Effects of Ca2+ on the conformation and enzymatic activity of smooth muscle myosin

The influence of Ca2+ on the enzymatic and physical properties of smooth muscle myosin was studied. The actin-activated ATPase activity of phosphorylated gizzard myosin and heavy meromyosin is higher in the presence of Ca2+ than in its absence, but this effect is found only at lower MgCl2 concentrations. As the MgCl2 concentration is increased, Ca2+ sensitivity is decreased. The concentration of Ca2+ necessary to activate ATPase activity is higher than that required to saturate calmodulin. The similarity of the pCa dependence of ATPase activity and of Ca2+ binding to myosin and the competition by Mg2+ indicate that these effects involved the Ca2+-Mg2+ binding sites of gizzard myosin. For the actin dependence of ATPase activity of phosphorylated myosin at low concentrations of MgCl2, both Vmax and Ka are influenced by Ca2+. The formation of small polymers by phosphorylated myosin in the presence of Ca2+ could account for the alteration in the affinity for actin. For the actin dependence of phosphorylated heavy meromyosin at low MgCl2 concentrations, Ca2+ induces only an increase in Vmax. To detect alterations in physical properties, two techniques were used: viscosity and limited papain hydrolysis. For dephosphorylated myosin, 6 S or 10 S, Ca2+-dependent effects are not detected using either technique. However, for phosphorylated myosin the decrease in viscosity corresponding to the 6 S to 10 S transition is shifted to lower KCl concentrations by the presence of Ca2+. In addition, a Ca2+ dependence of proteolysis rates is observed with phosphorylated myosin but only at low ionic strength, i.e. under conditions where myosin assumes the folded conformation.     

Dependence on Ca2+ and tropomyosin of the actin-activated ATPase activity of phosphorylated gizzard myosin in the presence of low concentrations of Mg2+

Ca2+ and tropomyosin are required for activation of ATPase activity of phosphorylated gizzard myosin by gizzard actin at less than 1 mM Mg2+, relatively low Ca2+ concentrations (1 microM), producing half-maximal activation. At higher concentrations, Mg2+ will replace Ca2+, 4 mM Mg2+ increasing activity to the same extent as does Ca2+ and abolishing the Ca2+ dependence. Above about 1 mM Mg2+, tropomyosin is no longer required for activation by actin, activity being dependent on Ca2+ between 1 and 4 mM Mg2+, but independent of [Ca2+] above 4 mM Mg2+. Phosphorylation of the 20,000-Da light chain of gizzard myosin is required for activation of ATPase activity by actin from chicken gizzard or rabbit skeletal muscle at all concentrations of Mg2+ employed. The effect of adding or removing Ca2+ is fully reversible and cannot be attributed either to irreversible inactivation of actin or myosin or to dephosphorylation. After preincubating in the absence of Ca2+, activity is restored either by adding micromolar concentrations of this cation or by raising the concentration of Mg2+ to 8 mM. Similarly, the inhibition found in the absence of tropomyosin is fully reversed by subsequent addition of this protein. Replacing gizzard actin with skeletal actin alters the pattern of activation by Ca2+ at concentrations of Mg2+ less than 1 mM. Full activation is obtained with or without Ca2+ in the presence of tropomyosin, while in its absence Ca2+ is required but produces only partial activation. Without tropomyosin, the range of Mg2+ concentrations over which activity is Ca2+-dependent is restricted to lower values with skeletal than with gizzard actin. The activity of skeletal muscle myosin is activated by the gizzard actin-tropomyosin complex without Ca2+, although Ca2+ slightly increases activity. The Ca2+ sensitivity of reconstituted gizzard actomyosin is partially retained by hybrid actomyosin containing gizzard myosin and skeletal actin, but less Ca2+ dependence is retained in the hybrid containing skeletal myosin and gizzard actin.     

