Cross-bridge kinetics during shortening in early and sustained contraction of intestinal smooth muscle

1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (3) ◽  
pp. C695-C703 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Hellstrand ◽  
I. Nordstrom

Mechanisms responsible for the decrease in shortening velocity after prolonged contraction ("latch" state) were investigated at identical force during early (20 s, "phasic") and sustained (5 min, "tonic") phases of high-K+ (25-30 mM) contractions in smooth muscle of guinea pig taenia coli. Cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration, myosin light-chain phosphorylation, and maximum shortening velocity all declined from 20 s to 5 min of contraction. The time course of shortening following isotonic quick release was biexponential, with a fastest rate constant of approximately 80 s-1 in both phasic and tonic contractions. Stiffness was identical in phasic and tonic contraction; however, after a release to slack length and unloaded shortening, stiffness during restretch was greater in tonic contraction (51 vs. 43% of isometric stiffness after 16 ms of unloaded shortening). Stiffness decreased after release with a rate constant of approximately 200 s-1, slightly greater in phasic than in tonic contraction. The results indicate that the number of attached cross bridges during unloaded shortening, while substantially reduced relative to the isometric value, is higher in latch than in nonlatch, consistent with a lower detachment relative to attachment rate.

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.


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.


1988 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 2053-2057 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Y. Seow ◽  
N. L. Stephens

Zero-load velocity (V0) as a function of the length of canine tracheal smooth muscle was obtained by applying zero-load clamps to isotonically contracting muscle under various loads. The load clamps were applied at a specific time after onset of contraction. The magnitude of the isotonic load therefore determines the length of the muscle at the moment of release or at the moment the unloaded shortening velocity was measured. A family of such V0-muscle length (L) curves was obtained at 1-s intervals in the time course of contraction. The V0-L curve was fitted by a parabolic function with satisfactory goodness of fit. The maximum shortening velocity at optimum muscle length varied with time, but the minimum length at which V0 diminished to zero was time independent.


1996 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 2703-2703 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Fredberg ◽  
K. A. Jones ◽  
M. Nathan ◽  
S. Raboudi ◽  
Y. S. Prakash ◽  
...  

Fredberg, J. J., K. A. Jones, M. Nathan, S. Raboudi, Y. S. Prakash, S. A. Shore, J. P. Butler, and G. C. Sieck. Friction in airway smooth muscle: mechanism, latch, and implications in asthma. J. Appl. Physiol. 81(6): 2703–2712, 1996.—In muscle, active force and stiffness reflect numbers of actin-myosin interactions and shortening velocity reflects their turnover rates, but the molecular basis of mechanical friction is somewhat less clear. To better characterize molecular mechanisms that govern mechanical friction, we measured the rate of mechanical energy dissipation and the rate of actomyosin ATP utilization simultaneously in activated canine airway smooth muscle subjected to small periodic stretches as occur in breathing. The amplitude of the frictional stress is proportional to ηE, where E is the tissue stiffness defined by the slope of the resulting force vs. displacement loop and η is the hysteresivity defined by the fatness of that loop. From contractile stimulus onset, the time course of frictional stress amplitude followed a biphasic pattern that tracked that of the rate of actomyosin ATP consumption. The time course of hysteresivity, however, followed a different biphasic pattern that tracked that of shortening velocity. Taken together with an analysis of mechanical energy storage and dissipation in the cross-bridge cycle, these results indicate, first, that like shortening velocity and the rate of actomyosin ATP utilization, mechanical friction in airway smooth muscle is also governed by the rate of cross-bridge cycling; second, that changes in cycling rate associated with conversion of rapidly cycling cross bridges to slowly cycling latch bridges can be assessed from changes of hysteresivity of the force vs. displacement loop; and third, that steady-state force maintenance (latch) is a low-friction contractile state. This last finding may account for the unique inability of asthmatic patients to reverse spontaneous airways obstruction with a deep inspiration.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (1) ◽  
pp. C278-C288 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Lalli ◽  
K. Obara ◽  
R. J. Paul

Phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chain (LC20-P1) is the major route of smooth muscle activation. However, after prior exposure to vanadate, permeabilized guinea pig taenia coli smooth muscle contracts in the absence of LC20-P1. We characterized the vanadate-induced contraction and investigated the mechanism of this novel activation pathway. Addition of vanadate to a control contracture (6.6 microM Ca2+) inhibits force (effective dose for 50% response was approximately 100 microM). In contrast, preincubation with high concentrations of vanadate (threshold at 1-2 mM) elicited a contraction on subsequent transfer of the fiber to a vanadate-free, Ca(2+)-free solution. Maximum isometric force of approximately 60% of control was obtained in fibers preincubated in 4 mM vanadate for 10 min. Addition of Ca2+ to a vanadate-induced contracture increased force, but the total force never exceeded the initial control. After maximal thiophosphorylation of LC20 with adenosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate), treatment with vanadate did not increase force. Unloaded shortening velocity (Vmax) was similar in Ca2+ and vanadate contractures and was additive. After thiophosphorylation, preincubation in vanadate had no effect on Vmax, suggesting that vanadate affected the number of activated bridges and not cycle rate. Vanadate mechanisms likely involve oxidation, since preincubation with 4 mM vanadate and 25 mM dithiothreitol (DTT) did not produce force. DTT could reverse a vanadate-induced contracture in 30-60 min. Subsequently, fibers demonstrated control contraction/relaxation cycles. Thus vanadate treatment did not cause irreversible damage, such as the extraction of proteins. Potential oxidation sites are proteins at 17 kDa and between 30 and 40 kDa, which were not alkylated by N-ethylmaleimide if they were treated in the presence of vanadate or in the rigor state. Vanadate-induced contractures are likely mediated by a reversible oxidation that activates cross bridges similarly to that of LC20-Pi and may play an important role in oxidant injury.


