Unstimulated force during hypoxia of rat cardiac muscle: stiffness and calcium dependence

1990 ◽  
Vol 258 (3) ◽  
pp. H861-H869 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Leijendekker ◽  
W. D. Gao ◽  
H. E. ter Keurs
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Phosphorylation ◽  
Strain Gauge ◽  
Sarcomere Length ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Laser Diffraction ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Rapid Cycling ◽  
Cross Bridges ◽  
Passive Muscle

The stiffness of rat cardiac trabeculae was measured in vitro to distinguish between an increase in unstimulated force (Fu) caused by rapid cycling of cross bridges or caused by rigor bridges during hypoxia. The force was measured with a strain gauge, the sarcomere length was determined by laser diffraction techniques, and muscle length was controlled by means of a motor. Stiffness was analyzed by using small (less than 1% of muscle length) sinusoidal length perturbations of 1 and 100 Hz. The stiffness at 100 Hz increased linearly with force during tetani at a varied [Sr2+] (0.25-10 mM) in the Krebs-Henseleit (K-H) buffer, but remained virtually unchanged at 1 Hz. In contrast, the stiffness of both the passive muscle and the muscle exposed to either CN- or to PO2 less than 1.5 mmHg up to development of maximal Fu (Fumax) was similar at 1- and 100-Hz perturbations. Less profound hypoxia (PO2 6-10 mmHg) resulted in spontaneous sarcomere activity during the rise in Fu, and an increase in the ratio of stiffness at 100 Hz to stiffness at 1 Hz was detected. When oxidative phosphorylation was inhibited by CN- (2 mM) while the muscle was stimulated in the absence of both Ca2+ and Na+ (choline+substituted), the addition of Na+ at the time at which Fu had reached 30-40% of Fumax did not affect the rate of rise of Fu. These results show that the development of Fu during more complete anoxia in rat trabeculae is completely due to the formation of rigor links and that Ca2(+)-dependent cross-bridge activation can contribute to the rise in Fu during less severe hypoxia.

scholarly journals Stretch and quick release of rat cardiac trabeculae accelerates Ca2+ waves and triggered propagated contractions

2001 ◽  
Vol 281 (5) ◽  
pp. H2133-H2142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuji Wakayama ◽  
Masahito Miura ◽  
Yoshinao Sugai ◽  
Yutaka Kagaya ◽  
Jun Watanabe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Strain Gauge ◽  
Sarcomere Length ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Laser Diffraction ◽  
Active Force ◽  
Quick Release ◽  
Rat Hearts ◽  
Initiation And Propagation ◽  
Intracellular Ca ◽  
Ventricular Trabeculae

Rapid shortening of active cardiac muscle [quick release (QR)] dissociates Ca2+ from myofilaments. We studied, using muscle stretches and QR, whether Ca2+ dissociation affects triggered propagated contractions (TPCs) and Ca2+waves. The intracellular Ca2+ concentration was measured by a SIT camera in right ventricular trabeculae dissected from rat hearts loaded with fura 2 salt, force was measured by a silicon strain gauge, and sarcomere length was measured by laser diffraction while a servomotor controlled muscle length. TPCs ( n = 27) were induced at 28°C by stimulus trains (7.5 s at 2.65 ± 0.13 Hz) at an extracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]o) = 2.0 mM or with 10 μM Gd3+ at [Ca2+]o = 5.2 ± 0.73 mM. QR during twitch relaxation after a 10% stretch for 100–200 ms reduced both the time between the last stimulus and the peak TPC (PeakTPC) and the time between the last stimulus and peak Ca2+ wave (PeakCW) and increased PeakTPC and PeakCW ( n= 13) as well as the propagation velocity ( V prop; n = 8). Active force during stretch also increased V prop( r = 0.84, n = 12, P < 0.01), but Gd3+ had no effect ( n = 5). These results suggest that Ca2+ dissociation by QR during relaxation accelerates the initiation and propagation of Ca2+ waves.