Chicken-gizzard actin. Interaction with skeletal-muscle myosin

Interaction of actin from chicken gizzard and from rabbit skeletal muscle with rabbit skeletal muscle myosin was compared by measuring the rate of superprecipitation, the activation of the Mg-ATPase and inhibition of K-ATPase activity of myosin and heavy meromyosin, and determination of binding of heavy meromyosin in the absence of ATP. Both the rate of superprecipitation of the hybrid actomyosin and the activation of myosin ATPase by gizzard actin are lower than those obtained with skeletal muscle actin. The activation of myosin Mg-ATPase by the two actin species also shows different dependence on substrate concentration: with gizzard actin the substrate inhibition starts at lower ATP concentration. The double-reciprocal plots of the Mg-ATPase activity of heavy meromyosin versus actin concentration yield the same value of the extrapolated ATPase activity at infinite actin concentration (V) for the two actins and nearly double the actin concentration needed to produce half-maximal activation (Kapp) in the case of gizzard actin. A corresponding difference in the abilities of the two actin species to inhibit the K-ATPase activity of heavy meromyosin in the absence of divalent cations was also observed. The results are discussed in terms of the effect of substitutions in the amino acid sequence of gizzard and skeletal muscle actins on their interaction with myosin.     

Modulation of the actin-activated adenosinetriphosphatase activity of myosin by tropomyosin from vascular and gizzard smooth muscles

Tropomyosins from bovine aorta and pulmonary artery exhibit identical electrophoretic patterns in sodium dodecyl sulfate but differ from tropomyosins of either chicken gizzard or rabbit skeletal muscle. Each of the four tropomyosins binds readily to skeletal muscle F-actin as indicated by their sedimentation with actin and by their ability to maximally stimulate or inhibit actin-activated ATPase activity at a molar ratio of one tropomyosin per seven actin monomers. Smooth and skeletal muscle tropomyosins differ in their effects on activity of skeletal myosin or heavy meromyosin (HMM); the former can enhance activity under conditions in which the latter inhibits. Gizzard and arterial tropomyosins are usually equally effective in stimulating ATPase activity of skeletal acto-HMM, but at high concentrations of Mg2+ gizzard tropomyosin is more effective, a result that cannot be attributed to differences in the binding of the two tropomyosins to F-actin. The effects of tropomyosin also depend on the type of myosin; tropomyosin enhances activity of gizzard myosin under conditions in which it inhibits that of skeletal myosin. Increasing the pH or the Mg2+ concentration can reverse the effect of tropomyosin on actin-stimulated ATPase activity of skeletal HMM from activation to inhibition, but this reversal is not found with gizzard myosin. Activity in the absence of tropomyosin is independent of pH, and the loss of activation with increasing pH is not accompanied by loss of binding of tropomyosin to actin.     

Effects of Ca2+ and Mg2+ on the actomyosin adenosine-5'-triphosphatase of stably phosphorylated gizzard myosin

There are conflicting reports on the effect of Ca2+ on actin activation of myosin adenosine-triphosphatase (ATPase) once the light chain is fully phosphorylated by a calcium calmodulin dependent kinase. Using thiophosphorylated gizzard myosin, Sherry et al. [Sherry, J. M. F., Gorecka, A., Aksoy, M. O., Dabrowska, R., & Hartshorne, D. J. (1978) Biochemistry 17, 4417-4418] observed that the actin activation of ATPase was not inhibited by the removal of Ca2+. Hence, it was suggested that the regulation of actomyosin ATPase activity of gizzard myosin by calcium occurs only via phosphorylation. In the present study, phosphorylated and thiophosphorylated myosins were prepared free of kinase and phosphatase activity; hence, the ATPase activity could be measured at various concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ without affecting the level of phosphorylation. The ATPase activity of myosin was activated either by skeletal muscle or by gizzard actin at various concentrations of Mg2+ and either at pCa 5 or at pCa 8. The activation was sensitive to Ca2+ at low Mg2+ concentrations with both actins. Tropomyosin potentiated the actin-activated ATPase activity at all Mg2+ and Ca2+ concentrations. The calcium sensitivity of phosphorylated and thiophosphorylated myosin reconstituted with actin and tropomyosin was most pronounced at a free Mg2+ concentration of about 3 mM. The binding of 125I-tropomyosin to actin showed that the calcium sensitivity of ATPase observed at low Mg2+ concentration is not due to a calcium-mediated binding of tropomyosin to F-actin. The actin activation of both myosins was insensitive to Ca2+ when the Mg2+ concentration was increased above 5 mM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Calcium sensitivity of contractile proteins from chicken gizzard muscle.

