Effects of chemical modification, tropomyosin, and myosin subfragment 1 on the yield strength and critical concentration of F-actin

The effects of coupling with tetramethylrhodamine-5-iodoacetamide and of the decoration with tropomyosin and with myosin subfragment 1 on the elastic properties of F-actin filament are investigated. At 22 degrees C, in 15 mM orthophosphate and 3 mM MgCl2, tetramethylrhodamine F-actin displays a yield strength of 3.69 +/- 0.213 pN and an elastic modulus by stretching of 0.91 MPa. Decoration with tropomyosin increases the yield strength of tetramethylrhodamine F-actin to 10.51 +/- 0.24 pN and the elastic modulus by stretching to 23-75 MPa. Mixtures of myosin subfragment 1 and tetramethylrhodamine F-actin at the 0.2:1, 0.4:1, 0.6:1, 0.8:1, and 1:1 molar ratios are also studied. Both yield strength and the elastic modulus by stretching are found to increase progressively with the ratio. At the 1:1 molar ratio, the yield strength is 15.81 +/- 0.26 pN and the elastic modulus by stretching is 13.45 to 40 MPa. Decoration of tetramethylrhodamine F-actin with both tropomyosin and myosin subfragment 1, at the 1:1 molar ratio with the actin monomer, produces filaments with an yield strength of 22.3 +/- 0.48 pN.     

Amplitude of the tension developed by glycerinated muscle fibers during rigidity depends on the nature of the structural reorganizations in F-actin induced by formation of the actomyosin complex

Dependence between the amplitude of tension, developed by glycerinated muscle fibers during rigidity, and the character of structural changes in F-actin, induced by the formation of actomyosin complex, was studied by polarized microfluorimetry and tensiometry. It is shown that during rigidity the anisotropy of intrinsic tryptophan residues as well as of rhodamine phalloidin bound to F-actin, and amplitude of tension depend on pH (6-8) and ionic strength (mu = 0.07 M-0.14 M) of solution. Greater changes in polarized fluorescence and in amplitude of tension were registered during rigidity in solutions with low ionic strength (mu = 0.07 M) and pH 8. It suggested that the amplitude of muscle fibre tension depends on the relative quantity of actin monomers, being in the "switched on" state.     

On the elastic properties of tetramethylrhodamine F-actin

(Iodoacetamido)tetramethylrhodamine disrupts F-actin. At the 1:1 fluorophore to actin (as monomer) ratio approximately 80% of the protein becomes non-sedimentable. The fluorescent, non-sedimentable actin copolymerizes with G-actin to yield fluorescent filaments. The tensile strength of these filaments changes with the ratio of the fluorescent non-sedimentable actin to the G-actin, being 1.6 pN, 2.9 pN and 3.6 pN at the 1/4, 2/3 and 1/1 ratios, respectively. These tensile strengths are approximately two orders of magnitude lower than those obtained by decoration of F-actin with phalloidin.     

Phallotoxin and actin binding assay by fluorescence enhancement.

The fluorescence of five fluorophores conjugated to phallotoxins was found to be specifically enhanced upon binding to F-actin in a polymerizing buffer. Rhodamine phalloidin had the greatest fluorescence enhancement of ninefold. The fluorescence titration of rhodamine phalloidin by actin was shown to be consistent with stoichiometric binding. The fluorescence enhancement of rhodamine phalloidin at 5 microM is linearly related to F-actin concentrations up to 2 microM and therefore can be used as an easy means of F-actin quantitation. In a competition assay, other phallotoxins reduce the fluorescence enhancement that results from the binding of rhodamine phalloidin to polymerized actin. This reduction also permits a convenient measurement of the binding constants of any competing phallotoxins.     

