Mechanism of regulation of cardiac actin-myosin subfragment 1 by troponin-tropomyosin

The effect of Ca2+ on the interaction of bovine cardiac myosin subfragment 1 (S-1) with actin regulated by cardiac troponin-tropomyosin was evaluated. The ratios of actin to troponin and to tropomyosin were adjusted to optimize the Ca2+-dependent regulation of the steady-state actin-activated magnesium adenosinetriphosphatase (MgATPase) rate of myosin S-1. At 25 degrees C, pH 6.9, 16 mM ionic strength, the extrapolated values for maximal adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) turnover rate at saturating actin, Vmax, were 6.5 s-1 in the presence of Ca2+ and 0.24 s-1 in the absence of Ca2+. In contrast to this 27-fold regulation of ATP hydrolysis, there was negligible Ca2+-dependent regulation of cardiac myosin S-1 binding to actin. In the presence of ATP, the dissociation constant of regulated actin and cardiac myosin S-1 was 32 microM in the presence of Ca2+ and 40 microM in the presence of [ethylenebis(oxyethylenenitrilo)]tetraacetic acid. These dissociation constants are indistinguishable from the concentrations of actin needed to reach half-saturation of the myosin S-1 MgATPase rates, 37 microM actin in the presence of Ca2+ and 53 microM in its absence. Although there may be Ca2+-dependent regulation of cross-bridge binding in the intact heart, the present biochemical studies suggest that cardiac regulation critically involves other parts of the cross-bridge cycle, evidenced here by almost complete Ca2+-mediated control of the myosin S-1 MgATPase rate even when the myosin S-1 is actin-bound.     

Cooperative turning on of myosin subfragment 1 adenosinetriphosphatase activity by the troponin-tropomyosin-actin complex

In the field of muscle regulation, there is still controversy as to whether Ca2+, alone, is able to shift muscle from the relaxed to the fully active state or whether cross-bridge binding also contributes to turning on muscle contraction. Our previous studies on the binding of myosin subfragment 1 (S-1) to the troponin-tropomyosin-actin complex (regulated actin) in the absence of ATP suggested that, even in Ca2+, the binding of rigor cross-bridges is necessary to turn on regulated actin fully. In the present study, we demonstrate that this is also the case for the turning on of the acto.S-1 ATPase activity. By itself, Ca2+ does not fully turn on the acto.S-1 ATPase activity; at low actin concentration, there is almost a 10-fold increase in ATPase activity when the regulated actin is fully turned on by the binding of rigor cross-bridges in the presence of Ca2+. This large increase in ATPase activity does not occur because the binding of S-1.ATP to actin is increased; the binding of S-1.ATP is almost the same to maximally turned-off and maximally turned-on regulated actin. The increase in ATPase activity occurs because of a marked increase in the rate of Pi release so that when the regulated actin is fully turned on, Pi release becomes so rapid that the rate-limiting step precedes the Pi release step. These results suggest that, while Ca2+, alone, does not fully turn on the regulated actin filament in solution, the binding of rigor cross-bridges can turn it on fully. If force-producing cross-bridges play the same role in vivo as rigor cross-bridges in vitro, there may be a synergistic effect of Ca2+ and cross-bridge binding in turning on muscle contraction which could greatly sharpen the response of the muscle fiber to Ca2+.     

Rate-limiting step in the actomyosin adenosinetriphosphatase cycle: studies with myosin subfragment 1 cross-linked to actin

Although there is agreement that actomyosin can hydrolyze ATP without dissociation of the actin from myosin, there is still controversy about the nature of the rate-limiting step in the ATPase cycle. Two models, which differ in their rate-limiting step, can account for the kinetic data. In the four-state model, which has four states containing bound ATP or ADP . Pi, the rate-limiting step is ATP hydrolysis (A . M . ATP in equilibrium A . M . ADP . Pi). In the six-state model, which we previously proposed, the rate-limiting step is a conformational change which occurs before Pi release but after ATP hydrolysis. A difference between these models is that only the four-state model predicts that almost no acto-subfragment 1 (S-1) . ADP . Pi complex will be formed when ATP is mixed with acto . S-1. In the present study, we determined the amount of acto . S-1 . ADP . Pi formed when ATP is mixed with S-1 cross-linked to actin [Mornet, D., Bertrand, R., Pantel, P., Audemard, E., & Kassab, R. (1981) Nature (London) 292, 301-306]. The amount of acto . S-1 . ADP . Pi was determined both from intrinsic fluorescence enhancement and from direct measurement of Pi. We found that at mu = 0.013 M, the fluorescence magnitude in the presence of ATP of the cross-linked actin . S-1 preparation was about 50% of the value obtained with S-1, while at mu = 0.053 M the fluorescence magnitude was about 70% of that obtained with S-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Change in the actin-myosin subfragment 1 interaction during actin polymerization

