scholarly journals Investigation of the molecular motor of muscle: from generating life in a test tube to myosin structure over beers

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 730-743
Author(s):  
Jack A. Rall
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Motor ◽  
Test Tube ◽  
In Vitro Motility Assay ◽  
Cross Bridge ◽  
Lever Arm ◽  
Bridge Model ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Cross Bridges ◽  
Globular Head

This article traces 60 years of investigation of the molecular motor of skeletal muscle from the 1940s through the 1990s. It started with the discovery that myosin interaction with actin in the presence of ATP caused shortening of threads of actin and myosin. In 1957, structures protruding from myosin filaments were seen for the first time and called “cross bridges.” A combination of techniques led to the proposal in 1969 of the “swinging-tilting cross bridge” model of contraction. In the early 1980s, a major problem arose when it was shown that a probe attached to the cross bridges did not move during contraction. A spectacular breakthrough came when it was discovered that only the cross bridge was required to support movement in an in vitro motility assay. Next it was determined that single myosin molecules caused the movement of actin filaments in 10-nm steps. The atomic structure of the cross bridge was published in 1993, and this discovery supercharged the muscle field. The cross bridge contained a globular head or motor domain that bound actin and ATP. But the most striking feature was the long tail of the cross bridge surrounded by two subunits of the myosin molecule. This structure suggested that the tail might act as a lever arm magnifying head movement. Consistent with this proposal, genetic techniques that lengthened the lever arm resulted in larger myosin steps. Thus the molecular motor of muscle operated not by the tilting of the globular head of myosin but by tilting of the lever arm generating the driving force for contraction.

scholarly journals Reassociation of microvillar core proteins: making a microvillar core in vitro.

1989 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 495-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
L M Coluccio ◽  
A Bretscher
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Direct Proof ◽  
Intestinal Epithelia ◽  
The Core ◽  
Cross Bridge ◽  
Core Proteins ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Cross Bridges

Intestinal epithelia have a brush border membrane of numerous microvilli each comprised of a cross-linked core bundle of 15-20 actin filaments attached to the surrounding membrane by lateral cross-bridges; the cross-bridges are tilted with respect to the core bundle. Isolated microvillar cores contain actin (42 kD) and three other major proteins: fimbrin (68 kD), villin (95 kD), and the 110K-calmodulin complex. The addition of ATP to detergent-treated isolated microvillar cores has previously been shown to result in loss of the lateral cross-bridges and a corresponding decrease in the amount of the 110-kD polypeptide and calmodulin associated with the core bundle. This provided the first evidence to suggest that these lateral cross-bridges to the membrane are comprised at least in part by a 110-kD polypeptide complexed with calmodulin. We now demonstrate that purified 110K-calmodulin complex can be readded to ATP-treated, stripped microvillar cores. The resulting bundles display the same helical and periodic arrangement of lateral bridges as is found in vivo. In reconstitution experiments, actin filaments incubated in EGTA with purified fimbrin and villin form smooth-sided bundles containing an apparently random number of filaments. Upon addition of 110K-calmodulin complex, the bundles, as viewed by electron microscopy of negatively stained images, display along their entire length helically arranged projections with the same 33-nm repeat of the lateral cross-bridges found on microvilli in vivo; these bridges likewise tilt relative to the bundle. Thus, reconstitution of actin filaments with fimbrin, villin, and the 110K-calmodulin complex results in structures remarkably similar to native microvillar cores. These data provide direct proof that the 110K-calmodulin is the cross-bridge protein and indicate that actin filaments bundled by fimbrin and villin are of uniform polarity and lie in register. The arrangement of the cross-bridge arms on the bundle is determined by the structure of the core filaments as fixed by fimbrin and villin; a contribution from the membrane is not required.

