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

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.

1986 ◽  
Vol 251 (3) ◽  
pp. C435-C442 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. L. Stephens ◽  
M. L. Kagan ◽  
C. S. Packer

It seems fairly well established that in the early phase of smooth muscle contraction cross bridges cycle at a relatively rapid rate. Later on these are replaced by very slowly cycling cross bridges or "latch bridges," operating with high economy. We describe a method to identify the time at which the transition occurs. By abruptly applying a light afterload at varying time intervals after stimulation of a canine tracheal smooth muscle, a point in time could be identified when cross-bridge cycling slowed. This was called the transition time. Because this transition was load dependent, the study was repeated with the preload abruptly reduced to zero. This permitted analysis of data in terms of cross-bridge activity. Maximum zero load velocity (Vo) of the contractile machinery was plotted against time and yielded a biphasic curve. The descending limb of the curve was fitted by a curve of the form Vo(t) = alpha e-K1t + beta e-K2t; K1 was almost three times greater than K2. We speculate that the faster rate constant represented activity of the early rapidly cycling cross bridges, and the slower constant reflected cycling rates in the latch state. These results are consistent with the latch bridge hypothesis put forward by Dillon et al. and enable us to provide a first approximation of the relative velocities of the two types of cross bridges.


1996 ◽  
Vol 270 (2) ◽  
pp. E203-E208
Author(s):  
A. L. Ruzycky ◽  
B. T. Ameredes

The relationship between cross-bridge cycling rate and isometric stress was investigated in rat myometrium. Stress production by myometrial strips was measured under resting, K+ depolarization, and oxytocin-stimulated conditions. Cross-bridge cycling rates were determined from measurements of maximal unloaded shortening velocity, using the quick-release method. Force redevelopment after the quick release was used as an index of cross-bridge attachment. With maximal K+ stimulation, stress increased with increased cross-bridge cycling (+76%; P < 0.05) and attached cross bridges (+112%; P < 0.05). Addition of oxytocin during K+ stimulation further increased stress (+30%; P < 0.05). With this force component, the cross-bridge cycling rate decreased (-60%; P < 0.05) similar to that under resting conditions. Attached cross-bridges did not increase with this additional stress. The results suggest two distinct mechanisms mediating myometrial contractions. One requires elevated intracellular calcium and rapidly cycling cross bridges. The other mechanism may be independent of calcium and appears to be mediated by slowly cycling cross bridges, supporting greater unit stress.


2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (3) ◽  
pp. C594-C602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Rembold ◽  
Robert L. Wardle ◽  
Christopher J. Wingard ◽  
Timothy W. Batts ◽  
Elaine F. Etter ◽  
...  

Serine 19 phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chain (MRLC) appears to be the primary determinant of smooth muscle force development. The relationship between MRLC phosphorylation and force is nonlinear, showing that phosphorylation is not a simple switch regulating the number of cycling cross bridges. We reexamined the MRLC phosphorylation-force relationship in slow, tonic swine carotid media; fast, phasic rabbit urinary bladder detrusor; and very fast, tonic rat anococcygeus. We found a sigmoidal dependence of force on MRLC phosphorylation in all three tissues with a threshold for force development of ∼0.15 mol Pi/mol MRLC. This behavior suggests that force is regulated in a highly cooperative manner. We then determined whether a model that employs both the latch-bridge hypothesis and cooperative activation could reproduce the relationship between Ser19-MRLC phosphorylation and force without the need for a second regulatory system. We based this model on skeletal muscle in which attached cross bridges cooperatively activate thin filaments to facilitate cross-bridge attachment. We found that such a model describes both the steady-state and time-course relationship between Ser19-MRLC phosphorylation and force. The model required both cooperative activation and latch-bridge formation to predict force. The best fit of the model occurred when binding of a cross bridge cooperatively activated seven myosin binding sites on the thin filament. This result suggests cooperative mechanisms analogous to skeletal muscle that will require testing.