Phalloidin enhances actin assembly by preventing monomer dissociation

Incubation of the isolated acrosomal bundles of Limulus sperm with skeletal muscle actin results in assembly of actin onto both ends of the bundles. These cross-linked bundles of actin filaments taper, thus allowing one to distinguish directly the preferred end for actin assembly from the nonpreferred end; the preferred end is thinner. Incubation with actin in the presence of equimolar phalloidin in 100 mM KCl, 1 mM MgCl2 and 0.5 mM ATP at pH 7.5 resulted in a slightly smaller association rate constant at the preferred end than in the absence of the drug (3.36 +/- 0.14 X 10(6) M-1 s-1 vs. 2.63 +/- 0.22 X 10(6) M-1 s- 1, control vs. experimental). In the presence of phalloidin, the dissociation rate constant at the preferred end was reduced from 0.317 +/- 0.097 s-1 to essentially zero. Consequently, the critical concentration at the preferred end dropped from 0.10 microM to zero in the presence of the drug. There was no detectable change in the rate constant of association at the nonpreferred end in the presence of phalloidin (0.256 +/- 0.015 X 10(6) M-1 s-1 vs. 0.256 +/- 0.043 X 10(6) M-1 s-1, control vs. experimental); however, the dissociation rate constant was reduced from 0.269 +/- 0.043 s-1 to essentially zero. Thus, the critical concentration at the nonpreferred end changed from 1.02 microM to zero in the presence of phalloidin. Dilution-induced depolymerization at both the preferred and nonpreferred ends was prevented in the presence of phalloidin. Thus, phalloidin enhances actin assembly by lowering the critical concentration at both ends of actin filaments, a consequence of reducing the dissociation rate constants at each end.     

Cofilin (ADF) affects lateral contacts in F-actin

The effect of yeast cofilin on lateral contacts between protomers of yeast and skeletal muscle actin filaments was examined in solution. These contacts are presumably stabilized by the interactions of loop 262-274 of one protomer with two other protomers on the opposite strand in F-actin. Cofilin inhibited several-fold the rate of interstrand disulfide cross-linking between Cys265 and Cys374 in yeast S265C mutant F-actin, but enhanced excimer formation between pyrene probes attached to these cysteine residues. The possibility that these effects are due to a translocation of the C terminus of actin by cofilin was ruled out by measurements of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from tryptophan residues and ATP to acceptor probes at Cys374. Such measurements did not reveal cofilin-induced changes in FRET efficiency, suggesting that changes in Cys265-Cys374 cross-linking and excimer formation stem from the perturbation of loop 262-274 by cofilin. Changes in lateral interactions in F-actin were indicated also by the cofilin-induced partial release of rhodamine phalloidin. Disulfide cross-linking of S265C yeast F-actin inhibited strongly and reversibly the release of rhodamine phalloidin by cofilin. Overall, this study provides solution evidence for the weakening of lateral interactions in F-actin by cofilin.     

Reduction kinetics of the ferredoxin-ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase complex: a laser flash photolysis study

The kinetics of reduction of spinach ferredoxin (Fd), ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR), and the Fd-FNR complex have been investigated by the laser flash photolysis technique. 5-Deazariboflavin semiquinone (5-dRf), generated in situ by laser flash photolysis under anaerobic conditions, rapidly reduced both oxidized Fd (Fdox) (k = 2 X 10(8) M-1 s-1) and oxidized FNR (FNRox) (K = 6.3 X 10(8) M-1 s-1) at low ionic strength (10 mM) at pH 7.0, leading to the formation of reduced Fd (Fdred) and FNR semiquinone (FNR.), respectively. At higher ionic strengths (310 and 460 mM), the rate constant for the reduction of the free Fdox increased about 3-fold (k = 6.7 X 10(8) M-1 s-1 at 310 mM and 6.4 X 10(8) M-1 s-1 at 460 mM). No change in the second-order rate constant for reduction of the free FNRox was observed at high ionic strength. At low ionic strength (10 mM), 5-dRf. reacted only with the FAD center of the preformed 1:1 Fdox-FNRox complex (k = 5.6 X 10(8) M-1 s-1), leading to the formation of FNR.. No direct reduction of Fdox in the complex was observed. No change in the kinetics occurred in the presence of excess NADP+. The second-order rate constant for reduction of Fdox by 5-dRf. in the presence of a stoichiometric amount of fully reduced FNR at low ionic strength was 7 X 10(6) M-1 s-1, i.e., about one-thirtieth the rate constant for reduction of free Fdox.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Effect of erythrocyte spectrin on actin self-association

The polymerization of pyrene-labelled skeletal muscle actin has been monitored in the presence of chromatographically purified spectrin dimers and tetramers. A small but consistent effect of spectrin binding on the critical concentration was observed for actin polymerized in the presence of 1 mM MgCl2. These data were analysed using the principle of linked functions. Spectrin binds exclusively to the filamentous form of actin, and thereby stabilizes F-actin with respect to the G-form. The decrease in the critical concentration for actin polymerization, in the presence of spectrin, has been shown to be consistent with an equilibrium constant for the binding of spectrin to individual promoters within F-actin of approximately 8 X 10(5) M-1 at 23 degrees C, and an ionic strength of 7 mM.     