To better characterize the conformational differences of G- and F-actin, we have compared the interaction between G- and F-actin with myosin subfragment 1 (S1) which had part of its F-actin binding site (residues 633-642) blocked by a complementary peptide or "antipeptide" (Chaussepied, P., and Morales, M. F. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 7471-7475). Light scattering, sedimentation, and electron microscopy measurements showed that, with the antipeptide covalently attached to the S1 heavy chain, S1 was not capable of inducing G-actin polymerization in the absence of salt. Moreover, the antipeptide-carrying S1 did not change the fluorescence polarization of 5-[2-(iodoacetyl)-aminoethyl]aminonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (1,5-IAEDANS)-labeled G-actin or of 1,5-IAEDANS-labeled actin dimer, compared to the control S1. This result, interpreted as a lack of interaction between G-actin and antipeptide-carrying S1, was confirmed further by the following experiments: in the presence of G-actin, antipeptide.S1 heavy chain was not protected against trypsin and papain proteolysis, and G-actin could not be cross-linked to antipeptide.S1 by 1-ethyl-3[-3-(dimethylamino)propyl]carbodiimide. In contrast, similar experiments showed that antipeptide.S1 was able to interact with nascent F-actin and with F-actin. Thus, blocking the stretch 633-642 of S1 heavy chain by the antipeptide strongly inhibits G-actin-S1 interaction but only slightly alters F-actin-S1 contact. We, therefore postulate that this stretch of skeletal S1 heavy chain is essential for G-actin-S1 interaction and that the G-F transformation generates new S1 binding site(s) on the actin molecule.     

Inhibition of actin-myosin subfragment 1 ATPase activity by troponin I and IC: relationship to the thin filament states of muscle

Troponin I (TnI) is the component of the troponin complex that inhibits actomyosin ATPase activity, and Ca(2+) binding to the troponin C (TnC) component reverses the inhibition. Effects of the binding of TnI and the TnI-TnC (TnIC) complex to actin-tropomyosin (actinTm) on ATPase and on the binding kinetics of myosin subfragment 1 (S1) were studied to clarify the mechanism of the inhibition. TnI and TnIC in the absence of Ca(2+) bind to actinTm and inhibit ATPase to similar levels with a stoichiometry of one TnI or one TnIC per one Tm and seven actin subunits. TnI also binds to actinTmTn in the presence of Ca(2+) with a stoichiometry and inhibition constant similar to those for the binding to actinTm of TnI and Tn in the absence of Ca(2+). Thus, in the presence of Ca(2+), the intrinsic TnI which is released from its binding site on actinTm does not interfere with the binding of an extra molecule of TnI to actinTmTn. The rate of S1 binding to actinTmTnI and to actinTmTnTnI in the presence of Ca(2+) was inhibited to the same extent as upon removal of Ca(2+) from actinTmTn. These studies show that TnI inhibits ATPase by the same mechanism as Tn in the absence of Ca(2+), by shifting the thin filament equilibria from the open state to the closed and blocked states.     