Actin, myosin, and "native" tropomyosin (NTM) were separately isolated from chicken gizzard muscle and rabbit skeletal muscle. With various combinations of the isolated contractile proteins, Mg-ATPase activity and superprecipitation activity were measured. It was thus found that gizzard myosin and gizzard NTM behaved differently from skeletal myosin and skeletal NTM, whereas gizzard actin functioned in the same wasy as skeletal actin. It was also found that gizzard myosin preparations were often Ca-sensitive, that is, that the two activities of gizzard myosin plus actin without NTM were activated by low concentrations of Ca2+. The Mg-ATPase activity of a Ca-insensitive preparation of gizzard myosin was not activated by actin even in the presence of Ca2+. When Ca-sensitive gizzard myosin was incubated with ATP (and Mg2+) in the presence of Ca2+, a light-chain component of gizzard myosin was phosphorylated. The light-chain phosphorylation also occurred when Ca-insensitive myosin was incubated with gizzard NTM and ATP (plus Mg2+) in the presence of Ca2+. In either case, the light-chain phosphorylation required Ca2+. Phosphorylated gizzard myosin in combination with actin was able to exhibit superprecipitation, and Mg-ATPase of the phosphorylated gizzard myosin was activated by actin; the actin activation and superprecipitation were found to occur even in the absence of Ca2+ and NTM or tropomyosin. The phosphorylated light-chain component was found to be dephosphorylated by a partially purified preparation of gizzard myosin light-chain phosphatase. Gizzard myosin thus dephosphorylated behaved exactly like untreated Ca-insensitive gizzard myosin; in combination with actin, it did not superprecipitate either in the presence of Ca2+ or in its absence, but did superprecipitated in the presence of NTM and Ca2+. Ca-activated hydrolysis of ATP catalyzed by gizzard myosin B proceeded at a reduced rate after removal of Ca2+ (by adding EGTA), whereas that catalyzed by a combination of actin, gizzard myosin, and gizzard NTM proceeded at the same rate even after removal of Ca2+. However, addition of a partially purified preparation of gizzard myosin light-chain phosphatase was found to make the recombined system behave like myosin B. Based on these findings, it appears that myosin light-chain kinase and myosin light-chain phosphatase can function as regulatory proteins for contraction and relaxation, respectively, of gizzard muscle.     

Identification of amino acid substitutions differentiating actin isoforms in their interaction with myosin

Various aspects of actin--myosin interaction were studied with actin preparations from two types of smooth muscle: bovine aorta and chicken gizzard, and from two types of sarcomeric muscle: bovine cardiac and rabbit skeletal. All four preparations activated the Mg2+-ATPase activity of skeletal muscle myosin to the same Vmax, but the Kapp for the smooth muscle preparations was higher. At low KCl, pH 8.0 and millimolar substrate concentrations the Kapp values differed by a factor of 2.5. This differential behaviour of the four actin preparations correlates with amino acid substitutions at positions 17 and 89 of actin polypeptide chain, differentiating the smooth-muscle-specific gamma and alpha isomers from cardiac and skeletal-muscle-specific alpha isomers. This correlation provides evidence for involvement of the NH2-terminal portion of the actin polypeptide chain in the interaction with myosin. The differences in the activation of myosin ATPase by various actins were sensitive to changes in the substrate and KCl concentration and pH of the assay medium. Addition of myosin subfragment-1 or heavy meromyosin in the absence of nucleotide produced similar changes in the fluorescence of a fluorescent reagent N-(1-pyrenyl)-iodoacetamide, attached at Cys-374, or 1,N6-ethenoadenosine 5'-diphosphate substituted for the bound ADP in actin protomers in gizzard and skeletal muscle F-actin. The results are consistent with an influence of the amino acid substitutions on ionic interactions leading to complex formation between actin and myosin intermediates in the ATPase cycle but not on the associated states.     