1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (1) ◽  
pp. C96-C100 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. H. Ratz ◽  
C. M. Hai ◽  
R. A. Murphy

Cross-bridge phosphorylation associated with agonist-stimulated contraction of vascular smooth muscle is often transiently elevated. Such observations led to the concept that phosphorylation of the 20-kDa myosin regulatory light chain (Mp) was required for initial activation and cross-bridge cycling but might not be necessary for steady-state maintenance of stress in the latch state. The possibility that stress maintenance is not regulated by phosphorylation has received some experimental support in contractions induced by phorbol esters and the calcium channel activator BAY K 8644 in which significant increases in Mp were not detected. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that phosphorylation is both necessary and sufficient for activation and for maintenance of steady-state stress. Activation of swine carotid media using agents that bypass receptor activation and elevate Ca2+ influx without mobilizing intracellular Ca2+ stores (BAY K 8644 and ionomycin) produced monotonic increases in both stress and Mp. Transient initial peaks in Mp were absent. Steady-state stress induced by both receptor- and nonreceptor-mediated activation was dependent on small increases in Mp. Increases in Mp greater than 0.3 mol Pi/mol myosin light chain had small effects on stress but produced large increases in the maximum rate of cross-bridge cycling at zero load (Vo). The experimentally determined dependence of stress on Mp was quantitatively predicted by our working hypothesis. This model proposes that Ca2+-stimulated cross-bridge phosphorylation is obligatory for cross-bridge attachment. However, dephosphorylation of attached cross bridges to form noncycling "latch bridges" allows stress maintenance with reduced Mp and cycling.


1988 ◽  
Vol 254 (1) ◽  
pp. C99-C106 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Hai ◽  
R. A. Murphy

We have developed a minimum kinetic model for cross-bridge interactions with the thin filament in smooth muscle. The model hypothesizes two types of cross-bridge interactions: 1) cycling phosphorylated cross bridges and 2) noncycling dephosphorylated cross bridges ("latch bridges"). The major assumptions are that 1) Ca2+-dependent myosin phosphorylation is the only postulated regulatory mechanism, 2) each myosin head acts independently, and 3) latch bridges are formed by dephosphorylation of an attached cross bridge. Rate constants were resolved by fitting data on the time courses of myosin phosphorylation and stress development. Comparison of the rate constants indicates that latch-bridge detachment is the rate-limiting step. Model simulations predicted a hyperbolic dependence of steady-state stress on myosin phosphorylation, which corresponded with the experimental observation of high values of stress with low levels of phosphorylation in intact tissues. Model simulations also predicted the experimental observation that an initial phosphorylation transient only accelerates stress development, with no effect on the final steady-state levels of stress. Because the only Ca2+-dependent regulatory mechanism in this model was activation of myosin light chain kinase, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that myosin phosphorylation is both necessary and sufficient for the development of the latch state.


1983 ◽  
Vol 244 (3) ◽  
pp. C182-C187 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. T. Gerthoffer ◽  
R. A. Murphy

We have tested the hypothesis that phosphorylation of the 20,000-dalton myosin light chains (LC 20) in rabbit tracheal smooth muscle modulates cross-bridge kinetics and isotonic shortening velocity. The thin muscle [190 +/- 10 (SE) microns] allowed detection of rapid changes in carbachol-induced active stress development, LC 20 phosphorylation, and isotonic shortening velocities. Phosphorylation of the LC 20 in resting muscle was 0.12 +/- 0.04 mol Pi/mol LC 20. Carbachol (10(-5) M) increased the level of phosphorylation to 0.46 +/- 0.03 mol Pi/mol LC 20 within 30 s. Phosphorylation then declined significantly as steady-state active stress was reached. A positive correlation was always found between LC 20 phosphorylation and shortening velocity. This result supports the hypothesis that the level of myosin phosphorylation was related to the mean cross-bridge cycling rate rather than the number of cross bridges contributing to the developed stress. Dephosphorylation of LC 20 occurred at about the same rate as the decline in shortening velocity and stress upon stimulus washout.


2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (1) ◽  
pp. L121-L131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon R. Bullimore ◽  
Sana Siddiqui ◽  
Graham M. Donovan ◽  
James G. Martin ◽  
James Sneyd ◽  
...  

Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is a characteristic feature of asthma. It has been proposed that an increase in the shortening velocity of airway smooth muscle (ASM) could contribute to AHR. To address this possibility, we tested whether an increase in the isotonic shortening velocity of ASM is associated with an increase in the rate and total amount of shortening when ASM is subjected to an oscillating load, as occurs during breathing. Experiments were performed in vitro using 27 rat tracheal ASM strips supramaximally stimulated with methacholine. Isotonic velocity at 20% isometric force (Fiso) was measured, and then the load on the muscle was varied sinusoidally (0.33 ± 0.25 Fiso, 1.2 Hz) for 20 min, while muscle length was measured. A large amplitude oscillation was applied every 4 min to simulate a deep breath. We found that: 1) ASM strips with a higher isotonic velocity shortened more quickly during the force oscillations, both initially ( P < 0.001) and after the simulated deep breaths ( P = 0.002); 2) ASM strips with a higher isotonic velocity exhibited a greater total shortening during the force oscillation protocol ( P < 0.005); and 3) the effect of an increase in isotonic velocity was at least comparable in magnitude to the effect of a proportional increase in ASM force-generating capacity. A cross-bridge model showed that an increase in the total amount of shortening with increased isotonic velocity could be explained by a change in either the cycling rate of phosphorylated cross bridges or the rate of myosin light chain phosphorylation. We conclude that, if asthma involves an increase in ASM velocity, this could be an important factor in the associated AHR.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (11) ◽  
pp. 1345-1350 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. L. Stephens ◽  
H. Jiang