Nucleotide-induced states of myosin subfragment 1 cross-linked to actin

Actomyosin interactions and the properties of weakly bound states in carbodiimide-cross-linked complexes of actin and myosin subfragment 1 (S-1) were probed in tryptic digestion, fluorescence, and thiol modification experiments. Limited proteolysis showed that the 50/20K junction on S-1 was protected in cross-linked acto-S-1 from trypsin even under high-salt conditions in the presence of MgADP, MgAMPPNP, and MgPPi (mu = 0.5 M). The same junction was exposed to trypsin by MgATP and MgATP gamma S but mainly on S-1 cross-linked via its 50K fragment to actin. p-Phenylenedimaleimide-bridged S-1, when cross-linked to actin, yielded similar tryptic cleavage patterns to those of cross-linked S-1 in the presence of MgATP. By using p-nitrophenylenemaleimide, it was found that the essential thiols of cross-linked S-1 were exposed to labeling in the presence of MgATP and MgATP gamma S in a state-specific manner. In contrast to this, the reactive thiols were protected from modification in the presence of MgADP, MgAMPPNP, and MgPPi at mu = 0.5 M. These modifications were compared with similar reactions on isolated S-1. Experiments with pyrene-actin cross-linked to S-1 showed enhancement of fluorescence intensity upon additions of MgATP and MgATP gamma S, indicating the release of the pyrene probe on actin from the sphere of S-1 influence. The results of this study contrast the "open" structure of weakly bound actomyosin states to the "tight" conformation of rigor complexes.     

Effects of tryptic digestion on myosin subfragment 1 and its actin-activated adenosinetriphosphatase

Myosin subfragment 1 (S-1) was fluorescently labeled at its rapidly reacting thiol ("SH1"). Short exposure to trypsin cuts the S-1 heavy chain into three still-associated fragments (20K, 50K, and 27K) [Balint, M., Wolf, L., Tarcsafalvi, A., Gergely, J., & Sreter, F.A. (1978) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 190, 793-799] which bind F-actin to the same extent as does the uncut labeled S-1, as indicated by time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy decay (at 4 degrees C, pH 7, in 0.15 M KC1 and 5 mM MgC12, +/- 1 mM ADP). These results are thus in agreement with turbidity measurements on similar systems as reported by Mornet et al. [Mornet, D., Pantel, P., Audemard, E., & Kassab, R. (1979) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 89, 925-932]. The excited-state lifetime of the fluorescent label on cut S-1 is indistinguishable from that on normal S-1 (+/- ADP, +/- F-actin). F-Actin activation of MgATPase of cut S-1 is lower than that for normal S-1 at moderate concentrations of F-actin, as reported by Mornet et al. (1979). But as the F-actin concentration is increased, the MgATPase activities for cut S-1 approach those for uncut S-1. In terms of an eight-species steady-state kinetics scheme involving actin binding to free S-1, S-1 . ATP, S-1. ADP X P, and S-1 . ADP, actin affinity for the species S-1 . ADP X P was found to be 13.4 times greater for uncut S-1 than for cut S-1 [at 24 degrees C, pH 7.0, in 3 mM KC1, 1 mM ATP, 1 mM MgCl2, and 20 mM N-[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid].     

Regulation of the actin-myosin interaction by titin.

Titin is known to interact with actin thin filaments within the I-band region of striated muscle sarcomeres. In this study, we have used a titin fragment of 800 kDa (T800) purified from striated skeletal muscle to measure the effect of this interaction on the functional properties of the actin-myosin complex. MALDI-TOF MS revealed that T800 contains the entire titin PEVK (Pro, Glu, Val, Lys-rich) domain. In the presence of tropomyosin-troponin, T800 increased the sliding velocity (both average and maximum values) of actin filaments on heavy-meromyosin (HMM)-coated surfaces and dramatically decreased the number of stationary filaments. These results were correlated with a 30% reduction in actin-activated HMM ATPase activity and with an inhibition of HMM binding to actin N-terminal residues as shown by chemical cross-linking. At the same time, T800 did not affect the efficiency of the Ca(2+)-controlled on/off switch, nor did it alter the overall binding energetics of HMM to actin, as revealed by cosedimentation experiments. These data are consistent with a competitive effect of PEVK domain-containing T800 on the electrostatic contacts at the actin-HMM interface. They also suggest that titin may participate in the regulation of the active tension generated by the actin-myosin complex.     