Inhibition of conformational change in smooth muscle myosin by a monoclonal antibody against the 17-kDa light chain

Monoclonal antibodies against gizzard smooth muscle myosin were generated and characterized. One of these antibodies, designated MM-2, recognized the 17-kDa light chain and modulated the ATPase activities and hydrodynamic properties of smooth muscle myosin. Rotary shadowing electron microscopy showed that MM-2 binds 51 (+/- 25) A from the head-rod junction. The depression of Ca2+- and Mg2+-ATPase activities of myosin and Ca2+-ATPase activity of heavy meromyosin at low KCl concentration were abolished by MM-2. Viscosity measurement indicated that MM-2 inhibits the transition of 6 S myosin to 10 S myosin. While the rate of the production of subfragment-1 by papain proteolysis of 6 S myosin was inhibited by MM-2, the rate of proteolysis of the heavy chain of 10 S myosin was enhanced by MM-2 and reached the same rate as that of 6 S myosin plus MM-2. These results suggest that MM-2 inhibits the formation of 10 S myosin by binding to the 17-kDa light chain which is localized at the head-neck region of the myosin molecule. MM-2 increased the Vmax of actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase activities of both dephosphorylated myosin and dephosphorylated heavy meromyosin about 10- and 20-fold, respectively. MM-2 also activated the actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase activity of phosphorylated myosin at a low MgCl2 concentration and thus abolished the Mg2+-dependence of acto phosphorylated myosin ATPase activity. These results suggest that MM-2 inhibits the formation of 10 S myosin, and this results in the activation of actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase activity even in the absence of phosphorylation.     

Chicken gizzard heavy meromyosin that retains the two light-chain components, including a phosphorylatable one.

A method was developed to obtain a preparation of chicken gizzard heavy meromyosin (HMM) that retains the two light-chain components of parent myosin: the 20,000-dalton and 17,000-dalton light-chains. The HMM preparation was also shown to retain two characteristics of the ATPase activity of the parent myosin: the characteristic effect of phosphorylation of the 20,000-dalton light-chain component on the ATPase activity, and the characteristic dependence of the ATPase activity on the KCl concentration. 1. Two distinct stages were observed in the Mg-ATPase reaction catalyzed by gizzard HMM and rabbit skeletal actin in the presence of gizzard "native" tropomyosin (NTM) and Ca2+ ions: an early lag phase, in which the reaction rate gradually increased, and a subsequent steady state, in which the reaction proceeded at a high, constant rate. Urea-gel electrophoresis revealed that the 20,000-dalton light-chain component was gradually phosphorylated in the lag phase, and was fully phosphorylated in the steady state. It was also observed that addition of EGTA (to remove Ca2+ ions) at various times in the lag phase caused neither a further increase nor a decrease in the reaction rate, and that addition of EGTA in the steady state caused no change in the reaction rate. These observations imply that the ATPase activity increased as the amount of phosphorylated 20,000-dalton light-chain component increased, and also that Mg-ATPase of acto-phosphorylated HMM was no longer calcium-sensitive. 2. The Mg-ATPase activity of HMM in the presence of gizzard NTM and Ca2+ ions or EGTA was studied as a function of the concentration of rabbit skeletal actin. The maximal activity (Vmax) and the apparent affinity constant of acto-HMM (KA) were thus estimated from the double-reciprocal plot of Eisenberg-Moos: the Vmax and KA values for phosphorylated HMM (in the presence of Ca2+ ions) were 5 S(-1) and 5.5 mg/ml actin, respectively, and the Vmax value for unphosphorylated HMM (in the presence of EGTA) was 0.3 S(-1), assuming that the KA value with unphosphorylated HMM is equal to that with phosphorylated HMM.     

