Ca2+- and Sr2+-sensitivity of the ATPase activity of rabbit skeletal myofibrils: effect of the complete substitution of troponin C with cardiac troponin C, calmodulin, and parvalbumins

The Ca2+-sensitive ATPase activity of rabbit skeletal myofibrils disappeared completely after treatment with a solution containing CDTA, a strong divalent cation chelator, at a low ionic strength. A gel electrophoretic study revealed that all troponin C and about half of myosin light chain 2 were removed from the myofibrils by the CDTA treatment. The CDTA-treated myofibrils, when reconstituted with skeletal troponin C, showed almost exactly the same Ca2+- or Sr2+-sensitive ATPase activity as that of intact myofibrils. The CDTA-treated myofibrils reconstituted with porcine cardiac troponin C showed the same Ca2+- or Sr2+-sensitivity of the ATPase as that of porcine cardiac myofibrils; Sr2+-sensitivity relative to Ca2+-sensitivity was about ten times higher than, and the maximal slope of the activation curve was about half that of skeletal myofibrils. These findings indicate that these characteristic features of divalent cation regulation in the contraction of skeletal and cardiac muscles are determined solely by the species of troponin C. Bovine brain calmodulin hardly activated the ATPase activity of the CDTA-treated myofibrils even in the presence of Ca2+. Excess calmodulin, however, was found to give Ca2+- or Sr2+-sensitivity to the ATPase activity of the CDTA-treated myofibrils. Frog skeletal parvalbumins 1 and 2, even in excess, did not affect the ATPase activity of the CDTA-treated myofibrils.     

The effect of Mg2+ on the Ca2+ binding to troponin C in rabbit fast skeletal myofibrils.

The effect of Mg2+ on the Ca2+ binding to rabbit fast skeletal troponin C and the CA2+ dependence of myofibrillar ATPase activity was studied in the physiological state where troponin C was incorporated into myofibrils. The Ca2+ binding to troponin C in myofibrils was measured directly by 45Ca using the CDTA-treated myofibrils as previously reported (Morimoto, S. and Ohtsuki, I. (1989) J. Biochem. 105, 435-439). It was found that the Ca2+ binding to the low and high affinity sites of troponin C in myofibrils was affected by Mg2+ competitively and the Ca2(+)- and Mg2(+)-binding constants were 6.20 x 10(6) and 1.94 x 10(2) M-1, respectively, for the low affinity sites, and 1.58 x 10(8) and 1.33 x 10(3) M-1, respectively, for the high affinity sites. The Ca2+ dependence of myofibrillar ATPase was also affected by Mg2+, with the apparent Ca2(+)- and Mg2(+)-binding constants of 1.46 x 10(6) and 276 x 10(2) M-1, respectively, suggesting that the myofibrillar ATPase was modulated through a competitive action of Mg2+ on Ca2+ binding to the low affinity sites, though the Ca2+ binding to the low affinity sites was not simply related to the myofibrillar ATPase.     

Fast skeletal muscle skinned fibers and myofibrils reconstituted with N-terminal fluorescent analogues of troponin C

Glycerinated rabbit fast skeletal muscle fibers were chemically skinned with 1% Brij 35 and partially depleted of endogenous troponin C subunit (TnC) by exposure of the fibers to EDTA (Zot, H. G., and Potter, J. D. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 7678-7683). The TnC-depleted fibers exhibited a decrease in maximal tension that was mostly restored by readdition of TnC or by the addition of the fluorescent 5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulfonyl aziridine analogue, TnCDanz. TnCDanz is known to undergo an increase in fluorescence intensity when Ca2+ binds to the two low affinity Ca2+-specific regulatory sites of TnC. Steady-state fractional fluorescence and tension changes were measured simultaneously as a function of Ca2+. The Ca2+ sensitivity of the fluorescence curve was about 0.6 log unit greater than the tension curve. This difference in sensitivity could be explained if separate conformational states of TnC, brought about by Ca2+ binding to the Ca2+-specific sites, produce the fluorescence and tension changes. TnC-depleted fibers were also reconstituted with the fluorescent 2-[(4'-iodoacetamido)analino]naphthalene-6-sulfonic acid analogue, cardiac TnCIaans, which undergoes an increase in fluorescence intensity when Ca2+ binds to the single Ca2+- specific regulatory site. The steady-state fractional fluorescence and tension curves for fibers reconstituted with cardiac TnCIaans had nearly the same Ca2+ sensitivity. The steady-state fractional fluorescence of myofibrils reconstituted with TnCDanz was found to have a greater sensitivity to Ca2+ than the simultaneously measured ATPase. In all cases paired fractional fluorescence and activity curves tended to have parallel dependence on Ca2+. These procedures make it possible to study the Ca2+ binding properties of the Ca2+- specific sites in intact myofibrils and skinned fibers; the results presented suggest that the Ca2+ affinity of the Ca2+-specific sites of troponin are reduced in the thin filament compared to that of troponin in solution.     