Modification of myosin subfragment 1 by carbodiimide in the presence of a nucleophile. Effect on adenosinetriphosphatase activities

The modification of myosin subfragment 1 by N-cyclohexyl-N'-[2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl]carbodiimide methyl p-toluenesulfonate in the presence of the nucleophile nitrotyrosine ethyl ester was investigated. For elimination of interference of the thiol groups, the two most reactive thiols were protected by cyanylation with 2-nitro-5-(thiocyanato)benzoic acid. The ATPase activity of the cyanylated myosin subfragment 1 was not lost, but had changed. At pH 5.9, carbodiimide in the presence of the nucleophile rapidly inactivated the cyanylated enzyme. The inactivation followed first-order kinetics. The K+(EDTA)--, Ca2+--, and Mg2+--ATPase activities decreased at the same rate. Inactivation and incorporation of nucleophile occurred simultaneously. A full loss of activity resulted from the incorporation of 1 mol of nitrotyrosine per mol of myosin subfragment 1. Pyrophosphate, ITP, ADP, and ATP protected against inactivation, and the efficiency of the protection was parallel to the ligand binding strength. These results suggested that one carboxyl group was essential for the active conformation of myosin.     

Excitation energy transfer studies on the proximity between SH1 and the adenosinetriphosphatase site in myosin subfragment 1

Excitation energy transfer studies were carried out to determine the distance between the adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) site and a unique "fast-reacting" sulfhydryl (referred to as SH1) in myosin subfragment 1. The fluorescent moiety of the probe N-(iodoacetyl)-N'-(5-sulfo-1-naphthyl)ethylene-diamine was used as the donor attached at SH1. The chromophoric nucleotide analogue 2'(3')-0-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)adenosine 5'-diphosphate was used as the acceptor noncovalently bound at the ATPase site. The energy transfer efficiency was found to be 56% by measuring the decrease in donor fluorescence lifetime. The critical transfer distance, R0(2/3), was determined to be 40.3 A. Since both donor and acceptor are likely to be rigidly attached, a statistical interpretation of the data was applied (Hillel, Z., & Wu, C.-W. (1976) Biochemistry 15, 2105] to determine distances. The method yielded the following conclusions: most probable distance = 38.7 A; maximum possible distance = 52 A; 10% probability for the distance to be less than 20 A; 3% probability to be less than 15 A. It may be concluded that despite the great influence that the two sites exert on each other, it is not likely that SH1 interacts directly with the ATPase site in myosin subfragment 1. This conclusion is in agreement with the findings of Wiedner et al. [Wiedner, H., Wetzel, R., & Eckstein, F. (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 2763] and Botts et al. [Botts, J., Ue., K., Hozumi, T., & Samet, J. (1979) Biochemistry 18, 5157].     

Reversible inactivation of myosin subfragment 1 activity by mechanical immobilization.

The Mg-ATPase activity of skeletal muscle myosin subfragment 1 (S1) is reversibly eliminated when it is aggregated by the force of osmotic pressure dehydration using polyethylene glycol (PEG). Several experiments indicate nucleotides bind aggregated S1, but the effects of binding are attenuated. Compared with S1 in solution, epsilonADP binds aggregated S1 with reduced affinity, and the bound epsilonADP fluorescence intensity is more effectively quenched by acrylamide. When ATP binds aggregated S1, the tryptophan intensity increases to only 50% of the solution level. Chemical cross-linking of cys-707 to cys-697 by p-phenylenedimaleimide is less efficient for aggregated S1 x MgADP. The data are consistent with aggregated S1 being able to bind nucleotide but not being able to complete the usual conformation change(s) in response to binding. If S1 is kept from aggregating by increasing the ionic strength at the same osmotic pressure, its Mg-ATPase activity and ATP-induced tryptophan fluorescence intensity increase are normal. The combined data are consistent with an ATP hydrolysis mechanism in which S1 segmental motion is coupled to its enzymatic activity. In this model, segmental motion is mechanically constrained by aggregation; the constrained S1 can bind ATP, but it cannot complete the hydrolysis mechanism.     