The effects of caldesmon on smooth muscle heavy actomeromyosin ATPase activity and binding of heavy meromyosin to actin

Caldesmon was purified to homogeneity from both chicken gizzard and bovine aortic smooth muscles. Caldesmon purified from bovine aorta was slightly larger than caldesmon purified from chicken gizzards (Mr = 140,000) when the two were compared electrophoretically. Caldesmon bound tightly to actin saturating at a molar ratio of 1 caldesmon monomer per 6.6 actin monomers. Ca2+-calmodulin appeared to reduce the affinity of caldesmon for actin. Caldesmon was also a potent inhibitor of heavy actomeromyosin ATPase activity producing a maximal effect at a ratio of 1 caldesmon monomer per 7-10 actin monomers. This effect was also antagonized by Ca2+-calmodulin. While caldesmon inhibited heavy actomeromyosin ATPase activity, it greatly enhanced binding of both unphosphorylated and phosphorylated heavy meromyosin to actin in the presence of MgATP, reducing the Kd for binding by a factor of 40 for each form of heavy meromyosin. Although we did identify a Ca2+-calmodulin-stimulated "caldesmon kinase" activity in caldesmon preparations purified under nondenaturing conditions, we observed no effect of phosphorylation (2 mol of PO4/mol of caldesmon) on the capacity to inhibit heavy actomeromyosin ATPase activity. Our results suggest that caldesmon could serve some role in smooth muscle function by enhancing cross-bridge affinity while inhibiting actomyosin ATPase activity.     

Effect of monoclonal antibodies on the properties of smooth muscle myosin

Monoclonal antibodies were generated against turkey gizzard myosin, and their effects on some of the properties of myosin were assayed. Ca2+- and Mg2+-ATPase activities of myosin were enhanced by the anti-subfragment 2 antibodies at low ionic strength (i.e., with 10S myosin). Tryptic fragments of an anti-S2 IgM also activated these activities. Antibodies directed against subfragment 1 and light meromyosin had no effect. The Mg2+-ATPase activity of heavy meromyosin also was activated by an anti-S2 antibody. Actin-activated ATPase activity of phosphorylated myosin was enhanced by the anti-S2 IgM fragments at low MgCl2 concentrations. This increase was reflected by a 5-fold increase in Vmax and a slight decrease in the apparent dissociation constant for actin. The actin-activated ATPase of dephosphorylated myosin was not affected by intact anti-S2 antibody or its fragments. The rates of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of the 20,000-dalton light chains were increased by interaction of myosin with anti-S2 antibody. Limited proteolysis of myosin was used as a conformational probe. Interaction of anti-S2 antibody with 10S myosin increased the extent of cleavage at the S1-S2 junction. Proteolysis of 6S myosin was rapid and was not influenced by anti-S2 antibody. Our interpretation of these results is that interaction of the anti-S2 antibodies with myosin alters the conformation in the S2 region and this in turn modifies some of the properties of myosin. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the S2 region of smooth muscle myosin is a determinant of its biological properties.     

Proteolysis of smooth muscle myosin by Staphylococcus aureus protease: preparation of heavy meromyosin and subfragment 1 with intact 20 000-dalton light chains