The effects of pH on force and stiffness development in mouse muscles

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (8) ◽  
pp. 1798-1801 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Renaud ◽  
R. B. Stein ◽  
T. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Small Amplitude ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Low Ph ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Average Force ◽  
Cross Bridge ◽  
Effects Of Ph ◽  
Cross Bridges

Changes in force and stiffness during contractions of mouse extensor digitorum longus and soleus muscles were measured over a range of extracellular pH from 6.4 to 7.4. Muscle stiffness was measured using small amplitude (<0.1% of muscle length), high frequency (1.5 kHz) oscillations in length. Twitch force was not significantly affected by changes in pH, but the peak force during repetitive stimulation (2, 3, and 20 pulses) was decreased significantly as the pH was reduced. Changes in muscle stiffness with pH were in the same direction, but smaller in extent. If the number of attached cross-bridges in the muscle can be determined from the measurement of small amplitude, high frequency muscle stiffness, then these findings suggest that (a) the number of cross-bridges between thick and thin filaments declines in low pH and (b) the average force per cross-bridge also declines in low pH. The decline in force per cross-bridge could arise from a reduction in the ability of cross-bridges to generate force during their state of active force production and (or) in an increased percentage of bonds in a low force, "rigor" state.

The length dependence of work production in rat papillary muscles in vitro.

1995 ◽  
Vol 198 (12) ◽  
pp. 2491-2499 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Layland ◽  
I S Young ◽  
J D Altringham
Keyword(s):  
Energy Loss ◽  
Hysteresis Loops ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Net Energy ◽  
Papillary Muscles ◽  
Cycle Frequency ◽  
Work Production

The influence of length on work production was investigated for rat papillary muscles using the work loop technique. Active and passive length-force relationships were first determined under isometric conditions and the length for maximum force production (Lmax) was derived. Starting from different lengths within the physiological range, a series of work loops was generated using the stimulation phase shift, strain amplitude and cycle frequency previously found to be optimal for power output at 37 degrees C. The relationship between muscle length and net work was used to determine the length at which work output was maximal (Lopt). In order to examine the dynamic passive properties of the muscles, unstimulated muscles were subjected to the same regime of sinusoidal oscillation as used for the active loops. From the hysteresis loops, lengthening work (work done to extend the passive muscle), passive shortening work (work returned during shortening) and net energy loss (hysteresis) could be measured. The decline in net work production at lengths greater than 95% Lmax could largely be attributed to the rapid and non-linear increase in muscle stiffness and the increase in net energy loss over this range of lengths. The physiological significance of the length-work relationship is considered and the mechanical properties of active and passive papillary muscles are discussed with reference to sarcomere length and cardiac muscle ultrastructure.

Force, not sarcomere length, correlates with prolongation of isosarcometric contraction

1995 ◽  
Vol 269 (2) ◽  
pp. H676-H685 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Janssen ◽  
W. C. Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Sarcomere Length ◽  
Laser Diffraction ◽  
Common Mechanism ◽  
Thin Filaments ◽  
Twitch Force ◽  
Subsequent Time ◽  
Systolic Phase ◽  
Cross Bridges ◽  
Highly Correlated

Recent studies have emphasized the importance of the late systolic phase for understanding ventricular ejection. To examine the myocardial factors controlling this phase, we studied the timing of twitch contraction in nine excised rat trabeculae contracting isosarcometrically. By varying both sarcomere length (SL) and extracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]) we determined which of these factors or the developed peak twitch force correlated better with the prolongation of contraction. We focused on the period from just before the peak of force to the time of half relaxation. SL was measured by laser diffraction and kept constant using adaptive control. Peak twitch force was the factor most tightly correlated with prolongation of contraction: as force rose from 10 to 100 mN/mm2, duration tripled from 100 to 300 ms. When the trend with force was removed, however, no separate influence of SL remained. Increase in [Ca2+]o abbreviated contraction equally at all force levels. Prolongation of late systolic contraction was also highly correlated with prolongation of the time constant for late relaxation, suggesting a common mechanism by which peak twitch force lengthens the entire subsequent time course of a twitch. We hypothesize that 1) increased force correlates with prolonged Ca2+ binding to troponin-C, and/or 2) attached cross bridges act cooperatively to oppose the inhibiting effects of tropomyosin as Ca2+ is lost from the thin filaments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

scholarly journals Could an increase in airway smooth muscle shortening velocity cause airway hyperresponsiveness?

