeletal muscle fibers induced to relax by rapid sequestration of Ca2+ by the photolysis of the Ca2+ chelator, diazo-2, at 10°C. Compared with an intact fiber, diazo-2-induced relaxation exhibited a faster and shorter initial slow phase and a fast phase with a longer tail. Stabilization of the sarcomeres by repeated releases and restretches during force development increased the duration of the slow phase and slowed its kinetics. When force of contraction was decreased by lowering the Ca2+concentration, the overall kinetics of relaxation was accelerated, with the slow phase being the most sensitive to Ca2+ concentration. Twitchlike contractions were induced by photorelease of Ca2+ from a caged Ca2+ (DM-Nitrophen), with subsequent Ca2+ sequestration by intact sarcoplasmic reticulum or Ca2+ rebinding to caged Ca2+. These twitchlike responses exhibited relaxation kinetics that were about twofold slower than those observed in intact fibers. Results suggest that the slow phase of relaxation is influenced by the degree of sarcomere homogeneity and rate of Ca2+ dissociation from thin filaments. The fast phase of relaxation is in part determined by the level of Ca2+ activation.

scholarly journals Structure of C protein purified from cardiac muscle.

1985 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 208-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
H C Hartzell ◽  
W S Sale
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Muscle ◽  
Gel Filtration ◽  
Thick Filament ◽  
Protein Molecule ◽  
Striated Muscles ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
C Protein ◽  
Chicken Heart ◽  
Structural Support ◽  
Electron Microscopic Data

C protein is a component of the thick filament of striated muscles. Although the function of C protein remains unknown, a variety of evidence suggests that C protein may regulate actin-myosin interaction or be involved in structural support or elasticity of the sarcomere. We have previously proposed (Hartzell, H. C., 1984, J. Gen. Physiol., 83:563-588) that C protein is involved in regulating twitch relaxation in cardiac muscle. To gain further insight into the function of C protein, we have studied the structure of C protein purified from chicken heart. C protein was purified from extracts of detergent-washed myofibrils by sequential hydroxylapatite and DEAE-Sephacel chromatography. C protein was judged greater than 95% pure by SDS PAGE. The polypeptide subunit had a molecular weight of 155,000 and the native molecule sedimented on linear sucrose or glycerol gradients at 4-5S. For electron microscopy, purified C protein was dialyzed and diluted into a volatile buffer in 50% glycerol, aspirated onto mica, dried under vacuum, and rotary platinum-shadowed. Replicas revealed particles of relatively homogeneous overall dimensions. Over half of the particles were V-shaped. The "arm" lengths of the V-shaped particles were 22 +/- 4.5 nm (SD). Gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300 demonstrated that purified C protein had a Stokes' radius of 5.07 nm. Measurements of viscosity gave an intrinsic viscosity of 16.5 cm3/g. These data are consistent with the electron microscopic data and suggest that C protein in heart muscle is asymmetric. The C protein molecule is large enough to extend from the surface of a thick filament to adjacent thin or thick filaments.

scholarly journals Connectin filaments in stretched skinned fibers of frog skeletal muscle.

1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 1391-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Maruyama ◽  
H Sawada ◽  
S Kimura ◽  
K Ohashi ◽  
H Higuchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Thin Filaments ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Cytoskeletal Structure ◽  
Present Information ◽  
Sds Page ◽  
Myosin Filaments ◽  
Elastic Protein ◽  
Passive Stretch

Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy of highly stretched skinned frog semi-tendinous muscle fibers revealed that connectin, an elastic protein of muscle, is located in the gap between actin and myosin filaments and also in the region of myosin filaments except in their centers. Electron microscopic observations showed that there were easily recognizable filaments extending from the myosin filaments to the I band region and to Z lines in the myofibrils treated with antiserum against connectin. In thin sections prepared with tannic acid, very thin filaments connected myosin filaments to actin filaments. These filaments were also observed in myofibrils extracted with a modified Hasselbach-Schneider solution (0.6 M KCl, 0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 6.5, 2 mM ATP, 2 mM MgCl2, and 1 mM EGTA) and with 0.6 M Kl. SDS PAGE revealed that connectin (also called titin) remained in extracted myofibrils. We suggest that connectin filaments play an important role in the generation of tension upon passive stretch. A scheme of the cytoskeletal structure of myofibrils of vertebrate skeletal muscle is presented on the basis of our present information of connectin and intermediate filaments.

scholarly journals Alterations in Ca2+ sensitive tension due to partial extraction of C-protein from rat skinned cardiac myocytes and rabbit skeletal muscle fibers.