Interaction of myosin subfragments with F-actin.

The effect of ionic strength, temperature, and divalent cations on the association of myosin with actin was determined in the ultracentrifuge using scanning absorption optics. The association constant (Ka) for the binding of heavy meromyosin (HmM) to F-actin was 1 X 10(7) M-1 at 20 degrees C, in 0.10 M KCl, 0.01 M imidazole (pH 7.0), 5 MM potassium phosphate, 1 mM MgCl2, and 0.3 mM ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid. Ka was the same for HMM prepared by trypsin or chymotrypsin. The affinity of subfragment 1 (S1) for actin under the same ionic conditions was 3 X 10(6) M-1. Varying the preparative procedure for S1 had little effect on Ka. The small difference in binding energy between HMM and S1 suggests that either only one head can bind strongly to actin at a time or that free energy is lost during the sterically unfavorable attachment of the two heads to actin.     

Electrophoresis and orientation of F-actin in agarose gels.

F-Actin was electrophoresed on agarose gels. In the presence of 2 mM MgCl2 and above pH 8.5 F-actin entered 1% agarose; when the electric field was 2.1 V/cm and the pH was 8.8, F-actin migrated through a gel as a single band at a rate of 2.5 mm/h. Labeling of actin with fluorophores did not affect its rate of migration, but an increase in ionic strength slowed it down. After the electrophoresis actin was able to bind phalloidin and heavy meromyosin (HMM) and it activated Mg2+-dependent ATPase activity of HMM. The mobility of F-actin increased with the rise in pH. Acto-S-1 complex was also able to migrate in agarose at basic pH, but at a lower rate than F-actin alone. The orientation of fluorescein labeled F-actin and of fluorescein labeled S-1 which formed rigor bonds with F-actin was measured during the electrophoresis by the fluorescence detected linear dichroism method. The former showed little orientation, probably because the dye was mobile on the surface of actin, but we were able to measure the orientation of the absorption dipole of the dye bound to S-1 which was attached to F-actin, and found that it assumed an orientation largely parallel to the direction of the electric field. These results show that actin can migrate in agarose gels in the F form and that it is oriented during the electrophoresis.     

Visualization of actin arrays in growing hyphae of the fungusSaprolegnia ferax

Summary We have observed the distribution of filamentous actin in growing hyphae of the oomyceteSaprolegnia ferax. The actin was stained by electroporating intact hyphae in the presence of 4×10^–8 M rhodamine phalloidin. Hyphae quickly recovered from electroporation and showed an apical cap of densely packed actin filaments. The pores created by the electric shock resealed in 8–10min and within 1/2 h hyphae resumed growth and appeared normal. This technique allows us to observe actin arrays during growth and may prove to be a useful tool in determining the complex roles of actin in apical growth.Abbreviations RP rhodamine phalloidin - F-actin filamentous actin     

Cytochrome c peroxidase catalyzed oxidation of ferrocytochrome c by hydrogen peroxide: ionic strength dependence of the steady-state rate parameters