Restoration of Ca2+-activated tension of CDTA-treated single skeletal muscle fibers by troponin C

Single fibers from glycerinated rabbit psoas muscle were treated with a solution containing CDTA, a strong chelator of metal ions. The CDTA-treated fibers lost all of the troponin C and showed no Ca2+-activated tension development. The addition of troponin C restored the Ca2+-activated tension of CDTA-treated fibers. The tension-pCa relationship in the case of the CDTA-treated fibers reconstituted with troponin C was almost the same as that in the case of the same fibers before the CDTA treatment. These results are consistent with those of the previous study on the Ca2+-activated ATPase of CDTA-treated rabbit skeletal myofibrils.     

Effect of myosin cross-bridge interaction with actin on the Ca2(+)-binding properties of troponin C in fast skeletal myofibrils

Ca2+ binding to fast skeletal muscle troponin C reincorporated into troponin C-depleted (CDTA-treated) myofibrils has been measured directly by using 45Ca and indirectly by using a fluorescent probe. Direct Ca2(+)-binding measurements have shown that the Ca2+ affinity of the low-affinity sites is enhanced in the absence of ATP and conversely reduced when myosin is selectively extracted from myofibrils, compared to the Ca2+ affinity in the presence of ATP. Fluorescence intensity changes of a dansylaziridine label at the Met-25 residue of troponin C have shown the same Ca2(+)-sensitivity whether or not ATP is present, while much lower Ca2(+)-sensitivity is seen in the myosin-extracted myofibrils. Since the Met-25 residue is in the amino terminal side alpha-helix of Ca2(+)-binding site I and far from Ca2(+)-binding site II in the primary structure, Ca2+ binding to site II has been evaluated by assuming that the fluorescence change monitors Ca2+ binding to site I alone. Ca2+ binding to site II thus estimated has shown high positive cooperativity only in the presence of ATP and has been found to be nearly proportional to the activation of myofibrillar ATPase, suggesting that Ca2(+)-binding site II is directly involved in the activation of myofibrillar ATPase activity. On the other hand, Ca2(+)-binding site I has been suggested to regulate the interaction of weakly binding cross-bridges with the thin filament, since the fluorescence change in the presence of ATP is saturated at the free Ca2+ concentration required for the activation of myofibrillar ATPase.     

Effect of substitution of troponin C in cardiac myofibrils with skeletal troponin C or calmodulin on the Ca2+- and Sr2+-sensitive ATPase activity