1991 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 1141-1163 ◽  
Author(s):  
P A Hofmann ◽  
H C Hartzell ◽  
R L Moss
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Cardiac Myocytes ◽  
Protein Extraction ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Extraction Procedure ◽  
Psoas Muscle ◽  
Similar Amount ◽  
C Protein ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Fibers ◽  
Partial Extraction

C-protein, a substantial component of muscle thick filaments, has been postulated to have various functions, based mainly on results from biochemical studies. In the present study, effects on Ca(2+)-activated tension due to partial removal of C-protein were investigated in skinned single myocytes from rat ventricle and rabbit psoas muscle. Isometric tension was measured at pCa values of 7.0 to 4.5: (a) in untreated myocytes, (b) in the same myocytes after partial extraction of C-protein, and (c) in some myocytes, after readdition of C-protein. The solution for extracting C-protein contained 10 mM EDTA, 31 mM Na2HPO2, 124 mM NaH2PO4, pH 5.9 (Offer et al., 1973; Hartzell and Glass, 1984). In addition, the extracting solution contained 0.2 mg/ml troponin and, for skeletal muscle, 0.2 mg/ml myosin light chain-2 in order to minimize loss of these proteins during the extraction procedure. Between 60 and 70% of endogenous C-protein was extracted from cardiac myocytes by a 1-h soak in extracting solution at 20-23 degrees C; a similar amount was extracted from psoas fibers during a 3-h soak at 25 degrees C. For both cardiac myocytes and skeletal muscle fibers, partial extraction of C-protein resulted in increased active tension at submaximal concentrations of Ca2+, but had little effect upon maximum tension. C-protein extraction also reduced the slope of the tension-pCa relationships, suggesting that the cooperativity of Ca2+ activation of tension was decreased. Readdition of C-protein to previously extracted myocytes resulted in recovery of both tension and slope to near their control values. The effects on tension did not appear to be due to disruption of cooperative activation of the thin filament, since C-protein extraction from cardiac myocytes that were 40-60% troponin-C (TnC) deficient produced effects similar to those observed in cells that were TnC replete. Measurements of the tension-pCa relationship in skeletal muscle fibers were also made at a sarcomere length of 3.5 microns which, because of the distribution of C-protein on the thick filament, should eliminate any interaction between C-protein and actin. The effects of C-protein extraction were similar at long and short sarcomere lengths. These data are consistent with a model in which C-protein modulates the range of movement of myosin, such that the probability of myosin binding to actin is increased after its extraction.

scholarly journals Differences in the Charge Distribution of Glycerol-Extracted Muscle Fibers in Rigor, Relaxation, and Contraction

1974 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 551-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne M. Pemrick ◽  
Charles Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Charge Distribution ◽  
Sarcomere Length ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Psoas Muscle ◽  
Nonlinear Relationship ◽  
Thin Filaments ◽  
Rabbit Psoas ◽  
Relaxation Solution ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Rest Length

Glycerol-extracted rabbit psoas muscle fibers were impaled with KCl-filled glass microelectrodes. For fibers at rest-length, the potentials were significantly more negative in solutions producing relaxation than in solutions producing either rigor or contraction; further the potentials in the latter two cases were not significantly different. For stretched fibers, with no overlap between thick and thin filaments, the potentials did not differ in the rigor, the relaxation, or the contraction solutions. The potentials measured from fibers in rigor did not vary significantly with the sarcomere length. For relaxed fibers, however, the potential magnitude decreased with increasing sarcomere length. The difference between the potentials measured for rigor and relaxed fibers exhibited a nonlinear relationship with sarcomere length. The potentials from calcium-insensitive fibers were less negative in both the rigor and the relaxation solutions than those from normal fibers. When calcium-insensitive fibers had been incubated in Hasselbach and Schneider's solution plus MgCl2 or Guba-Straub's solution plus MgATP the potentials recorded upon impalement were similar in the rigor and the relaxation solution to those obtained from normal fibers in the relaxed state. It is concluded that the increase in the negative potential as the glycerinated fiber goes from rigor to relaxation may be due to an alteration in the conformation of the contractile proteins in the relaxed state.

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