We have demonstrated that in dogs antigen sensitization results in alterations of contractile properties. These changes could account for the hyperresponsiveness reported in asthma. The failure of the muscle to relax could be another important factor responsible for maintaining high airway resistance. We therefore developed an index of isotonic relaxation, t1/2,CE (half time for relaxation that is independent of muscle load and initial contractile element length), for evaluation of the relaxation process. Because the maximum shortening velocity at 2 s but not at 10 s was greater in sensitized bronchial smooth muscle than that in controls, studies of relaxation were also undertaken at these two times. The mean half-relaxation time indicated by t1/2,CE showed no difference between sensitized and control muscles after 10 s of stimulation (8.38 ± 0.92 vs. 7.78 ± 0.93 s, means ± SE); however, it was prolonged significantly in the sensitized muscle only stimulated for 1 s (12.74 ± 2.5 s, mean ± SE) compared with the control (6.98 ± 1.01 s). During the late phase of isotonic relaxation, both groups showed an unexpected spontaneous increase in zero-load shortening velocity, which is an index of cross-bridge cycling rate. We conclude that (i) both contraction and relaxation properties of early normally cycling cross bridges are altered after sensitization and these changes may account for the hyperresponsiveness observed in asthmatics and (ii) the cross-bridge cycling rate increases spontaneously during isotonic relaxation, probably as a result of reactivation of the contractile mechanism.Key words: smooth muscle relaxation, isotonic relaxation, spontaneous activation in late relaxation, mechanisms for airway hyperresponsiveness, new index of muscle relaxation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 1356-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi-Ming Hai ◽  
Hak Rim Kim

A thin-filament-regulated latch-bridge model of smooth muscle contraction is proposed to integrate thin-filament-based inhibition of actomyosin ATPase activity with myosin phosphorylation in the regulation of smooth muscle mechanics. The model included two latch-bridge cycles, one of which was identical to the four-state model as proposed by Hai and Murphy ( Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 255: C86–C94, 1988), whereas the ultraslow cross-bridge cycle has lower cross-bridge cycling rates. The model-fitted phorbol ester induced slow contractions at constant myosin phosphorylation and predicted steeper dependence of force on myosin phosphorylation in phorbol ester-stimulated smooth muscle. By shifting cross bridges between the two latch-bridge cycles, the model predicts that a smooth muscle cell can either maintain force at extremely low-energy cost or change its contractile state rapidly, if necessary. Depending on the fraction of cross bridges engaged in the ultraslow latch-bridge cycle, the model predicted biphasic kinetics of smooth muscle mechanics and variable steady-state dependencies of force and shortening velocity on myosin phosphorylation. These results suggest that thin-filament-based regulatory proteins may function as tuners of actomyosin ATPase activity, thus allowing a smooth muscle cell to have two discrete cross-bridge cycles with different cross-bridge cycling rates.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (11) ◽  
pp. 1334-1337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Hellstrand

Stiffness measurements were performed on smooth muscle preparations from guinea-pig taenia coli to obtain information on the number of attached cross bridges under varying contractile conditions. The normalized stiffness of the cross-bridge system in smooth muscle may be of a magnitude similar to that assumed in skeletal muscle. Transition from isometric contraction to unloaded shortening was associated with a decrease in stiffness to 50% or less of the isometric value, slightly higher than that found in skeletal muscle fibers. Comparison of phasic (5 s) and tonic (5 min) contractions showed lower Vmax, intracellular [Ca2+], and myosin 20 kDa light chain phosphorylation at 5 min, indicating development of a latch state. Isometric force and stiffness were identical in the two types of contraction. However, stiffness during unloaded shortening was greater in the latch state, which may be the result of the presence of a population of cross bridges with a low rate constant for detachment.Key words: smooth muscle mechanics, cross bridges, latch, myosin phosphorylation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document