Troponin C was removed almost completely from the porcine cardiac myofibrils by the same extraction procedure using CDTA as that previously reported for the rabbit skeletal myofibrils (Morimoto, S. & Ohtsuki, I. (1987) J. Biochem. 101, 291-301), and the effects of substitution of troponin C in cardiac myofibrils with rabbit skeletal troponin C or bovine brain calmodulin were examined. While the ATPase activity of intact cardiac myofibrils or cardiac troponin C-reconstituted cardiac myofibrils was activated at only a little higher concentration of Sr2+ than Ca2+, the skeletal troponin C-substituted cardiac myofibrils, as well as intact rabbit skeletal myofibrils, required more than 10 times higher concentration of Sr2+ than Ca2+ for activation of the myofibrillar ATPase activity. However, the concentrations of Ca2+ and Sr2+ required for the activation of the ATPase activity of the skeletal troponin C-substituted cardiac myofibrils were both about 5 times higher than those of intact skeletal myofibrils. The skeletal troponin C-substituted cardiac myofibrils, as well as intact skeletal myofibrils, also showed higher cooperativity in the Ca2+-activation of the ATPase activity than intact or cardiac troponin C-reconstituted cardiac myofibrils. The ATPase activity of calmodulin-substituted cardiac myofibrils was activated at a several times lower concentration of Ca2+ or Sr2+ than that of calmodulin-substituted skeletal myofibrils, while the ratios of the concentration of Sr2+ to Ca2+ required for activation were almost the same in both cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Preparation and characterization of troponin C from bullfrog skeletal muscle.

Troponin C was isolated from the skeletal muscle of bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), and its relative molecular mass was estimated to be 18,000 by SDS/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In its amino acid composition, bullfrog troponin C was similar to that of the frog (Rana esculenta) but different from that of rabbit. Its ultraviolet spectrum was consistent with its amino acid composition. The ultraviolet difference spectrum of the Ca(2+)-loaded form vs. the metal-free form indicated that the single Tyr residue and some Phe residues in the bullfrog troponin C molecule were affected by the conformational change associated with Ca2+ binding. On electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel in 14 mM Tris and 90 mM glycine, the metal-free and Mg(2+)-loaded forms migrated slower than the Ca(2+)-loaded form. The property is shared by rabbit troponin C but not parvalbumins or calmodulin. The ATPase activity of CDTA-treated myofibrils reconstituted with bullfrog troponin C showed the same Ca(2+)- and Sr(2+)-sensitivity as that of those reconstituted with rabbit troponin C. Bullfrog troponin C is, thus, physiologically the same as rabbit troponin C, in spite of several marked differences in their physicochemical properties.     

Mutation of the high affinity calcium binding sites in cardiac troponin C.

Fast skeletal and cardiac troponin C (TnC) contain two high affinity Ca2+/Mg2+ binding sites within the C-terminal domain that are thought to be important for association of TnC with the troponin complex of the thin filament. To test directly the function of these high affinity sites in cardiac TnC they were systematically altered by mutagenesis to generate proteins with a single inactive site III or IV (CBM-III and CBM-IV, respectively), or with both sites III and IV inactive (CBM-III-IV). Equilibrium dialysis indicated that the mutated sites did not bind Ca2+ at pCa 4. Both CBM-III and CBM-IV were similar to the wild type protein in their ability to regulate Ca(2+)-dependent contraction in slow skeletal muscle fibers, and Ca(2+)-dependent ATPase activity in fast skeletal and cardiac muscle myofibrils. The mutant CBM-III-IV is capable of regulating contraction in permeabilized slow muscle fibers but only if the fibers are maintained in a contraction solution containing a high concentration of the mutant protein. CBM-III-IV also regulates myofibril ATPase activity in fast skeletal and cardiac myofibrils but only at concentrations 10-100-fold greater than the normal protein. The pCa50 and Hill coefficient values for Ca(2+)-dependent activation of fast skeletal muscle myofibril ATPase activity by the normal protein and all three mutants are essentially the same. Competition between active and inactive forms of cardiac and slow TnC in a functional assay demonstrates that mutation of both sites III and IV greatly reduces the affinity of cardiac and slow TnC for its functionally relevant binding site in the myofibrils. The data indicate that although neither high affinity site is absolutely essential for regulation of muscle contraction in vitro, at least one active C-terminal site is required for tight association of cardiac troponin C with myofibrils. This requirement can be satisfied by either site III or IV.     