2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (1) ◽  
pp. L121-L131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon R. Bullimore ◽  
Sana Siddiqui ◽  
Graham M. Donovan ◽  
James G. Martin ◽  
James Sneyd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Airway Smooth Muscle ◽  
Airway Hyperresponsiveness ◽  
Isometric Force ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Shortening Velocity ◽  
Bridge Model ◽  
Generating Capacity ◽  
Cross Bridges

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.

scholarly journals Variation of muscle stiffness with force at increasing speeds of shortening.

1975 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
F J Julian ◽  
M R Sollins
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Specific Model ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Force Balance ◽  
Shortening Velocity ◽  
Velocity Of Shortening ◽  
Length Changes ◽  
Cross Bridges

Single frog skeletal muscle fibers were attached to a servo motor and force transducer by knotting the tendons to pieces of wire at the fiver insertions. Small amplitude, high frequency sinusoidal length changes were then applied during tetani while fibers contracted both isometrically and isotonically at various constant velocities. The amlitude of the resulting force oscillation provides a relative measure of muscle stiffness. It is shown from an analysis of the transient force responses observed after sudden changes in muscle length applied both at full and reduced overlap and during the rising phase of short tetani that these responses can be explained on the basis of varying numbers of cross bridges attached at the time of the length step. Therefore, the stiffness measured by the high frequency legth oscillation method is taken to be directly proportional to the number of cross bridges attached to thin filament sittes. It is found that muscle stiffness measured in this way falls with increasing shortening velocity, but not as rapidly as the force. The results suggest that at the maximum velocity of shortening, when the external force is zero, muscle stiffness is still substantial. The findings are interpreted in terms of a specific model for muscle contraction in which the maximum velocity of shortening under zero external load arises when a force balance is attained between attached cross bridges somr interpretations of these results are also discussed.

Changes of tracheal smooth muscle stiffness during an isotonic contraction

1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (2) ◽  
pp. C341-C350 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Y. Seow ◽  
N. L. Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Fixed Time ◽  
Isometric Tension ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Tracheal Smooth Muscle ◽  
Isotonic Contraction ◽  
Small Force ◽  
Cross Bridges ◽  
Contraction And Relaxation

Stiffness of the series elastic component (SEC) of canine tracheal smooth muscle in isotonic contraction and relaxation was measured by applying small force perturbations to the muscle and measuring the resulting length perturbations. The quick, elastic length transient was taken as the change in length of the SEC (delta L). The force perturbation was a train of 10-Hz rectangular force waves varying from 0 to 10% maximum isometric tension (Po) in magnitude (delta P = 10% Po). Stiffness of the SEC was estimated by the ratio delta P/delta L. The change in SEC stiffness with respect to the change in muscle length was further studied by obtaining the stress-strain curves of the SEC at different muscle lengths using the load-clamping method. The clamps were applied at a fixed time (10 s after stimulation). Length of the muscle 10 s after contraction was controlled by the magnitude of the isotonic afterload. It was found that the apparent SEC stiffness increased as muscle length decreased. This stiffness increase is not likely due to an increase in the number of attached cross bridges, but it is probably due to the gradual diminution of the SEC length itself during muscle shortening.