Regulation of shortening velocity by cross-bridge phosphorylation in smooth muscle

1988 ◽  
Vol 255 (1) ◽  
pp. C86-C94 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Hai ◽  
R. A. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Shortening Velocity ◽  
Internal Load ◽  
Cross Bridge ◽  
Bridge Model ◽  
The Family ◽  
Cross Bridges ◽  
Latch State ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
State Stress

We have proposed a model that incorporates a dephosphorylated "latch bridge" to explain the mechanics and energetics of smooth muscle. Cross-bridge phosphorylation is proposed as a prerequisite for cross-bridge attachment and rapid cycling. Features of the model are 1) myosin light chain kinase and phosphatase can act on both free and attached cross bridges, 2) dephosphorylation of an attached phosphorylated cross bridge produces a noncycling "latch bridge," and 3) latch bridges have a slow detachment rate. This model quantitatively predicts the latch state: stress maintenance with reduced phosphorylation, cross-bridge cycling rates, and ATP consumption. In this study, we adapted A. F. Huxley's formulation of crossbridge cycling (A. F. Huxley, Progr. Biophys. Mol. Biol. 7: 255-318, 1957) to the latch-bridge model to predict the relationship between isotonic shortening velocity and phosphorylation. The model successfully predicted the linear dependence of maximum shortening velocity at zero external load (V0) on phosphorylation, as well as the family of stress-velocity curves determined at different times during a contraction when phosphorylation values varied. The model implies that it is unnecessary to invoke an internal load or multiple regulatory mechanisms to explain regulation of V0 in smooth muscle.

scholarly journals FmhA and FmhC of Staphylococcus aureus incorporate serine residues into peptidoglycan cross-bridges

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (39) ◽  
pp. 13664-13676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Willing ◽  
Emma Dyer ◽  
Olaf Schneewind ◽  
Dominique Missiakas
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
Daughter Cells ◽  
Cross Bridge ◽  
Resistant Strains ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Cross Bridges ◽  
Adjacent Wall

Staphylococcal peptidoglycan is characterized by pentaglycine cross-bridges that are cross-linked between adjacent wall peptides by penicillin-binding proteins to confer robustness and flexibility. In Staphylococcus aureus, pentaglycine cross-bridges are synthesized by three proteins: FemX adds the first glycine, and the homodimers FemA and FemB sequentially add two Gly-Gly dipeptides. Occasionally, serine residues are also incorporated into the cross-bridges by enzymes that have heretofore not been identified. Here, we show that the FemA/FemB homologues FmhA and FmhC pair with FemA and FemB to incorporate Gly-Ser dipeptides into cross-bridges and to confer resistance to lysostaphin, a secreted bacteriocin that cleaves the pentaglycine cross-bridge. FmhA incorporates serine residues at positions 3 and 5 of the cross-bridge. In contrast, FmhC incorporates a single serine at position 5. Serine incorporation also lowers resistance toward oxacillin, an antibiotic that targets penicillin-binding proteins, in both methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus. FmhC is encoded by a gene immediately adjacent to lytN, which specifies a hydrolase that cleaves the bond between the fifth glycine of cross-bridges and the alanine of the adjacent stem peptide. In this manner, LytN facilitates the separation of daughter cells. Cell wall damage induced upon lytN overexpression can be alleviated by overexpression of fmhC. Together, these observations suggest that FmhA and FmhC generate peptidoglycan cross-bridges with unique serine patterns that provide protection from endogenous murein hydrolases governing cell division and from bacteriocins produced by microbial competitors.

Steady-state dependence of stress on cross-bridge phosphorylation in the swine carotid media

1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (6) ◽  
pp. C1388-C1391 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Di Blasi ◽  
D. Van Riper ◽  
R. Kaiser ◽  
C. M. Rembold ◽  
R. A. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
State Dependence ◽  
Force Generation ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Active Stress ◽  
Cross Bridge ◽  
Bridge Model ◽  
Steady State Levels ◽  
Force Maintenance ◽  
Cross Bridges