Sensitivity of actomyosin ATPase to calcium and strontium ions. Effect of hybrid troponins

1. Hybrid or reconstituted troponins were prepared from troponin components of rabbit skeletal muscle and porcine cardiac muscle and their effect on the actomyosin ATPase activity was measured at various concentrations of Ca2+ or Sr2+. The Ca2+ concentration required for half-maximum activation of actomyosin ATPase with troponin containing cardiac troponin I was slightly higher than that with troponin containing skeletal troponin I. The Sr2+ concentration required for half-maximum activation of actomyosin ATPase with troponin containing skeletal troponin C was higher than that with troponin containing cardiac troponin C. 2. Reconstituted cardiac troponin was phosphorylated by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. The Ca2+ sensitivity of actomyosin ATPase with cardiac troponin decreased upon phosphorylation of troponin I; maximum ATPase activity was depressed and the Ca2+ concentration at half-maximum activation increased. On the other hand, phosphorylation of troponin I did not change Sr2+ sensitivity. 3. The inhibitory effect of cardiac troponin I on the actomyosin ATPase activity was neutralized by increasing the amount of brain calmodulin at high Ca2+ and Sr2+ concentrations but not at low concentrations. 4. ATPase activity of actomyosin with a mixture of troponin I and calmodulin was assayed at various concentrations of Ca2+ or Sr2+. The Ca2+ or Sr2+ sensitivity of actomyosin ATPase containing skeletal troponin I was approximately the same as that of actomyosin ATPase containing cardiac troponin I. Phosphorylation of cardiac troponin I did not change the Ca2+ sensitivity of the ATPase. 5. The Ca2+ or Sr2+ concentration required for half-maximum activation of actomyosin ATPase with troponin I-T-calmodulin was higher than that of actomyosin ATPase with the mixture of troponin I and calmodulin. Maximum ATPase activity was lower than that with the mixture of troponin I and calmodulin.     

Structural and biological studies on synthetic peptide analogues of a low-affinity calcium-binding site of skeletal troponin C

We have synthesized four oligopeptides that are structural analogues of a low-affinity Ca2+-specific binding site (site II) of rabbit skeletal troponin C. One analogue (peptide 3) was a dodecapeptide with a sequence corresponding to the 12-residue Ca2+-binding loop (residues 63-74 in troponin C), two (peptides 4 and 5) were 23-residue in length, corresponding to residues 52-74 of the protein, and the fourth (peptide 6) was a 25-residue peptide corresponding to residues 50-74. All four peptides had one amino acid substitution within the 12-residue binding loop in which phenylalanine at position 10 was replaced by tyrosine to provide a marker for spectroscopic studies. In addition, peptides 3 and 4 each had a second substitution within the binding loop where glycine at position 6 was replaced by alanine. The second substitution was motivated by the conservation of glycine at the position in the Ca2+-binding loops of all four Ca2+-binding sites in troponin C. The peptides were characterized by their intrinsic fluorescence, ability to enhance the emission of bound Tb3+, affinity for Ca2+ and Tb3+, and circular dichroism. The affinity for Ca2+ was in the range 10-10(2) M-1, and the affinity for Tb3+ was in the range 10(4)-10(5) M-1. The binding constants of the longer peptides were several-fold larger than that of the dodecapeptide. With peptides 4 and 5, substitution of glycine by alanine at position 6 within the 12-residue loop decreased the affinity for Ca2+ by a factor of four, but had little effect on the affinity for Tb3+. However, the mean residue ellipticity of peptide 4 was substantially higher than that of peptide 5. Since peptide 4 differs from peptide 5 only in the substitution of glycine at position 6 in the loop segment, the conservation of glycine at that position may serve a role in providing a suitable secondary structure of the binding sites for interaction with troponin I. Peptides 4 and 6, when present in a large excess, mimic troponin C in regulating fully reconstituted actomyosin ATPase by showing partial calcium sensitivity and activation of the ATPase. Since these peptides are the smallest peptides containing the Ca2+-binding loop of site II, their biological activity suggests that a Ca2+-dependent binding site of troponin C for troponin I could be as short as the segment comprising residues 52-62.     

