Control of actin moving trajectory by patterned poly(methylmethacrylate) tracks.

Poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), a photoresist polymer, was found to be useful for immobilizing heavy meromyosin (HMM) molecules while retaining their abilities to support the movement of actin filaments. PMMA substrate was spin-coated on a coverslip, and various shapes of PMMA tracks, such as straight lines, concentric circles, and alphabetical letters, were fabricated by UV photolithography. An observation by a Tapping mode atomic force microscope (AFM) shows that the typical circular tracks were 1-2 microns wide and about 200 nm high. In in vitro motility assay, a solution of HMM molecules was applied to immobilize the molecules on the tracks by adsorption, and movement of actin filaments labeled with tetramethylrhodamine-phalloidin were observed in the presence of ATP by using an epifluorescence microscope and an image-intensified CCD camera. Actin filaments were seen to move precisely only on the PMMA tracks, and their traces drew the exact shapes of the tracks. The mean velocity of actin movement on the PMMA was 4.5 mm/s at 25 degrees C, and it was comparable to that on a conventionally used nitrocellulose film.     

Silanized surfaces for in vitro studies of actomyosin function and nanotechnology applications

We have previously shown that selective heavy meromyosin (HMM) adsorption to predefined regions of nanostructured polymer resist surfaces may be used to produce a nanostructured in vitro motility assay. However, actomyosin function was of lower quality than on conventional nitrocellulose films. We have therefore studied actomyosin function on differently derivatized glass surfaces with the aim to find a substitute for the polymer resists. We have found that surfaces derivatized with trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) were superior to all other surfaces tested, including nitrocellulose. High-quality actin filament motility was observed up to 6 days after incubation with HMM and the fraction of motile actin filaments and the velocity of smooth sliding were generally higher on TMCS than on nitrocellulose. The actomyosin function on TMCS-derivatized glass and nitrocellulose is considered in relation to roughness and hydrophobicity of these surfaces. The results suggest that TMCS is an ideal substitute for polymer resists in the nanostructured in vitro motility assay. Furthermore, TMCS derivatized glass also seems to offer several advantages over nitrocellulose for HMM adsorption in the ordinary in vitro motility assay.     

Subtilisin cleavage of actin inhibits in vitro sliding movement of actin filaments over myosin

Subtilisin cleaved actin was shown to retain several properties of intact actin including the binding of heavy meromyosin (HMM), the dissociation from HMM by ATP, and the activation of HMM ATPase activity. Similar Vmax but different Km values were obtained for acto-HMM ATPase with the cleaved and intact actins. The ATPase activity of HMM stimulated by copolymers of intact and cleaved actin showed a linear dependence on the fraction of intact actin in the copolymer. The most important difference between the intact and cleaved actin was observed in an in vitro motility assay for actin sliding movement over an HMM coated surface. Only 30% of the cleaved actin filaments appeared mobile in this assay and moreover, the velocity of the mobile filaments was approximately 30% that of intact actin filaments. These results suggest that the motility of actin filaments can be uncoupled from the activation of myosin ATPase activity and is dependent on the structural integrity of actin and perhaps, dynamic changes in the actin molecule.     

The tail of myosin reduces actin filament velocity in the in vitro motility assay

It has been observed that heavy meromyosin (HMM) propels actin filaments to higher velocities than native myosin in the in vitro motility assay, yet the reason for this difference has remained unexplained. Since the major difference between these two proteins is the presence of the tail in native myosin, we tested the hypothesis that unknown interactions between actin and the tail (LMM) slow motility in native myosin. Chymotryptic HMM and LMM were mixed in a range of molar ratios (0-5 LMM/HMM) and compared to native rat skeletal myosin in the in vitro motility assay at 30 degrees C. Increasing proportions of LMM to HMM slowed actin filament velocities, becoming equivalent to native myosin at a ratio of 3 LMM/HMM. NH4+ -ATPase assays demonstrated that HMM concentrations on the surface were constant and independent of LMM concentration, arguing against a simple displacement mechanism. Relationships between velocity and the number of available heads suggested that the duty cycle of HMM was not altered by the presence of LMM. HMM prepared with a lower chymotrypsin concentration and with very short digestion times moved actin at the same high velocity. The difference between velocities of actin filament propelled by HMM and HMM/LMM decreased with increasing ionic strength, suggesting that ionic bonds between myosin tail and actin filaments may play a role in slowing filament velocity. These data suggest the high velocities of actin filaments over HMM result from the absence of drag generated by the myosin tail, and not from proteolytic nicking of the motor domain.     