The steady-state kinetics of the cytochrome c peroxidase catalyzed oxidation of horse heart ferrocytochrome c by hydrogen peroxide have been studied at both pH 7.0 and pH 7.5 as a function of ionic strength. Plots of the initial velocity versus hydrogen peroxide concentration at fixed cytochrome c are hyperbolic. The limiting slope at low hydrogen peroxide give apparent bimolecular rate constants for the cytochrome c peroxidase-hydrogen peroxide reaction identical with those determined directly by stopped-flow techniques. Plots of the initial velocity versus cytochrome c concentration at saturating hydrogen peroxide (200 microM) are nonhyperbolic. The rate expression requires squared terms in cytochrome c concentration. The maximum turnover rate of the enzyme is independent of ionic strength, with values of 470 +/- 50 s-1 and 290 +/- 30 s-1 at pH 7.0 and 7.5, respectively. The limiting slope of velocity versus cytochrome c concentration plots provides a lower limit for the association rate constant between cytochrome c and the oxidized intermediates of cytochrome c peroxidase. The limiting slope varies from 10(6) M-1 s-1 at 300 mM ionic strength to 10(8) M-1 s-1 at 20 mM ionic strength and extrapolates to 5 x 10(8) M-1 s-1 at zero ionic strength. The data are discussed in terms of both a two-binding-site mechanism and a single-binding-site, multiple-pathway mechanism.     

Characterization of tetramethylrhodaminyl-phalloidin binding to cellular F-actin.

Fluorescent derivatives of phalloidin are widely used to measure filamentous actin (F-actin) levels and to stabilize F-actin. We have characterized the kinetics and affinity of binding of tetramethylrhodaminyl (TRITC)-phalloidin to rabbit skeletal muscle F-actin and to F-actin in lysates of rabbit polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). We have defined conditions where TRITC-phalloidin can be used to inhibit F-actin depolymerization and to quantify F-actin without prior fixation. By equilibrium measurements, the affinity of TRITC-phalloidin binding to rabbit skeletal muscle F-actin (pyrene labeled) or to PMN lysate F-actin was 1-4 x 10(-7) M. In both cases, the stoichiometry of binding was approximately 1:1. Kinetic measurements of TRITC-phalloidin binding to PMN lysate F-actin resulted in an association rate constant of 420 +/- 120 M-1 sec-1 and a dissociation rate constant of 8.3 +/- 0.9 x 10(-5) sec-1. The affinity calculated from the kinetic measurements (2 +/- 1 x 10(-7) M) agreed well with that obtained by equilibrium measurements. The rate with which 0.6 microM TRITC-phalloidin inhibited 0.1 microM pyrenyl F-actin depolymerization (90% inhibition in 10 sec) was much faster than the rate of binding to pyrenyl F-actin (less than 1% bound in 10 sec), suggesting that phalloidin binds to filament ends more rapidly than to the rest of the filament. We show that TRITC-phalloidin can be used to measure F-actin levels in cell lysates when G-actin is also present (i.e., in cell lysates at high concentrations) if DNase I is included to prevent phalloidin-induced polymerization.     

Microtubule assembly kinetics. Changes with solution conditions.

The assembly kinetics of microtubule protein are altered by ionic strength, temperature and Mg2+, but not by pH. High ionic strength (I0.2), low temperature (T less than 30 degrees C) and elevated Mg2+ (greater than or equal to 1.2 mM) induce a transition from biphasic to monophasic kinetics. Comparison of the activation energy obtained for the fast biphasic step at low ionic strength (I0.069) shows excellent agreement with the values obtained at high ionic strength, low temperature and elevated Mg2+. From this observation it can be implied that the tubulin-containing reactant of the fast biphasic event is also the species that elongates microtubules during monophasic assembly. Second-order rate constants for biphasic assembly are 3.82(+/- 0.72) x 10(7) M-1.s-1 and 5.19(+/- 1.25) x 10(6) M-1.s-1, and for monophasic assembly the rate constant is 2.12(+/- 0.56) x 10(7) M-1.s-1. The microtubule number concentration is constant during elongation of microtubules for biphasic and monophasic assembly.     

Influence of phallotoxins and metal ions on the rate of proteolysis of actin

The rate of proteolytic degradation of rabbit skeletal muscle actin by trypsin, alpha-chymotrypsin, and, mainly, subtilisin was followed by dual wavelength spectroscopy at 285 nm by reference at 320 nm. Phalloidin and phallacidin, two toxic bicyclic heptapeptides from the mushroom Amanita phalloides, protect F-actin against degradation by the proteolytic enzymes. G-actin, which does not combine with phalloidin when maintained in the monomeric state by working at low ionic strength, and bovine serum albumin, which also has no affinity to the toxin, are hydrolyzed at the same rates in the presence or absence of phalloidin. The proteolysis of F-actin is distinctly retarded by KCl alone, i.e., without phalloidin, whereas Mg2+ or Ca2+ as sole cations permit a rather high rate of hydrolysis. An even faster degradation of F-actin by subtilisin is observed in the presence of Mg2+ plus cytochalasin B. Adenosine diphosphate and triphosphate have no influence on the rate of the enzymatic degradation. The S sulfoxide of phalloidin, the nontoxic diastereomer of the toxic R form, exerts only a limited inhibitory effect on the enzymatic hydrolysis; secophalloidin, another nontoxic derivative, which does not bind to F-actin has practically no effect.     