Regulation of binding of subfragment 1 in isolated rigor myofibrils

A steric-hindrance model has been used to explain the regulation of muscle contraction by tropomyosin-troponin complex. The regulation of binding was studied by microscopic observation of mixtures of fluorescent subfragment 1 (S1) with rigor myofibrils at different actin- to-S1 ratios and in the presence and absence of calcium. Procedures were adapted to protect the critical thiols of S1 before conjugation to thiol-specific fluorochromes, this giving fluorescent S1 with unaltered enzyme activity. S1 binding was greatest in the I band (except at the Z- lines) in the presence of calcium regardless of the [S1]. The patterns in the absence of calcium depended on the actin-to-S1 ratios: low [S1], binding in the myosin-actin overlap region; intermediate [S1], highest binding at the A-I junction; high [S1], greatest binding in the I-band. The two distinct binding patterns observed at low [S1] were demonstrated by dual-channel fluorescence microscopy when myofibrils were sequentially incubated with fluorescent S1 without calcium followed by a different fluorescent S1 with calcium. These observations support the concept of rigor activation of actin sites. The change in the pattern upon increasing [S1] without calcium demonstrate cooperative interactions along the thin filament. However, these interactions (under the conditions used without calcium) do not appear to extend over greater than 2-3 tropomyosin-troponin-7 actin functional units.     

Inhibition of myofibrillar and actomyosin subfragment 1 adenosinetriphosphatase by adenosine 5'-diphosphate, pyrophosphate, and adenyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate

Adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP), inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi), and adenyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate (AMPPNP) act as competitive inhibitors of the ATPase of myofibrils and actomyosin subfragment 1 (acto-S1). At I = 0.2 M, pH 7, and 15 degrees C, the inhibition constants for rabbit myofibrils are 0.17, 3, and 5 mM, respectively; the values for frog myofibrils at 0 degrees C are very similar, being 0.22, 1.5, and 2.5 mM. The inhibition constant of AMPPNP is about 2 orders of magnitude larger than the reported dissociation constant for fibers [Marston, S. B., Rodger, C. D., & Tregear, R. T. (1976) J. Mol. Biol. 104, 263-276]. A possible reason for this difference is that AMPPNP binding results in the dissociation of one head of each myosin molecule. The inhibition constants for rabbit acto-S1 cross-linked with 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]carbodiimide measured under the same conditions were 0.12, 2.6, and 3.5 mM for ADP, PPi, and AMPPNP, respectively. The inhibition of cross-linked and native acto-S1 was compared at low ionic strength and was found to be similar. The value for ADP is very similar to reported values of the dissociation constant whereas the inhibition constants for AMPPNP and PPi are an order of magnitude weaker [Greene, L. E., & Eisenberg, E. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 543-548].     

Protein-bound adenosine 5'-triphosphate: properties of a key intermediate of the magnesium-dependent subfragment 1 adenosinetriphosphatase from rabbit skeletal muscle

The time course of formation and decay of protein-bound adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) has been monitored during single turnovers of the myosin subfragment 1 ATPase with nonspectrophotometric techniques. The rate constant controlling the ATP cleavage step increases markedly with ionic strength, so that in low salt the protein--ATP complex is observed transiently at higher concentration than the protein-products complex. The kinetics of the ATP cleavage step in a single turnover of the actosubfragment 1 ATPase indicates that under appropriate conditions this step is partially rate limiting during overall steady-state ATPase activity. It follows that a binary subfragment 1-ATP complex is a significant component of the steady-state intermediate of the actosubfragment 1 ATPase. Transient kinetic studies of ATP and adenosine 5'-(3-thiotriphosphate) [ATP (gamma S)] binding show directly that a substrate-induced protein isomerization accompanies ligand binding. The rate constant of the isomerization is 170 s-1 at pH 7.0, 15 degrees C, and 0.01 M ionic strength. Under these conditions nucleotide binding appears to be accompanied by a protein fluorescence increase that is 50% of the increase associated with magnesium-dependent steady-state ATPase activity.     

Force generation and work production by covalently cross-linked actin-myosin cross-bridges in rabbit muscle fibers.

To separate a fraction of the myosin cross-bridges that are attached to the thin filaments and that participate in the mechanical responses, muscle fibers were cross-linked with 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide and then immersed in high-salt relaxing solution (HSRS) of 0.6 M ionic strength for detaching the unlinked myosin heads. The mechanical properties and force-generating ability of the cross-linked cross-bridges were tested with step length changes (L-steps) and temperature jumps (T-jumps) from 6-10 degrees C to 30-40 degrees C. After partial cross-linking, when instantaneous stiffness in HSRS was 25-40% of that in rigor, the mechanical behavior of the fibers was similar to that during active contraction. The kinetics of the T-jump-induced tension transients as well as the rate of the fast phase of tension recovery after length steps were close to those in unlinked fibers during activation. Under feedback force control, the T-jump initiated fiber shortening by up to 4 nm/half-sarcomere. Work produced by a cross-linked myosin head after the T-jump was up to 30 x 10(-21) J. When the extent of cross-linking was increased and fiber stiffness in HSRS approached that in rigor, the fibers lost their viscoelastic properties and ability to generate force with a rise in temperature.     