Inorganic polyphosphate hydrolysis catalyzed by skeletal muscular actomyosin complexes is uncoupled with motility

Hydrolysis of the triphosphate moiety of ATP, catalyzed by myosin, induces alterations in the affinity of the myosin heads for actin filaments via conformational changes, thereby causing motility of the actomyosin complexes. To elucidate the contribution of the triphosphate group attached to adenosine, we examined the enzymatic activity of heavy meromyosin (HMM) with actin filaments for inorganic tripolyphosphate (3PP) using a Malachite green method and evaluated using fluorescence microscopy the effects of 3PP on actin filament motility on HMM-coated glass slides. In the presence of MgCl₂, HMM hydrolyzed 3PP at a maximum rate of 0.016 s⁻¹ HMM⁻¹, which was four times lower than the hydrolysis rate of ATP. Tetrapolyphosphate (4PP) was hydrolyzed at a rate similar to that of 3PP hydrolysis. The hydrolysis rates of 3PP and 4PP were enhanced by roughly 10-fold in the presence of actin filaments. In motility assays, the presence of polyphosphates did not lead to the sliding movement of actin filaments. Moreover, in the presence of ATP at low concentrations, the sliding velocity of actin filaments decreased as the concentration of added polyphosphate increased, indicating a competitive binding of polyphosphate to myosin heads with ATP. These results suggested that the energy produced by standalone triphosphate hydrolysis did not induce the unidirectional motion of actomyosin and that the link between triphosphate and adenosine was crucial for motility.     

Flexibility in actin-myosin motility system revealed by in vitro motility assay

Flexibility of myosin molecule was studied by in vitro motility assay in terms of the direction of actin movement. Electron microscopy showed that HMM scattered on a nitrocellulose surface can bind actin filaments and form arrowhead-like patterns. Actin filaments can move in both directions on tracks of HMM made on a nitrocellulose surface. Further, actin filaments can move bidirectionally along native thick filaments over their central bare zone. These observations indicate that there is considerable flexibility in a myosin molecule and that the direction of the movement is determined by the polarity of actin filaments.     

Troponin is a potential regulator for actomyosin interactions

Troponin extracted from rabbit skeletal muscle directly binds to an actin filament in a molar ratio of 1:1 even in the absence of tropomyosin. An actin filament decorated with troponin did not exhibit significant difference from pure actin filaments in the maximum rate of actomyosin ATP hydrolysis and the sliding velocity of the filament examined by means of an in vitro motility assay. However, the relative number of troponin-bound actin filaments moving in the absence of calcium ions decreased to half that in their presence. The amount of HMM bound to the filaments was less than 4% of actin monomers in the presence of TNs. In addition, actin filaments could not move when Tn molecules were bound in the molar ratio of about 1:1 although they sufficiently bind to myosin heads. These results indicate that troponin can transform an actin monomer within a filament into an Off-state without sterically blocking of the myosin-binding sites with tropomyosin molecules.     

Effects of SH1 and SH2 modifications on myosin: similarities and differences.

The properties of myosin modified at the SH2 group (Cys-697) were studied and compared with the previously reported properties of myosin modified at the SH1 group (Cys-707). 4-[N-[(iodoacetoxy)ethyl]-N methylamino]-7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1, 3-diazole (IANBD) was used for selective modification of the SH2 group on myosin. SH2-labeled heavy meromyosin (SH2-HMM), similar to SH1-labeled HMM (SH1-HMM), did not propel actin filaments in the in vitro motility assays. SH1- and SH2-HMM produced similar amounts of load in the mixtures with unmodified HMM; the sliding speed of actin filaments gradually decreased with an increase in the fraction of either one of the modified HMMs in the mixture. In analogy to SH1-labeled myosin subfragment 1 (SH1-S1), SH2-labeled S1 (SH2-S1) activated regulated actin in the in vitro motility assays. SH2 modification inhibited Mg-ATPase of S1 and its activation by actin. The weak binding of S1 to actin was unaffected whereas the strong binding was weakened by SH2 modification. Overall, our results demonstrate similar behavior of SH1- and SH2-modified myosin heads in the in vitro motility assays despite some differences in their enzymatic properties. The effects of these modifications are ascribed to the location of the SH1-SH2 helix relative to other functional centers of S1.     