Intracellular pH modulates taste receptor cell volume and the phasic part of the chorda tympani response to acids

The relationship between cell volume and the neural response to acidic stimuli was investigated by simultaneous measurements of intracellular pH (pHi) and cell volume in polarized fungiform taste receptor cells (TRCs) using 2',7'-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) in vitro and by rat chorda tympani (CT) nerve recordings in vivo. CT responses to HCl and CO2 were recorded in the presence of 1 M mannitol and specific probes for filamentous (F) actin (phalloidin) and monomeric (G) actin (cytochalasin B) under lingual voltage clamp. Acidic stimuli reversibly decrease TRC pHi and cell volume. In isolated TRCs F-actin and G-actin were labeled with rhodamine phalloidin and bovine pancreatic deoxyribonuclease-1 conjugated with Alexa Fluor 488, respectively. A decrease in pHi shifted the equilibrium from F-actin to G-actin. Treatment with phalloidin or cytochalasin B attenuated the magnitude of the pHi-induced decrease in TRC volume. The phasic part of the CT response to HCl or CO2 was significantly decreased by preshrinking TRCs with hypertonic mannitol and lingual application of 1.2 mM phalloidin or 20 microM cytochalasin B with no effect on the tonic part of the CT response. In TRCs first treated with cytochalasin B, the decrease in the magnitude of the phasic response to acidic stimuli was reversed by phalloidin treatment. The pHi-induced decrease in TRC volume induced a flufenamic acid-sensitive nonselective basolateral cation conductance. Channel activity was enhanced at positive lingual clamp voltages. Lingual application of flufenamic acid decreased the magnitude of the phasic part of the CT response to HCl and CO2. Flufenamic acid and hypertonic mannitol were additive in inhibiting the phasic response. We conclude that a decrease in pHi induces TRC shrinkage through its effect on the actin cytoskeleton and activates a flufenamic acid-sensitive basolateral cation conductance that is involved in eliciting the phasic part of the CT response to acidic stimuli.     

Laser flash photolysis studies of electron transfer between ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase and several high-potential redox proteins

Complex formation and the kinetics of electron transfer between ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR) and two structurally homologous acidic 4Fe-4S high-potential ferredoxins (HiPIP's) from Ectothiorhodospira halophila (HP1 and HP2) and two structurally homologous cytochromes c2 from Paracoccus denitrificans and Rhodospirillum rubrum (PC2, and RC2, respectively) have been investigated by gel filtration and laser flash photolysis techniques. Gel filtration studies indicated that complex formation occurred between FNRox and HP1ox or HP2ox at low ionic strength (10 mM) and that the complexes were completely dissociated at high ionic strength (310 mM). Laser flash photolysis using lumiflavin as the reductant demonstrated that both free HP1ox and HP2ox reacted primarily with the anionic form of fully reduced lumiflavin (LFH-), whereas FNR was unreactive. Second-order rate constants of 1 X 10(6) and 0.8 X 10(6) M-1 s-1 were obtained for these reactions at 10 mM ionic strength. Increasing the ionic strength to 310 mM resulted in an approximately 1.5-fold increase in the rate constant. Inclusion of stoichiometric amounts of FNRox into the reaction mixture at low ionic strength led to a 2.5-fold increase in the rate constants. The reaction of 5-deazariboflavin semiquinone (5-dRf.) with the oxidized HiPIP's was also investigated by laser flash photolysis. Second-order rate constants of 3.0 X 10(8) M-1 s-1 (HP1) and 2.5 X 10(8) M-1 s-1 (HP2) were obtained for the free proteins at 10 mM ionic strength. Under the same conditions, 5-dRf. reacted with free FNRox, resulting in the formation of the neutral protein-bound semiquinone (FNR.), with a second-order rate constant of 6 X 10(8) M-1 s-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Position and orientation of phalloidin in F-actin determined by X-ray fiber diffraction analysis