The calcium and magnesium binding sites on cardiac troponin and their role in the regulation of myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase

The cardiac troponin (Tn) complex, consisting of a Ca2+-binding subunit (TnC), an inhibitory subunit (TnI), and a tropomyosin-binding subunit (TnT), has been reconstituted from purified troponin subunits isolated from bovine heart muscle. The Ca2+-binding properties of cardiac Tn were determined by equilibrium dialysis using either EGTA or EDTA to regulate the free Ca2+ concentration. Cardiac Tn binds 3 mol Ca2+/mol and contains two Ca2+-binding sites with a binding constant of 3 X 10(8) M-1 and one binding site with a binding constant of 2 X 10(6) M-1. In the presence of 4 mM MgC12, the binding constant of the sites of higher affinity is reduced to 3 X 10(7) M-1, while Ca2+ binding to the site at the lower affinity is unaffected. The two high affinity Ca2+-binding sites of cardiac Tn are analogous to the two Ca2+-Mg2+ sites of skeletal Tn, while the single low affinity site is similar to the two Ca2+-specific sites of skeletal Tn (Potter, J. D., and Gergely, J. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 4625-5633). The Ca2+-binding properties of the complex of TnC and TnI (1:1 molar ratio) were similar to those of Tn. Cardiac TnC also binds 3 mol of Ca2+/mol and contains two sites with a binding constant of 1 X 10(7) M-1 and a single site with a binding constant of 2 X 10(5) M-1. Assuming competition between Mg2+ and Ca2+ for the high affinity sites of TnC and Tn, the binding constants for Mg2+ were 0.7 and 3.0 X 10(3) M-1, respectively. The Ca2+ dependence of cardiac myofibrillar ATPase activity was similar to that of an actomyosin preparation regulated by the reconstituted troponin complex. Comparison by the Ca2+-binding properties of cardiac Tn and the cardiac myofibrillar ATPase activity as a function of [Ca2+] and at millimolar [Mg2+] suggests that activation of the ATPase occurs over the same range of [Ca2+] where the Ca2+-specific site of cardiac Tn binds Ca2+.     

Replacement of troponin components in myofibrils.

The Ca(2+)-sensitive ATPase activity of rabbit skeletal myofibrils was desensitized by treatment with excess troponin T and was found to be activated irrespective of the Ca2+ concentrations. A SDS-gel electrophoretic study showed that both troponin C and troponin I were removed from the myofibrils on treatment with troponin T. The Ca(2+)- and Sr(2+)- sensitivities of the ATPase of troponin T-treated myofibrils reconstituted with troponin C. I were the same as in the intact myofibrils. The Ca(2+)-activated ATPase of rabbit skeletal myofibrils was also desensitized on treatment with chicken breast troponin T or its 26K fragment. The SDS-gel electrophoretic study revealed that troponin T, in addition to troponin C and troponin I, was also removed from the myofibrils and, instead, chicken breast troponin T or its 26K fragment was incorporated into the myofibrils. The Ca(2+)- sensitivity of myofibrils treated with chicken breast troponin T or its 26K fragment was then regained on reconstitution with troponin C.I. These findings indicate that the change in composition of myofibrils on treatment with troponin T or its 26K fragment is due to the selective replacement of the troponin C.I.T complex in the myofibrils as a whole with troponin T or its 26K fragment.     

Function of the N-terminal calcium-binding sites in cardiac/slow troponin C assessed in fast skeletal muscle fibers

Fast skeletal troponin C (sTnC) has two low affinity Ca(2+)-binding sites (sites I and II), whereas in cardiac troponin C (cTnC) site I is inactive. By modifying the Ca2+ binding properties of sites I and II in cTnC it was demonstrated that binding of Ca2+ to an activated site I alone is not sufficient for triggering contraction in slow skeletal muscle fibers (Sweeney, H.L., Brito, R. M.M., Rosevear, P.R., and Putkey, J.A. (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 9538-9542). However, a similar study using sTnC showed that Ca2+ binding to site I alone could partially activate force production in fast skeletal muscle fibers (Sheng, Z., Strauss, W.L., Francois, J.M., and Potter, J.D. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 21554-21560). The purpose of the current study was to examine the functional characteristics of modified cTnC derivatives in fast skeletal muscle fibers to assess whether or not either low affinity site can mediate force production when coupled to fast skeletal isoforms of troponin (Tn) I and TnT. Normal cTnC and sTnC were compared with engineered derivatives of cTnC having either both sites I and II active, or only site I active. In contrast to what is seen in slow muscle, binding of Ca2+ to site I alone recovered about 15-20% of the normal calcium-activated force and ATPase activity in skinned fast skeletal muscle fibers and myofibrils, respectively. This is most likely due to structural differences between TnI and/or TnT isoforms that allow for partial recognition and translation of the signal represented by binding Ca2+ to site I of TnC when associated with fast skeletal but not slow skeletal muscle.     