SH1 (cysteine 717) of smooth muscle myosin: its role in motor function.

To determine if a thiol group called SH1 has an important role in myosin's motor function, we made a mutant heavy meromyosin (HMM) without the thiol group and analyzed its properties. In chicken gizzard myosin, SH1 is located on the cysteine residue at position 717. By using genetic engineering techniques, this cysteine was substituted with threonine in chicken gizzard HMM, and that mutant HMM and unmutated HMM were expressed in biochemical quantities using a baculovirus system. The basal EDTA-, Ca(2+)-, and Mg(2+)-ATPase activities of the mutant were similar to those of HMM whose SH1 was modified by N-iodoacetyl-N'-(5-sulfo-1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine (IAEDANS). However, while the chemically modified HMM lost the function of the light chain phosphorylation-dependent regulation of the actin-activated ATPase activity, the mutant HMM exhibited the normal light chain-regulated actin-activated ATPase activity. Using an in vitro motility assay system, we found that the IAEDANS-modified HMM was unable to propel actin filaments but that the mutant HMM was able to move actin filaments in a manner indistinguishable from filament sliding generated by unmutated HMM. These results indicate that SH1 itself is not essential for the motor function of myosin and suggest that various effects observed with HMM modified by thiol reagents such as IAEDANS are caused by the bulkiness of the attached probes, which interferes with the swinging motion generated during ATP hydrolysis.     

Effects of urea and guanidine hydrochloride on the sliding movement of actin filaments with ATP hydrolysis by myosin molecules

To evaluate the role of the hydration layer on the protein surface of actomyosin, we compared the effects of urea and guanidine-HCl on the sliding velocities and ATPase activities of the actin-heavy meromyosin (HMM) system. Both chemicals denature proteins, but only urea perturbs the hydration layer. Both the sliding velocity of actin filaments and actin-activated ATPase activity decreased with increasing urea concentrations. The sliding movement was completely inhibited at 1.0 M urea, while actin filaments were bound to HMM molecules fixed on the glass surface. Guanidine-HCl (0-0.05 M) drastically decreased both the sliding velocity and ATPase activation of acto-HMM complexes. Under this condition, actin filaments almost detached from HMM molecules. In contrast, the ATPase activity of HMM without actin filaments was almost independent of urea concentrations <1.0 M and guanidine-HCl concentrations <0.05 M. An increase in urea concentrations up to 2.0 M partly induced changes in the ternary structure of HMM molecules, while the actin filaments were stable in this concentration range. Hydration changes around such actomyosin complexes may alter both the stability of part of the myosin molecules, and the affinity for force transmission between actin filaments and myosin heads.     

Translational motion of actin filaments in the presence of heavy meromyosin and MgATP as measured by Doppler broadening of laser light scattering

Intensity fluctuations of laser light scattering were utilized in order to follow enhancement of translational motion of the actin-heavy meromyosin (HMM) complex in extremely dilute solutions accompanied by the hydrolysis of MgATP. Such enhancement was anticipated on the basis of the idea that active streaming along actin filaments should be associated with their mechanochemical reactivity. Native tropomyosin was added in order to stabilize actin in its filamentous form, thus allowing the reduction of actin concentration below 50 micrograms/ml to enable free movement of neighboring filaments and yet give a reliable signal. Analysis of the data in terms of Doppler broadening led to an approximate evaluation of the average velocity of translation of the mobile filaments. This velocity was found to increase with increasing HMM concentration up to a maximum attained at a molar ratio HMM/actin of 1:2, and then decreased. Total intensity measurements indicate that the mobile scatterer is actually a complex of HMM with an isolated actin filament. HMM subfragment-1 was found to be ineffective. These results suggest that cooperation between the two myosin heads is necessary for efficient induction of active streaming along isolated actin filaments.     