Tonic contractions of the swine carotid media are typically characterized by initial transients in myoplasmic [Ca2+] and cross-bridge phosphorylation followed by force maintenance with reduced intracellular [Ca2+] and cross-bridge phosphorylation (“latch”). The presence of effective mechanisms in the carotid media to limit steady-state myoplasmic [Ca2+] and cross-bridge phosphorylation to modest increases over resting values has limited experimental attempts to determine the dependence of active stress (force/tissue cross-sectional area) on cross-bridge phosphorylation. In this study, we employed stimulation protocols that combined effective contractile agonists with inhibitors of Ca2+ extrusion or sequestration to achieve high steady-state levels of cross-bridge phosphorylation (up to 60%). Increases in cross-bridge phosphorylation from 30 to 60% were not associated with significant increases in stress in agreement with the predictions of Hai and Murphy [Am. J. Physiol. 254 (Cell Physiol. 23): C99-C106, 1988] four-state cross-bridge model for the carotid media. Thus cross-bridge phosphorylation may suffice to determine force generation in vascular smooth muscle if both phosphorylated and dephosphorylated attached cross bridges (or latch bridges) contribute to active stress.

scholarly journals Impact of familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-linked mutations in the NH2 terminus of the RLC on β-myosin cross-bridge mechanics

2014 ◽  
Vol 117 (12) ◽  
pp. 1471-1477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerrie P. Farman ◽  
Priya Muthu ◽  
Katarzyna Kazmierczak ◽  
Danuta Szczesna-Cordary ◽  
Jeffrey R. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy ◽  
Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy ◽  
Sarcomeric Proteins ◽  
Motion Generation ◽  
In Vitro Motility Assay ◽  
In Vitro Motility ◽  
Cross Bridge ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is associated with mutations in sarcomeric proteins, including the myosin regulatory light chain (RLC). Here we studied the impact of three HCM mutations located in the NH2 terminus of the RLC on the molecular mechanism of β-myosin heavy chain (MHC) cross-bridge mechanics using the in vitro motility assay. To generate mutant β-myosin, native RLC was depleted from porcine cardiac MHC and reconstituted with mutant (A13T, F18L, and E22K) or wild-type (WT) human cardiac RLC. We characterized the mutant myosin force and motion generation capability in the presence of a frictional load. Compared with WT, all three mutants exhibited reductions in maximal actin filament velocity when tested under low or no frictional load. The actin-activated ATPase showed no significant difference between WT and HCM-mutant-reconstituted myosins. The decrease in velocity has been attributed to a significantly increased duty cycle, as was measured by the dependence of actin sliding velocity on myosin surface density, for all three mutant myosins. These results demonstrate a mutation-induced alteration in acto-myosin interactions that may contribute to the pathogenesis of HCM.

scholarly journals Mechanical transients initiated by photolysis of caged ATP within fibers of insect fibrillar flight muscle.

1991 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Yamakawa ◽  
Y E Goldman
Keyword(s):  
Rate Constant ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Flight Muscle ◽  
Order Rate Constant ◽  
Stretch Activation ◽  
Pulse Photolysis ◽  
Caged Atp ◽  
Cross Bridge ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Cross Bridges

Kinetics of the cross-bridge cycle in insect fibrillar flight muscle have been measured using laser pulse photolysis of caged ATP and caged inorganic phosphate (Pi) to produce rapid step increases in the concentration of ATP and Pi within single glycerol-extracted fibers. Rapid photochemical liberation of 100 microM-1 mM ATP from caged ATP within a fiber caused relaxation in the absence of Ca2+ and initiated an active contraction in the presence of approximately 30 microM Ca2+. The apparent second order rate constant for detachment of rigor cross-bridges by ATP was between 5 x 10(4) and 2 x 10(5) M-1s-1. This rate is not appreciably sensitive to the Ca2+ or Pi concentrations or to rigor tension level. The value is within an order of magnitude of the analogous reaction rate constant measured with isolated actin and insect myosin subfragment-1 (1986. J. Muscle Res. Cell Motil. 7:179-192). In both the absence and presence of Ca2+ insect fibers showed evidence of transient cross-bridge reattachment after ATP-induced detachment from rigor, as found in corresponding experiments on rabbit psoas fibers. However, in contrast to results with rabbit fibers, tension traces of insect fibers starting at different rigor tensions did not converge to a common time course until late in the transients. This result suggests that the proportion of myosin cross-bridges that can reattach into force-generating states depends on stress or strain in the filament lattice. A steady 10-mM concentration of Pi markedly decreased the transient reattachment phase after caged ATP photolysis. Pi also decreased the amplitude of stretch activation after step stretches applied in the presence of Ca2+ and ATP. Photolysis of caged Pi during stretch activation abruptly terminated the development of tension. These results are consistent with a linkage between Pi release and the steps leading to force production in the cross-bridge cycle.

scholarly journals Different structural states of a microtubule cross-linking molecule, captured by quick-freezing motile axostyles in protozoa.