The proteolysis of gizzard myosin by Staphylococcus aureus protease produces both heavy meromyosin and subfragment 1 in which the 20 000-dalton light chains are intact, and conditions are suggested for the preparation of each. Cleavage of the myosin heavy chain to produce subfragment 1 is dependent on the myosin conformation. Proteolysis of myosin in the 10S conformation yields predominantly heavy meromyosin, and myosin in the 6S conformation yields mostly subfragment 1 and some heavy meromyosin. Two sites are influenced by myosin conformation, and these are located at approximately 68 000 and 94 000 daltons from the N-terminus of the myosin heavy chain. The latter site is thought to be located at the subfragment 1-subfragment 2 junction, and cleavage at this site results in the production of subfragment 1. The time courses of phosphorylation of both heavy meromyosin and subfragment 1 can be fit by a single exponential. The actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase activity of heavy meromyosin is markedly activated by phosphorylation of the 20 000-dalton light chains. From the actin dependence of Mg2+-ATPase activity the following values are obtained: for phosphorylated heavy meromyosin, Vmax approximately 5.6 s-1 and Ka (the apparent dissociation constant for actin) approximately 2 mg/mL; for dephosphorylated heavy meromyosin, Vmax approximately 0.2 s-1 and Ka approximately 7 mg/mL. The actin-activated ATPase activity of subfragment 1 is not influenced by phosphorylation, and Vmax and Ka for both the phosphorylated and dephosphorylated forms are 0.4 s-1 and 5 mg/mL, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Modulation of monomer-polymer equilibrium of phosphorylated smooth muscle myosin: effects on actin activation

Actin activation of the adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) of phosphorylated gizzard myosin at low (2 mM) free Mg2+ concentration and 50 mM total ionic strength continues to increase on raising the free Ca2+ concentration near pCa 3. Similar levels of activity can be obtained by increasing the free Mg2+ concentration to a higher (in excess of 4 mM free) concentration. In the presence of micromolar concentrations of free Ca2+ and low free Mg2+ concentration, the actin-activated adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis exhibits an initial rapid rate which progressively slows to a final, lower but more linear rate. In the presence of high divalent cation concentrations, the fast rate of ATP hydrolysis is maintained during the entire ATPase assay. The ionic conditions which favor the slow rate of ATP hydrolysis are correlated with increased proportions of folded myosin monomers while higher rates of ATP hydrolysis are correlated with increased levels of aggregated myosin. Elevating the thin filament proteins to saturating concentrations does not abolish the change in ATPase rate or the final distribution of myosin aggregates and monomers; however, the stability of the myosin aggregates is enhanced by the presence of thin filament proteins in low divalent cation conditions. The nonlinear profile of the actin-activated ATP hydrolysis in low divalent cation concentrations is eliminated by utilizing nonfilamentous, phosphorylated heavy meromyosin. The data presented indicate that Ca2+ and Mg2+ alter monomer-polymer equilibrium of stably phosphorylated myosin. The alteration of monomer-polymer equilibrium by Ca2+ at low Mg2+ concentration modulates ATPase rates.     

Ricin B chain converts a non-cytotoxic antibody-ricin A chain conjugate into a potent and specific cytotoxic agent

A method is described for the preparation of partially and fully phosphorylated chicken gizzard myosin. When fully phosphorylated it possessed an actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase of similar specific activity to that of mammalian skeletal muscle myosin. The Mg2+-ATPase activity of these preparations was related in a non-linear fashion to increasing phosphorylation of the P light chain. When P light chain phosphorylation occurred during enzymic assay the Mg2+-ATPase activity remained constant. Fully phosphorylated preparations of gizzard myosin possessed an actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase that was not Ca2+-sensitive, whereas the Mg2+-ATPase of partially phosphorylated myosin preparations was Ca2+-sensitive.     

Effects of magnesium chloride on smooth muscle actomyosin adenosine-5'-triphosphatase activity, myosin conformation, and tension development in glycerinated smooth muscle fibers