Calcium binds cooperatively to the regulatory sites of the cardiac thin filament

To investigate the relationship between thin filament Ca2+ binding and activation of the MgATPase rate of myosin subfragment 1, native cardiac thin filaments were isolated and characterized. Direct measurements of 45Ca binding to the thin filament were consistent with non-cooperative binding to two high affinity sites (Ka 7.3 +/- 0.8 x 10(6) M-1) and either cooperative or non-cooperative binding to one low affinity site (Ka 4 +/- 2 x 10(5) M-1) per troponin at 25 degrees C, 30 mM ionic strength, pH 7.06. Addition of a low concentration of myosin subfragment 1 to the native thin filaments produced a Ca2+-regulated MgATPase activity with Kapp (2.5 +/- 1.3 x 10(5) M-1), matching the low affinity Ca2+ site. The MgATPase rate was cooperatively activated by Ca2+ (Hill coefficient 1.8). To determine whether Ca2+ binding to the low affinity sites was cooperative, native thin filament troponin was exchanged with troponin labeled on troponin C with 2-(4'-iodoacetamidanilo)naphthalene-6-sulfonic acid. From the Ca2+-sensitive fluorescence of this complex, Ca2+ binding was cooperative with a Hill coefficient of 1.7-2.0. Using the troponin-exchanged thin filaments, myosin subfragment 1 MgATPase rate activation was also cooperative and closely proportional to Ca2+ thin filament binding. Reconstitution of the thin filament from its components raised the Ca2+ affinity by a factor of 2 (compared with native thin filaments) and incorporation of fluorescently modified troponin raised the Ca2+ affinity by another factor of 2. Stoichiometrically reconstituted thin filaments produced non-cooperative MgATPase rate activation, contrasting with cooperative activation with native thin filaments, troponin-exchanged thin filaments and thin filaments reconstituted with a stoichiometric excess of troponin. The Ca2+-induced fluorescence transition of stoichiometrically reconstituted thin filaments was non-cooperative. These results suggest that Ca2+ binds cooperatively to the regulatory sites of the cardiac thin filament, even in the absence of myosin, and even though cardiac troponin C has only one Ca2+-specific binding site. A theoretical model for these observations is described and related to the experimental data. Well-known interactions between neighboring troponin-tropomyosin complexes are the proposed source of cooperativity and also influence the overall Ka. The data indicate that Ca2+ is four times more likely to elongate a sequence of troponin-tropomyosin units already binding Ca2+ than to bind to a site interior to a sequence of units without Ca2+.     

Altered Ca2+ dependence of tension development in skinned skeletal muscle fibers following modification of troponin by partial substitution with cardiac troponin C

Binding of Ca2+ to the troponin C (TnC) subunit of troponin is necessary for tension development in skeletal and cardiac muscles. Tension was measured in skinned fibers from rabbit skeletal muscle at various [Ca2+] before and after partial substitution of skeletal TnC with cardiac TnC. Following substitution, the tension-pCa relationship was altered in a manner consistent with the differences in the number of low-affinity Ca2+-binding sites on the two types of TnC and their affinities for Ca2+. The alterations in the tension-pCa relationship were for the most part reversed by reextraction of cardiac TnC and readdition of skeletal TnC into the fiber segments. These findings indicate that the type of TnC present plays an important role in determining the Ca2+ dependence of tension development in striated muscle.     

Calcium-binding properties of cardiac and skeletal troponin C as determined by circular dichroism and ultraviolet difference spectroscopy.