Mechanisms for the mechanical plasticity of tracheal smooth muscle

1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (5) ◽  
pp. C1267-C1276 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Gunst ◽  
R. A. Meiss ◽  
M. F. Wu ◽  
M. Rowe
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Stimulus Intensity ◽  
Isometric Force ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Force Development ◽  
Cross Bridges ◽  
High Level ◽  
Cellular Components ◽  
The Relationship

In smooth muscle tissues, the relationship between muscle or cell length and active force can be modulated by altering the cell or tissue length during stimulation. Mechanisms for this mechanical plasticity were investigated by measuring muscle stiffness during isometric contractions in which contractile force was graded by changing stimulus intensity or muscle length. Stiffness was significantly higher in contracted than in resting muscles at comparable forces; however, the relationship between stiffness and force during force development was curvilinear and independent of muscle length and stimulus intensity. This suggests that muscle stiffness during force development reflects properties of cellular components other than cross bridges which contribute to the series elasticity only during activation. During the tonic phase of isometric contraction, muscle stiffness increased while force remained constant. A step decrease in the length of a contracted muscle resulted in a high level of stiffness relative to force during isometric force redevelopment following the length step. We propose that the arrangement of the cytoskeleton can adjust to changes in the conformation of resting smooth muscle cells but that the organization of the cytoskeleton becomes more fixed upon contractile activation and is modulated very slowly during a sustained contraction. This may provide a mechanism for optimizing force development to the physical conformation of the cell at the time of activation.

scholarly journals Comparison of putative cooperative mechanisms in cardiac muscle: length dependence and dynamic responses

1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (5) ◽  
pp. H1734-H1754 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Jeremy Rice ◽  
Raimond L. Winslow ◽  
William C. Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Thin Filament ◽  
Sarcomere Length ◽  
Isometric Force ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Dynamic Responses ◽  
Force Generation ◽  
Cross Bridge ◽  
Multiple Cross ◽  
Cross Bridges

Length-dependent steady-state and dynamic responses of five models of isometric force generation in cardiac myofilaments were compared with similar experimental data from the literature. The models were constructed by assuming different subsets of three putative cooperative mechanisms. Cooperative mechanism 1 holds that cross-bridge binding increases the affinity of troponin for Ca2+. In the models, cooperative mechanism 1can produce steep force-Ca2+(F-Ca) relations, but apparent cooperativity is highest at midlevel Ca2+ concentrations. During twitches, cooperative mechanism 1 has the effect of increasing latency to peak as the magnitude of force increases, an effect not seen experimentally. Cooperative mechanism 2 holds that the binding of a cross bridge increases the rate of formation of neighboring cross bridges and that multiple cross bridges can maintain activation of the thin filament in the absence of Ca2+. Only cooperative mechanism 2 can produce sarcomere length (SL)-dependent prolongation of twitches, but this mechanism has little effect on steady-state F-Ca relations. Cooperativity mechanism 3 is designed to simulate end-to-end interactions between adjacent troponin and tropomyosin. This mechanism can produce steep F-Ca relations with appropriate SL-dependent changes in Ca2+ sensitivity. With the assumption that tropomyosin shifting is faster than cross-bridge cycling, cooperative mechanism 3produces twitches where latency to peak is independent of the magnitude of force, as seen experimentally.

Sarcomere relaxation in hamster diaphragm muscle

1996 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 858-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Coirault ◽  
D. Chemla ◽  
I. Suard ◽  
J. C. Pourny ◽  
Y. Lecarpentier
Keyword(s):  
Sarcomere Length ◽  
Peak Velocity ◽  
Muscle Tension ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Laser Diffraction ◽  
Diaphragm Muscle ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Maximum Extent ◽  
Sarcomere Relaxation

We characterized instantaneous sarcomere relaxation over the load continuum in isolated hamster diaphragm muscles by means of laser diffraction. In afterloaded twitches, sarcomere relaxation displayed two consecutive phases. The bulk of sarcomere lengthening occurred during the first phase and corresponded in time to muscle lengthening. The second phase of sarcomere relaxation was slower and corresponded in time to tension decay. At initial muscle length, the peak velocity of sarcomere lengthening (SVL) was linearly related to both the maximum extent of sarcomere shortening (delta SL) and sarcomere length at peak shortening (SLmin; each P < 0.01). Varying preload modified the SVL vs. SLmin relationship but not the SVL vs. delta SL relationship. At a given preload, muscle tension decay began at a similar sarcomere length, regardless of the afterload level. In conclusion, our results support the role played by sarcomere length in regulating the diaphragm muscle-lengthening rate but not the rate of tension decline.

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