The contractile system of smooth muscle exhibits distinctive responses to varying Mg2+ concentrations in that maximum adenosine-5'-triphosphatase (ATPase) activity of actomyosin requires relatively high concentrations of Mg2+ and also that tension in skinned smooth muscle fibers can be induced in the absence of Ca2+ by high Mg2+ concentrations. We have examined the effects of MgCl2 on actomyosin ATPase activity and on tension development in skinned gizzard fibers and suggest that the MgCl2-induced changes may be correlated to shifts in myosin conformation. At low concentrations of free Mg2+ (less than or equal to 1 mM) the actin-activated ATPase activity of phosphorylated turkey gizzard myosin is reduced and is increased as the Mg2+ concentration is raised. The increase in Mg2+ (over a range of 1-10 mM added MgCl2) induces the conversion of 10S phosphorylated myosin to the 6S form, and it was found that the proportion of myosin as 10S is inversely related to the level of actin-activated ATPase activity. Activation of the actin-activated ATPase activity also occurs with dephosphorylated myosin but at higher MgCl2 concentrations, between 10 and 40 mM added MgCl2. Viscosity and fluorescence measurements indicate that increasing Mg2+ levels over this concentration range favor the formation of the 6S conformation of dephosphorylated myosin, and it is proposed that the 10S to 6S transition is a prerequisite for the observed activation of ATPase activity. With glycerinated chicken gizzard fibers high MgCl2 concentrations (6-20 mM) promote tension in the absence of Ca2+.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Modification of thiols of gizzard myosin alters ATPase activity, stability of myosin filaments, and the 6-10 S conformational transition

The pattern of incorporation of [14C]N-ethylmaleimide (MalNEt) into gizzard myosin indicates the presence of two classes of thiols: rapidly and slowly modified. The first class contains two thiol residues, SH-A and SH-B, located in the myosin rod and the 17-kDa light chain, respectively, while the second contains at least two thiols located in the myosin heavy chain. Changes in ATPase activities upon modification occur rapidly or slowly, paralleling reaction of either the first or second class of thiols. Rapid changes include increases in the Ca2+- and Mg2+-activated activities of myosin alone, measured at ionic strengths below 0.3 M, and an increase and a decrease in the actin-activated activity of dephosphorylated and phosphorylated myosin, respectively. Modification of SH-A and SH-B with MalNEt is accompanied by stabilization of myosin filaments, seen as an increase in light-scattering intensity, and by destabilization of the folded, 10 S conformation of the myosin monomer. In the presence of 0.175 M NaCl and 1 mM MgATP, unmodified and MalNEt-modified myosin sediment in the ultracentrifuge as single components at 10.0 S and 6.0 S, respectively. The MalNEt-induced increase in the Ca2+- or Mg2+-activated ATPase activity, measured in the absence of actin, can be attributed either to stabilization of filaments or to destabilization of the 10 S conformation, depending on the ionic strength of the assay. Modification of the second class of thiols is accompanied by a decrease in K+-EDTA-activated activity and an increase in Ca2+-activated activity measured above 0.3 M NaCl, where myosin neither forms filaments nor assumes the 10 S conformation. These slow changes are characteristic of blocking the SH-1 thiols of skeletal-muscle myosin, but in gizzard myosin are attributable to modification of a less reactive thiol, SH-C.     

Activation of smooth muscle myosin Mg2+-ATPase by native thin filaments and actin/tropomyosin

Application of the myosin competition test (Lehman, W., and Szent-Gy?rgyi, A. G. (1975) J. Gen. Physiol. 66, 1-30) to chicken gizzard actomyosin indicated that this smooth muscle contains a thin filament-linked regulatory mechanism. Chicken gizzard thin filaments, isolated as described previously (Marston, S. B., and Lehman, W. (1985) Biochem. J. 231, 517-522), consisted almost exclusively of actin, tropomyosin, caldesmon, and an unidentified 32-kilodalton polypeptide in molar ratios of 1:1/6:1/26:1/17, respectively. When reconstituted with phosphorylated gizzard myosin, these thin filaments conferred Ca2+ sensitivity (67.8 +/- 2.1%; n = 5) on the myosin Mg2+-ATPase. On the other hand, no Ca2+ sensitivity of the myosin Mg2+-ATPase was observed when purified gizzard actin or actin plus tropomyosin was reconstituted with phosphorylated gizzard myosin. Native thin filaments were rendered essentially free of caldesmon and the 32-kilodalton polypeptide by extraction with 25 mM MgCl2. When reconstituted with phosphorylated gizzard myosin, caldesmon-free thin filaments and native thin filaments exhibited approximately the same Ca2+ sensitivity (45.1 and 42.7%, respectively). The observed Ca2+ sensitivity appears, therefore, not to be due to caldesmon. Only trace amounts of two Ca2+-binding proteins could be detected in native thin filaments. These were identified as calmodulin (present at a molar ratio to actin of 1:733) and the 20-kilodalton light chain of myosin (present at a molar ratio to actin of 1:270). The Ca2+ sensitivity observed in an in vitro system reconstituted from gizzard thin filaments and either skeletal myosin or phosphorylated gizzard myosin is due, therefore, to calmodulin and/or an unidentified minor protein component of the thin filaments which may be an actin-binding protein involved in regulating actin filament structure in a Ca2+-dependent manner.     