1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (2) ◽  
pp. C315-C321 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Driska ◽  
P. G. Stein ◽  
R. Porter

Changes in myosin light chain phosphorylation were measured during histamine-induced rhythmic contractions of hog carotid artery smooth muscle strips. Histamine made the muscle strips contract spontaneously every 1-5 min, and this allowed measurement of the time course of phosphorylation in relation to force development under conditions where diffusion of the agonist through tissue would not complicate the interpretation of the data. In the absence of histamine, phosphorylation was low [0.12 +/- 0.04 mol P/mol of the 20,000-Da light chain (LC 20)]. Phosphorylation was slightly (but not significantly) higher in the presence of 10 microM histamine in the relaxed state between contractions (0.20 +/- 0.03 mol P/mol LC 20). In muscle strips frozen during force development, when force had reached half of its peak value, phosphorylation was 0.38 +/- 0.06 mol P/mol LC 20. The highest levels of phosphorylation (0.49 +/- 0.04 mol P/mol LC 20) were found in strips frozen at the peak of the rhythmic contractions. Strips frozen when force had declined to half of the peak force showed low levels of phosphorylation (0.17 +/- 0.07 mol P/mol LC 20), indicating that the myosin light chain phosphatase activity was quite high. Mathematical modeling of the kinase and phosphatase reactions suggested that the apparent first-order phosphatase rate constant was at least 0.08 s-1 under these conditions. To obtain a better estimate of this rate constant, a second series of phosphorylation measurements were made early in the relaxation phase of the rhythmic contractions. The highest phosphatase rate constant obtained from these measurements was 0.23 s-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (2) ◽  
pp. C282-C287 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Hai ◽  
R. A. Murphy

We tested the hypothesis that relaxation in vascular smooth muscle is the result of inactivation of myosin light chain kinase and cross-bridge dephosphorylation. Fast neurally mediated contractions of swine carotid medial strips were induced by electrical field stimulation. Termination of the stimulus resulted in relaxation with a half time of 2 min. Nifedipine (0.1 microM) increased the relaxation rate without significant effects on the contractile response. Cross-bridge dephosphorylation was much faster than stress decay with basal levels reached within 1 min when 73% of the developed stress remained. The time-course data of dephosphorylation and stress were analyzed with a model that predicted the dependences of stress and isotonic shortening velocity on cross-bridge phosphorylation during contraction. Rate constants resolved from contraction data also fitted the relaxation data when the model's prediction was corrected for estimated errors in the phosphorylation measurements. Because Ca2+-dependent cross-bridge phosphorylation was the only postulated regulatory mechanism in the model, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that cross-bridge dephosphorylation is necessary and sufficient to explain relaxation in the swine carotid media.


1987 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 771-789 ◽  
Author(s):  
D M Warshaw

The relationship between force and shortening velocity (F:V) in muscle is believed to reflect both the mechanics of the myosin cross-bridge and the kinetics of its interaction with actin. To date, the F:V for smooth muscle cells has been inferred from F:V data obtained in multicellular tissue preparations. Therefore, to determine F:V in an intact single smooth muscle cell, cells were isolated from the toad (Bufo marinus) stomach muscularis and attached to a force transducer and length displacement device. Cells were electrically stimulated at 20 degrees C and generated 143 mN/mm2 of active force per muscle cross-sectional area. At the peak of contraction, cells were subjected to sudden changes in force (dF = 0.10-0.90 Fmax) and then maintained at the new force level. The force change resulted in a length response in which the cell length (Lcell) rapidly decreased during the force step and then decreased monotonically with a time constant between 75 and 600 ms. The initial length change that coincided with the force step was analyzed and an active cellular compliance of 1.9% cell length was estimated. The maintained force and resultant shortening velocity (V) were fitted to the Hill hyperbola with constants a/Fmax of 0.268 and b of 0.163 Lcell/s. Vmax was also determined by a procedure in which the cell length was slackened and the time of unloaded shortening was recorded (slack test). From the slack test, Vmax was estimated as 0.583 Lcell/s, in agreement with the F:V data. The F:V data were analyzed within the framework of the Huxley model (Huxley. 1957. Progress in Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry. 7:255-318) for contraction and interpreted to indicate that in smooth muscle, as compared with fast striated muscle, there may exist a greater percentage of attached force-generating cross-bridges.


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.


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