Characterization of single actomyosin rigor bonds: load dependence of lifetime and mechanical properties

Load dependence of the lifetime of the rigor bonds formed between a single myosin molecule (either heavy meromyosin, HMM, or myosin subfragment-1, S1) and actin filament was examined in the absence of nucleotide by pulling the barbed end of the actin filament with optical tweezers. For S1, the relationship between the lifetime (tau) and the externally imposed load (F) at absolute temperature T could be expressed as tau(F) = tau(0).exp(-F.d/k(B)T) with tau(0) of 67 s and an apparent interaction distance d of 2.4 nm (k(B) is the Boltzmann constant). The relationship for HMM was expressed by the sum of two exponentials, with two sets of tau(0) and d being, respectively, 62 s and 2.7 nm, and 950 s and 1.4 nm. The fast component of HMM coincides with tau(F) for S1, suggesting that the fast component corresponds to single-headed binding and the slow component to double-headed binding. These large interaction distances, which may be a common characteristic of motor proteins, are attributed to the geometry for applying an external load. The pulling experiment has also allowed direct estimation of the number of myosin molecules interacting with an actin filament. Actin filaments tethered to a single HMM molecule underwent extensive rotational Brownian motion, indicating a low torsional stiffness for HMM. From these results, we discuss the characteristics of interaction between actin and myosin, with the focus on the manner of binding of myosin.     

Velocity of movement of actin filaments in in vitro motility assay. Measured by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

We have measured the velocity of actin filaments in in vitro motility assay by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. In this method, one measures fluctuations in the number of filaments in an open sample volume. The number of filaments was calculated from measurements of fluorescence of rhodamine-phalloidin bound to F-actin. Sample volume was defined by a diaphragm placed in front of the photomultiplier. Fluctuations arise when actin filaments enter and leave the sample volume due to translations driven by mechanochemical interactions with myosin heads which are immobilized on a glass surface. The average velocity of the translation of filaments determined by the correlation method, (Vc), was equal to the diameter of the diaphragm divided by the half-time of the relaxation of fluctuations. The average number of moving filaments determined by correlation method, (Nc), was inversely proportional to the relative fluctuations. By the fluctuation method it was possible to determine the average velocity of over 800 moving filaments in less than 4 min. There was good agreement between (Vc) and (Nc) and the average velocity and the average number of moving filaments determined manually. To be able to apply correlation measurements to an experimental problem, neither (Vc) nor (Nc) must depend on the position of observation of filaments. We first confirmed that this was indeed the case. We then applied the method to investigate the dependence of motility on the ATPase activity of myosin heads. ATPase activity was varied by mixing intact heads with heads which were labeled with different thiol reagents. It was found that the motion was drastically influenced by the reagent used for modification. When the reagent was N-ethyl-maleimide, 1.5% modification was sufficient to completely inhibit the motion. When the reagent was 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein, motion declined hyperbolically with the fraction of modified heads.     

Motion of actin filaments in the presence of myosin heads and ATP.

We measured, by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, the motion of actin filaments in solution during hydrolysis of ATP by acto-heavy meromyosin (acto-HMM). The method relies on the fact that the intensity of fluorescence fluctuates as fluorescently labeled actin filaments enter and leave a small sample volume. The rapidity of these number fluctuations is characterized by the autocorrelation function, which decays to 0 in time that is related to the average velocity of translation of filaments. The time of decay of the autocorrelation function of bare actin filaments in solution was 10.59 +/- 0.85 s. Strongly bound (rigor) heads slowed down the diffusion. Direct observation of filaments under an optical microscope showed that addition of HMM did not change the average length or flexibility of actin filaments, suggesting that the decrease in diffusion was not due to a HMM-induced change in the shape of filaments. Rather, slowing down of translational motion was caused by an increase in the volume of the diffusing complex. Surprisingly, the addition of ATP to acto-HMM accelerated the motion of actin filaments. The acceleration was the greatest at the low molar ratios of HMM:actin. Direct observation of filaments under an optical microscope showed that in the presence of ATP the average length of filaments did not change and that the filaments became stiffer, suggesting that acceleration of diffusion was not due to an ATP-induced increase in flexibility of filaments. These results show that some of the energy of splitting of ATP is impaired to actin filaments and suggest that 0.06 +/- 0.02 of HMM interferes with the diffusion of actin filaments during hydrolysis of ATP.     