Comparison of the effects of smooth and skeletal muscle actins on smooth muscle actomyosin Mg2+-ATPase

Actin has been purified from smooth muscle (chicken gizzard) by two different procedures and its activation of smooth muscle myosin Mg2+-ATPase activity compared with that achieved with rabbit skeletal muscle actin. The procedure of Pardee and Spudich (Methods Enzymol. (1982) 85, 164-181) for the purification of rabbit skeletal muscle actin is readily applicable to the isolation of chicken gizzard actin, enabling large quantities to be purified in two days. Smooth muscle actin could be successfully stored as F-actin at -80 degrees C and survived freezing and thawing at least twice. Smooth muscle actin activated myosin Mg2+-ATPase to a higher level than its skeletal muscle counterpart (77.9 nmol Pi/min/mg myosin vs 48.1 nmol Pi/min/mg myosin).     

Identification of myosin in Nitella flexilis.

A myosin B-like protein was extracted from the alga Nitella flexilis. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed the presence of myosin heavy chain and actin as the main components. At high ionic strength, its ATPase [EC 3.6.1.3] reaction was activated by EDTA or Ca2+ and inhibited by Mg2+. At low ionic strength, superprecipitation was induced by the addition of ATP. Myosin was purified from Nitella myosin B. The molecular weight of the heavy chain of Nitella myosin, estimated by SDS-gel electrophoresis, was slightly higher than that of skeletal muscle myosin. At low ionic strength, Nitella myosin aggregated to form bipolar filaments about 0.2 micron long. At high ionic strength, its ATPase reaction was activated by EDTA or Ca2+, and inhibited by Mg2+. The Mg2+-ATPase reaction of Nitella myosin was activated by skeletal muscle F-actin.     

The phosphorylated L2 light chain of skeletal myosin is a modifier of the actomyosin ATPase

Incubation of rabbit skeletal myosin with an extract of light chain kinase plus ATP phosphorylated the L2 light chain and modified the steady state kinetics of the actomyosin ATPase. With regulated actin, the ATPase activity of phosphorylated myosin (P-myosin) was 35 to 181% greater than that of unphosphorylated myosin when assayed with 0.05 to 5 micro M Ca2+. Phosphorylation had no effect on the Ca2+ concentration required for half-maximal activity, but it did increase the ATPase activity at low Ca2+. With pure actin, the percentage of increase in the actomyosin ATPase activity correlated with the percentage of phosphorylation of myosin. Steady state kinetic analyses of the actomyosin system indicated that 50 to 82% phosphorylation of myosin decreased significantly the Kapp of actin for myosin with no significant effect on the Vmax. Phosphorylaton of heavy meromyosin similarly modified the steady state kinetics of the acto-heavy meromyosin system. Both the K+/EDTA- and Mg-ATPase activities of P-myosin and phosphorylated heavy meromyosin were within normal limits indicating that phosphorylaiion had not altered significantly the hydrolytic site. Phosphatase treatment of P-myosin decreased both the level of phosphorylation of L2 and the actomyosin ATPase activity to control levels for unphosphorylated myosin. It is concluded levels for unphosphorylated myosin. It is concluded from these results that the ability of P-myosin to modify the steady state kinetics of the actomyosin ATPase was: 1) specific for phosphorylation; 2) independent of the thin filament regulatory proteins.