Photocleavage of myosin subfragment 1 by vanadate

The heavy chain of myosin's subfragment 1 (S1) was cleaved at two distinct sites (termed V1 and V2) after irradiation with UV light in the presence of millimolar concentrations of vanadate and in the absence of nucleotides or divalent metals. The V1 site cleavage appeared to be identical with the previously described active site cleavage at serine-180, which is effected by irradiation of a photomodified form of the S1-MgADP-Vi complex [Cremo, C. R., Grammer, J. C., & Yount, R. G. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 6608-6011]. The V2 site was cleaved specifically, without cleavage at the V1 site, first by formation of the light-stable S1-Co2+ADP-Vi complex at the active site [Grammer, J. C., Cremo, C. R., & Yount, R. G. (1988) Biochemistry 27, 8408-8415] and then by irradiation in the presence of millimolar vanadate. By gel electrophoresis, the V2 site was localized to a region about 20 kDa from the COOH terminus of the S1 heavy chain. From the results of tryptic digestion experiments, the COOH-terminal V2 cleavage peptide appeared to contain lysine-636 in the linker region between the 50- and 20-kDa tryptic peptides of the heavy chain. This site appeared to be the same site cleaved by irradiation of S1 (not complexed with Co2+ADP-Vi) in the presence of millimolar vanadate as previously described [Mocz, G. (1989) Eur. J. Biochem. 179, 373-378]. Cleavage at the V2 site was inhibited by Co2+ but was not significantly affected by the presence of nucleotides or Mg2+ ions. Tris buffer significantly inhibited V2 cleavage. From the results of UV-visible absorption, 51V NMR, and frozen-solution EPR spectral experiments, it was concluded that irradiation with UV light reduced vanadate +5 to the +4 oxidation state, which was then protected from rapid reoxidation by O2 by complexation with the Tris buffer. The relatively stable reduced form or forms of vanadium were not competent to cleave S1 at either the V1 or the V2 site. 51V NMR titration experiments indicated that a tetrameric species of vanadium preferentially bound to S1 and to the S1-MgADP-Vi complex, whereas no binding of either the monomeric or dimeric species could be detected. These results suggest that the vanadate tetramer was responsible for the photocleavage of S1 which occurred at both the V1 and V2 sites in the absence of nucleotides or divalent metals.     

Polymerization of G-actin by myosin subfragment 1

The polymerization of actin from rabbit skeletal muscle by myosin subfragment 1 (S-1) from the same source was studied in the depolymerizing G-actin buffer. The polymerization reactions were monitored in light-scattering experiments over a wide range of actin/S-1 molar rations. In contrast to the well resolved nucleation-elongation steps of actin assembly by KC1 and Mg2+, the association of actin in the presence of S-1 did not reveal any lag in the polymerization reaction. Light scattering titrations of actin with S-1 and vice versa showed saturation of the polymerization reaction at stoichiometric 1:1 ratios of actin to S-1. Ultracentrifugation experiments confirmed that only stoichiometric amounts of actin were incorporated into a 1:1 acto-S-1 polymer even at high actin/S-1 ratios. These polymers were indistinguishable from standard complexes of S-1 with F-actin as judged by electron microscopy, light scattering measurements, and fluorescence changes observed while using actin covalently labeled with N-(1-pyrenyl)iodoacetamide. F-actin obtained by polymerization of G-actin by S-1 could initiate rapid assembly of G-actin in the presence of 10 mM KC1 and 0.5 mM MgCl2 and showed normal activation of MgATPase hydrolysis by myosin.     