Knowledge of the phalloidin binding position in F-actin and the relevant understanding of the mechanism of F-actin stabilization would help to define the structural characteristics of the F-actin filament. To determine the position of bound phalloidin experimentally, x-ray fiber diffraction data were obtained from well-oriented sols of F-actin and the phalloidin-F-actin complex. The differences in the layer-line intensity distributions, which were clearly observed even at low resolution (8 A), produced well-resolved peaks corresponding to interphalloidin vectors in the cylindrically averaged difference-Patterson map, from which the radial binding position was determined to be approximately 10 A from the filament axis. Then, the azimuthal and axial positions were determined by single isomorphous replacement phasing and a cross-Patterson map in radial projection to be approximately 84 degrees and 0.5 A relative to the actin mass center. The refined position was close to the position found by prior researchers. The position of rhodamine attached to phalloidin in the rhodamine-phalloidin-F-actin complex was also determined, in which the conjugated Leu(OH)(7) residue was found to face the outside of the filament. The position and orientation of the bound phalloidin so determined explain the increase in the interactions between long-pitch strands of F-actin and would also account for the inhibition of phosphate release, which might also contribute to the F-actin stabilization. The method of analysis developed in this study is applicable for the determination of binding positions of other drugs, such as jasplakinolide and dolastatin 11.     

Dissociative mechanism of F-actin thermal denaturation

We have applied differential scanning calorimetry to investigate thermal unfolding of F-actin. It has been shown that the thermal stability of F-actin strongly depends on ADP concentration. The transition temperature, T(m), increases with increasing ADP concentration up to 1 mM. The T(m) value also depends on the concentration of F-actin: it increases by almost 3 degrees C as the F-actin concentration is increased from 0.5 to 2.0 mg/ml. Similar dependence of the T(m) value on protein concentration was demonstrated for F-actin stabilized by phalloidin, whereas it was much less pronounced in the presence of AlF4(-). However, T(m) was independent of protein concentration in the case of monomeric G-actin. The results suggest that at least two reversible stages precede irreversible thermal denaturation of F-actin; one of them is dissociation of ADP from actin subunits, and another is dissociation of subunits from the ends of actin filaments. The model explains why unfolding of F-actin depends on both ADP and protein concentration.     

The reaction between cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c

The kinetics of electron transfer between the isolated enzymes of cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c have been investigated using the stopped-flow technique. The reaction between ferrocytochrome c1 and ferricytochrome c is fast; the second-order rate constant (k1) is 3.0 . 10(7) M-1 . s-1 at low ionic strength (I = 223 mM, 10 degrees C). The value of this rate constant decreases to 1.8 . 10(5) M-1 . s-1 upon increasing the ionic strength to 1.13 M. The ionic strength dependence of the electron transfer between cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c implies the involvement of electrostatic interactions in the reaction between both cytochromes. In addition to a general influence of ionic strength, specific anion effects are found for phosphate, chloride and morpholinosulphonate. These anions appear to inhibit the reaction between cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c by binding of these anions to the cytochrome c molecule. Such a phenomenon is not observed for cacodylate. At an ionic strength of 1.02 M, the second-order rate constants for the reaction between ferrocytochrome c1 and ferricytochrome c and the reverse reaction are k1 = 2.4 . 10(5) M-1 . s-1 and k-1 = 3.3 . 10(5) M-1 . s-1, respectively (450 mM potassium phosphate, pH 7.0, 1% Tween 20, 10 degrees C). The 'equilibrium' constant calculated from the rate constants (0.73) is equal to the constant determined from equilibrium studies. Moreover, it is shown that at this ionic strength, the concentrations of intermediary complexes are very low and that the value of the equilibrium constant is independent of ionic strength. These data can be fitted into the following simple reaction scheme: cytochrome c2+1 + cytochrome c3+ in equilibrium or formed from cytochrome c3+1 + cytochrome c2+.