Novel Mode of Cooperative Binding between Myosin and Mg-actin Filaments in the Presence of Low Concentrations of ATP

Cooperative interaction between myosin and actin filaments has been detected by a number of different methods, and has been suggested to have some role in force generation by the actomyosin motor. In this study, we observed the binding of myosin to actin filaments directly using fluorescence microscopy to analyze the mechanism of the cooperative interaction in more detail. For this purpose, we prepared fluorescently labeled heavy meromyosin (HMM) of rabbit skeletal muscle myosin and Dictyostelium myosin II. Both types of HMMs formed fluorescent clusters along actin filaments when added at substoichiometric amounts. Quantitative analysis of the fluorescence intensity of the HMM clusters revealed that there are two distinct types of cooperative binding. The stronger form was observed along Ca²⁺-actin filaments with substoichiometric amounts of bound phalloidin, in which the density of HMM molecules in the clusters was comparable to full decoration. The novel, weaker form was observed along Mg²⁺-actin filaments with and without stoichiometric amounts of phalloidin. HMM density in the clusters of the weaker form was several-fold lower than full decoration. The weak cooperative binding required sub-micromolar ATP, and did not occur in the absence of nucleotides or in the presence of ADP and ADP-Vi. The G680V mutant of Dictyostelium HMM, which over-occupies the ADP-Pi bound state in the presence of actin filaments and ATP, also formed clusters along Mg²⁺-actin filaments, suggesting that the weak cooperative binding of HMM to actin filaments occurs or initiates at an intermediate state of the actomyosin-ADP-Pi complex other than that attained by adding ADP-Vi.     

Effects of surface adsorption on catalytic activity of heavy meromyosin studied using a fluorescent ATP analogue

Biochemical studies in solution and with myosin motor fragments adsorbed to surfaces (in vitro motility assays) are invaluable for elucidation of actomyosin function. However, there is limited understanding of how surface adsorption affects motor properties, e.g., catalytic activity. Here we address this issue by comparing the catalytic activity of heavy meromyosin (HMM) in solution and adsorbed to standard motility assay surfaces [derivatized with trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS)]. For these studies we first characterized the interaction of HMM and actomyosin with the fluorescent ATP analogue adenosine 5'-triphosphate Alexa Fluor 647 2'- (or 3'-) O-(N-(2-aminoethyl)urethane) hexa(triethylammonium) salt (Alexa-ATP). The data suggest that Alexa-ATP is hydrolyzed by HMM in solution at a slightly higher rate than ATP but with a generally similar mechanism. Furthermore, Alexa-ATP is effective as a fuel for HMM-propelled actin filament sliding. The catalytic activity of HMM on TMCS surfaces was studied using (1) Alexa-ATP in total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) spectroscopy experiments and (2) Alexa-ATP and ATP in HPLC-aided ATPase measurements. The results support the hypothesis of different HMM configurations on the surface. However, a dominant proportion of the myosin heads were catalytically active, and their average steady-state hydrolysis rate was slightly higher (with Alexa-ATP) or markedly higher (with ATP) on the surface than in solution. The results are discussed in relation to the use of TMCS surfaces and Alexa-ATP for in vitro motility assays and single molecule studies. Furthermore, we propose a novel TIRF microscopy method to accurately determine the surface density of catalytically active myosin motors.     

Intermonomer cross-linking of F-actin alters the dynamics of its interaction with H-meromyosin in the weak-binding state

Previous cross-linking studies [Kim E, Bobkova E, Hegyi G, Muhlrad A & Reisler E (2002) Biochemistry 41, 86-93] have shown that site-specific cross-linking among F-actin monomers inhibits the motion and force generation of actomyosin. However, it does not change the steady-state ATPase parameters of actomyosin. These apparently contradictory findings have been attributed to the uncoupling of force generation from other processes of actomyosin interaction as a consequence of reduced flexibility at the interface between actin subdomains-1 and -2. In this study, we use EPR spectroscopy to investigate the effects of cross-linking constituent monomers upon the molecular dynamics of the F-actin complex. We show that cross-linking reduces the rotational mobility of an attached probe. It is consistent with the filaments becoming more rigid. Addition of heavy meromyosin (HMM) to the cross-linked filaments further restricts the rotational mobility of the probe. The effect of HMM on the actin filaments is highly cooperative: even a 1 : 10 molar ratio of HMM to actin strongly restricts the dynamics of the filaments. More interesting results are obtained when nucleotides are also added. In the presence of HMM and ADP, similar strongly reduced mobility of the probe was found than in a rigor state. In the presence of adenosine 5'[betagamma-imido] triphosphate (AMPPNP), a nonhydrolyzable analogue of ATP, weak binding of HMM to either cross-linked or native F-actin increases probe mobility. By contrast, weak binding by the HMM/ADP/AlF4 complex has different effects upon the two systems. This protein-nucleotide complex increases probe mobility in native actin filaments, as does HMM + AMPPNP. However, its addition to cross-linked filaments leaves probe mobility as constrained as in the rigor state. These findings suggest that the dynamic change upon weak binding by HMM/ADP/AlF4 which is inhibited by cross-linking is essential to the proper mechanical behaviour of the filaments during movement.     