The biological activity of subfragment 1 prepared from heavy meromyosin

1. The action of trypsin, chymotrypsin and subtilisin on the adenosine-triphosphatase and actin-combining activities, as measured by viscometric means, of H-meromyosin were compared. 2. Subfragment 1 produced by prolonged tryptic digestion has a molecular weight of 129000. 3. The preparations isolated by gel filtration and actin combination were shown to be similar. 4. Subfragment-1 preparations possess appreciably higher adenosine-triphosphatase activities than H-meromyosin when related to total nitrogen. 5. Chromatographic and gelfiltration studies indicated that adenosine-triphosphatase activity is not distributed uniformly in all fractions of subfragment 1. 6. The Ca(2+)-activated adenosine triphosphatase of subfragment 1 was stimulated by thiol reagents in a similar fashion to myosin and H-meromyosin. 7. Subfragment 1 differed from myosin and H-meromyosin in that its adenosine triphosphatase was only slightly activated by Mg(2+) in the presence of actin. 8. A subfragment-1-like component was obtained by chymotryptic digestion of H-meromyosin. 9. The results obtained from enzymic and hydrodynamic studies and from amino acid analyses are compatible with the concept of one molecule of H-meromyosin giving rise to one molecule of subfragment 1 on proteolytic digestion.     

The actin-myosin subfragment-1 complex stabilized by phenyldiglyoxal

Nuclear magnetic resonance studies have revealed the importance of arginine residues in the actin-myosin interface (Moir, A. J. G., and Levine, B. A. (1986) J. Inorg. Chem. 27, 271-278). In the present study, we tested the involvement of these residues in the rigor complex between actin and subfragment-1 (S1) by chemical cross-linking experiments using phenyldiglyoxal. Two kinds of linkages were observed, one within the S1 heavy chain itself (120-kDa product) and the other between actin and the S1 heavy chain (200-kDa product). The phenyldiglyoxal had an effect similar to that of phenylglyoxal on S1 ATPase activities. We also show that phenyldiglyoxal (of 0.6-0.8 nm arm length) cross-links an arginine residue of the 50-kDa domain to one in the 20-kDa domain of the S1 heavy chain in the absence of actin or to an arginine in actin when actin is present. The presence of Mg2+, adenosine 5'-diphosphate or 5'-adenylyl imidodiphosphate suppressed the intermolecular linkage with actin, and favored the intramolecular cross-link, (i.e. between 50-kDa and 20-kDa fragments). We propose that the same arginyl residue in the N-terminal part of the 50-kDa domain can be cross-linked to a nearby arginine in either the 20-kDa domain or the actin molecule. In accordance with the amino acid sequence of each protein this also implies that the actin-myosin interaction involves arginine residues located either after residue 28 of the N-terminal part of actin, since this actin region is devoid of arginine residues, or in the N-terminal portion of the 50-kDa domain, i.e. between residues 239 and 455.     

Transient kinetics of the binding of ATP to actomyosin subfragment 1: evidence that the dissociation of actomyosin subfragment 1 by ATP leads to a new conformation of subfragment 1

The initial steps by which ATP dissociates and binds to actomyosin subfragment 1 (acto-SF-1) were studied. Two techniques were used: stopped-flow (for acto-SF-1 dissociation kinetics) and rapid-flow quench with ATP chase quenching (for ATP binding kinetics). The experiments were carried out in 40% ethylene glycol-5 mM KCI, pH 8, at 15 degrees C. Under these conditions, the binding of SF-1 to actin remains very tight. As with SF-1, the ATP chase technique could be used, first, to titrate active sites and, second, to study the kinetics of ATP binding to acto-SF-1. The kinetic constants obtained were compared with those of SF-1 alone and with the acto-SF-1 dissociation kinetics under identical conditions. The kinetics of the acto-SF-1 dissociation did not vary with the actin to SF-1 ratio, but the ATP binding kinetics did, and a maximum value was reached at a mole ratio of 2.5. At high ATP (100 microM), kdiss = 300 s-1, which compares with 49 s-1 and 13 s-1 for the ATP binding kinetics for acto-SF-1 (actin to SF-1 = 1:1) and SF-1, respectively. As with SF-1, the ATP binding to acto-SF-1 follows a hyperbolic law with the ATP concentration. This suggests a rapid equilibrium (K) followed by an essentially irreversible step (k).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)