Calcium titration of the conformational change in cardiac and skeletal troponin C (TN-C) was followed by circular dichroism (CD) at pH values in the range from 5.2 to 7.4. Computer analysis was used to resolve the contributions from the different classes of Ca2+ -binding sites. At pH 6.94 in skeletal TN-C, apparent affinity constants for calcium of 1.8 x 10(7) and 4.5 x 10(5) M-1 were determined for the two classes of binding sites. The more sophisticated computer analysis of the data has revealed a substantial CD contribution from the low-affinity sites (approximately 30% of the high affinity contribution at pH 6.94) and suggests that skeletal TN-C with Ca2+ bound at the low-affinity sites is in a different conformation from that when just the high-affinity sites are occupied, in agreement with a recent nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study on this system (Seaman, K. B., Hartshorne, D. J. & Bothener-By, A. A. (1977) Biochemistry 16,4039-4046). With the cardiac protein at pH 7.07, an apparent affinity constant for calcium of 2.0 x 10(7) M-1 was calculated while no low-affinity site at this pH was detected by CD. On the other hand, at lower pH values, such as 6.05, a CD contribution from the cardiac low-affinity Ca2+ -binding site is detected with an apparent binding constant of 3.7 +/- 0.7 x 10(4) M-1. At the lower pH values, protonation of a class of carboxyl groups in each protein which possesses a high pKa (6.2-6.3) elicits the conformational change at the high-affinity sites with a corresponding decrease in the overall magnitude of the Ca2+ -evoked changes. The expression of a conformational change upon Ca2+ binding at the level of the low-affinity sites is enchanced by protonation of a class of carboxyls with a pKa of 6.3 in cardiac TN-C and 6.7-6.8 with the skeletal homologue. In both cases, this contribution is reduced upon protonation of carboxyls with pKa less than or equal to 5.5. It was also observed that the low-affinity sites of skeletal TN-C have a much larger role to play in the total conformational change than the low-affinity sites of cardiac TN-C, a finding probably related to the inability of site 1 in the cardiac protein to bind calcium. In the cardiac protein, the Ca2+ -induced tyrosine difference-spectrum maximum is reduced from deltaepsilonM,287nm =330M-1.cm-1 to 20M-1.cm-1 by protonation of a class of groups with a pKa of 6.4, presumably the same carboxyl groups as those invoved in the CD conformational contribution from the high-affinity binding sites. No such effect was observed for the skeletal protein where deltaepsilonM,287nm was constant at 110M-1 .cm-1 over the pH range studied. The dramatic alterations in the tyrosine environment of cardiac TN-C with pH are attributed to either or both of the tyrosines located in the two high-affinity Ca2+ -binding sites (sites 3 and 4)...     

The control of myocardial contraction with skeletal fast muscle troponin C

The present study describes experiments on the myocardial trabeculae from the right ventricle of Syrian hamsters whose troponin C (TnC) moiety was exchanged with heterologous TnC from fast skeletal muscle of the rabbit. These experiments were designed to help define the role of the various classes of Ca2+-binding sites on TnC in setting the characteristic sensitivities for activations of cardiac and skeletal muscles. Thin trabeculae were skinned and about 75% of their troponin C extracted by chemical treatment. Tension development on activations by Ca2+ and Sr2+ was found to be nearly fully blocked in such TnC extracted preparations. Troponin C contents and the ability to develop tension on activations by Ca2+ and Sr2+ was permanently restored after incubation with 2-6 mg/ml purified TnC from either rabbit fast-twitch skeletal muscle (STnC) or the heart (CTnC, cardiac troponin C). The native (skinned) cardiac muscle is characteristically about 5 times more sensitive to activation by Sr2+ than fast muscle, but the STnC-loaded trabeculae gave response like fast muscle. Attempts were also made to exchange the TnC in psoas (fast-twitch muscle) fibers, but unlike cardiac muscle tension response of the maximally extracted psoas fibers could be restored only with homologous STnC. CTnC was effective in partially extracted fibers, even though the uptake of CTnC was complete in the maximally extracted fibers. The results in this study establish that troponin C subunit is the key in setting the characteristic sensitivity for tension control in the myocardium above that in the skeletal muscle. Since a major difference between skeletal and cardiac TnCs is that one of the trigger sites (site I, residues 28-40 from the N terminus) is modified in CTnC and has reduced affinity for Ca2+ binding, the possibility is raised that this site has a modulatory effect on activation in different tissues and limits the effectiveness of CTnC in skeletal fibers.     