Heavy-meromyosin-decorated actin filaments: a simple method to preserve actin filaments for rotary shadowing

It has become accepted that deep-freeze-drying at or below -90 degrees C is necessary to preserve the structure of supramolecular assemblies such as actin filaments (AFs) for metal shadowing. This has kept the metal shadowing technique from widespread use in the study of proteins complexed with AFs because of the limited availability of the apparatus for deep-freeze-drying. I report here that adsorption to freshly cleaved mica, treatment with buffered uranyl acetate in glycerol solution, rinsing, and removal of liquid eliminate the need of freeze-drying to preserve the structure of AFs. This technique, in combination with metal shadowing, was applied to the study of AFs decorated with heavy meromyosin (HMM). It was observed that (1) when HMM molecules are associated with single AFs in the majority of cases only one head of each HMM molecule makes contact at the point furthest from the neck region; (2) binding of HMM causes bundling of AFs, probably by the two heads of each molecule binding different filaments; and (3) the binding of HMM to the bundled AFs appears to be more stable than that to a single AF. This method of specimen preparation requires no freeze-drying and is therefore easily applicable to other large protein complexes.     

Banding and polarity of actin filaments in interphase and cleaving cells

Heavy meromyosin (HMM) decoration of actin filaments was used to detect the polarity of microfilaments in interphase and cleaving rat kangaroo (PtK2) cells. Ethanol at -20 degrees C was used to make the cells permeable to HMM followed by tannic acid-glutaraldehyde fixation for electron microscopy. Uniform polarity of actin filaments was observed at cell junctions and central attachment plaques with the HMM arrowheads always pointing away from the junction or plaque. Stress fibers were banded in appearance with their component microfilaments exhibiting both parallel and antiparallel orientation with respect to one another. Identical banding of microfilament bundles was also seen in cleavage furrows with the same variation in filament polarity as found in stress fibers. Similarly banded fibers were not seen outside the cleavage furrow in mitotic cells. By the time that a mid-body was present, the actin filaments in the cleavage furrow were no longer in banded fibers. The alternating dark and light bands of both the stress fibers and cleavage furrow fibers are approximately equal in length, each measuring approximately 0.16 micrometer. Actin filaments were present in both bands, and individual decorated filaments could sometimes be traced through four band lengths. Undecorated filaments, 10 nm in diameter, could often be seen within the light bands. A model is proposed to explain the arrangement of filaments in stress fibers and cleavage furrows based on the striations observed with tannic acid and the polarity of the actin filaments.     

Calcium regulation of skeletal muscle thin filament motility in vitro.

Using an in vitro motility assay, we have investigated Ca2+ regulation of individual, regulated thin filaments reconstituted from rabbit fast skeletal actin, troponin, and tropomyosin. Rhodamine-phalloidin labeling was used to visualize the filaments by epifluorescence, and assays were conducted at 30 degrees C and at ionic strengths near the physiological range. Regulated thin filaments exhibited well-regulated behavior when tropomyosin and troponin were added to the motility solutions because there was no directed motion in the absence of Ca2+. Unlike F-actin, the speed increased in a graded manner with increasing [Ca2+], whereas the number of regulated thin filaments moving was more steeply regulated. With increased ionic strength, Ca2+ sensitivity of both the number of filaments moving and their speed was shifted toward higher [Ca2+] and was steepest at the highest ionic strength studied (0.14 M gamma/2). Methylcellulose concentration (0.4% versus 0.7%) had no effect on the Ca2+ dependence of speed or number of filaments moving. These conclusions hold for five different methods used to analyze the data, indicating that the conclusions are robust. The force-pCa relationship (pCa = -log10[Ca2+]) for rabbit psoas skinned fibers taken under similar conditions of temperature and solution composition (0.14 M gamma/2) paralleled the speed-pCa relationship for the regulated filaments in the in vitro motility assay. Comparison of motility results with the force-pCa relationship in fibers suggests that relatively few cross-bridges are needed to make filaments move, but many have to be cycling to make the regulated filament move at maximum speed.