1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 2209-2227 ◽  
Author(s):  
J E Heuser
Keyword(s):  
Active Role ◽  
Longitudinal Shear ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cross Bridge ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Quick Freezing ◽  
Cross Links ◽  
Dynein Arms ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Cross Bridges

Freeze-etch preparation of the laminated bundles of microtubules in motile axostyles demonstrates that the cross-bridges populating individual layers or laminae are structurally similar to the dynein arms of cilia and flagellae. Also, like dynein, they are extracted by high salt and undergo a change in tilt upon removal of endogenous ATP (while the axostyle as a whole straightens and becomes stiff). On the other hand, the bridges running between adjacent microtubule laminae in the axostyle turn out to be much more delicate and wispy in appearance, and display no similarity to dynein arms. Thus we propose that the internal or "intra-laminar" cross-bridges are the active force-generating ATPases in this system, and that they generate overall bends or changes in the helical pitch of the axostyle by altering the longitudinal and lateral register of microtubules in each lamina individually; e.g., by "warping" each lamina and creating longitudinal shear forces within it. The cross-links between adjacent laminae, on the other hand, would then simply be force-transmitting elements that serve to translate the shearing forces generated within individual laminae into overall helical shape changes. (This hypothesis differs from the views of earlier workers who considered a more active role for the later cross-links, postulating that they cause an active sliding between adjacent layers that somehow leads to axostyle movement.) Also described here are physical connections between adjacent intra-laminar cross-bridges, structurally analogous to the overlapping components of the outer dynein arms of cilia and flagella. As with dynein, these may represent a mechanism for propagating local changes from cross-bridge to cross-bridge down the axostyle, as occurs during the passage of bends down the length of the organelle.

scholarly journals The pentaglycine bridges ofStaphylococcus aureuspeptidoglycan are essential for cell integrity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
João M. Monteiro ◽  
Daniela Münch ◽  
Sérgio R. Filipe ◽  
Tanja Schneider ◽  
Hans-Georg Sahl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sharp Decrease ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Cell Integrity ◽  
Protein Activity ◽  
Membrane Rupture ◽  
Cross Bridge ◽  
Cross Bridges ◽  
Main Component

AbstractBacterial cells are surrounded by cell wall, whose main component is peptidoglycan (PG), a macromolecule that withstands the internal turgor of the cell. PG composition can vary considerably between species. The Gram-positive pathogenStaphylococcus aureuspossesses highly crosslinked PG due to the presence of cross bridges containing five glycines, which are synthesised by the FemXAB protein family. FemX adds the first glycine of the cross bridge, while FemA and FemB add the second and the third, and the fourth and the fifth glycines, respectively. Of these, FemX was reported to be essential. To investigate the essentiality of FemAB, we constructed a conditionalS. aureusmutant of thefemABoperon. Depletion offemABwas lethal, with cells appearing as pseudomulticellular forms that eventually lyse due to extensive membrane rupture. This deleterious effect was mitigated by drastically increasing the osmolarity of the medium, indicating that pentaglycine crosslinks are required forS. aureuscells to withstand internal turgor. Despite the absence of canonical membrane targeting domains, FemA has been shown to localise at the membrane. To study its mechanism of localisation, we constructed mutants in key residues present in the putative transferase pocket and the α6 helix of FemA, possibly involved in tRNA binding. Mutations in the α6 helix led to a sharp decrease in protein activityin vivoandin vitrobut did not impair correct membrane localisation, indicating that FemA activity is not required for localisation. Our data indicates that, contrarily to what was previously thought,S. aureuscells do not survive in the absence of a pentaglycine cross bridge.

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