Roles of troponin isoforms in pH dependence of contraction in rabbit fast and slow skeletal and cardiac muscles.

Skinned fibers prepared from rabbit fast and slow skeletal and cardiac muscles showed acidotic depression of the Ca2+ sensitivity of force generation, in which the magnitude depends on muscle type in the order of cardiac>fast skeletal>slow skeletal. Using a method that displaces whole troponin-complex in myofibrils with excess troponin T, the roles of Tn subunits in the differential pH dependence of the Ca2+ sensitivity of striated muscle were investigated by exchanging endogenous troponin I and troponin C in rabbit skinned cardiac muscle fibres with all possible combinations of the corresponding isoforms expressed in rabbit fast and slow skeletal and cardiac muscles. In fibers exchanged with fast skeletal or cardiac troponin I, cardiac troponin C confers a higher sensitivity to acidic pH on the Ca2+ sensitive force generation than fast skeletal troponin C independently of the isoform of troponin I present. On the other hand, fibres exchanged with slow skeletal troponin I exhibit the highest resistance to acidic pH in combination with either isoform of troponin C. These results indicate that troponin C is a determinant of the differential pH sensitivity of fast skeletal and cardiac muscles, while troponin I is a determinant of the pH sensitivity of slow skeletal muscle.     

Cooperative interactions between the contractile proteins of cardiac and skeletal muscle.

The calcium activation of the ATPase (ATP phosphohydrolase, EC 3.6.1.3) activity of cardiac actomyosin reconstituted from bovine cardiac myosin and a complex of actin-tropomyosin-troponin extracted from bovine cardiac muscle at 37 degrees C was studied and compared with similar proteins from rabbit fast skeletal muscle. The proteins of the actin complex were identified by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. Half-maximal activation of the cardiac actomyosin was seen at a calcium concentration of 1.2 +/- 0.002 (S.E. of mean) muM. A hybridized reconstituted actomyosin made with cardiac myosin and the actin-tropomyosin-troponin complex extracted from rabbit skeletal muscle was also activated by calcium but the half-maximal value was shifted to 0.65 +/- 0.02 (S.E. of mean) muM Ca2+. Homologous rabbit skeletal actomyosin showed half-maximal activation at 0.90 +/- 0.01 (S.E. of mean) muM Ca2+ and the value for a hybridized actomyosin made with rabbit skeletal myosin and the actin-complex from cardiac muscle was found at 1.4 +/- 0.03 (S.E. of mean) muM Ca2+ concentration. Kinetic analysis of the Ca2+ activated ATPase activity of reconstituted bovine cardiac actomyosin indicated some degree of cooperativity with respect to calcium. Double reciprocal plots of reconstituted actomyosins made with bovine cardiac actin complex were curvilinear and significantly different than those of reconstituted actomyosins made with the rabbit fast skeletal actin complex. The Ca2+-dependent cooperativity was of a mixed type as determined from Hill plots for homologous reconstituted bovine cardiac and rabbit fast skeletal actomyosin. The results show that cooperative interactions in reconstituted actomyosins were greater when the actin-tropomyosin-troponin complex was derived from cardiac than skeletal muscle.     

The effect of troponin C removal on the Ca2+-sensitive binding of Mg2+ AMPPNP to myofibrils

It was previously shown that when rabbit skeletal myofibrils are titrated with Mg2+ AMPPNP under conditions that result in the dissociation of cross-bridges from the thin filaments (i.e. 50% ethylene glycol, 0 degrees C), Ca2+-sensitive, biphasic binding is observed. These titrations have been repeated using myofibrils from which the troponin C has been selectively removed. The disappearance of both Ca2+ sensitivity and biphasic binding is taken as evidence that the Ca2+ sensitivity is due to Ca2+ binding to troponin C and the biphasic binding of Mg2+ AMPPNP observed in intact myofibrils is not due to packing constraints or steric hindrance.