Disorder induced in nonoverlap myosin cross-bridges by loss of adenosine triphosphate

Lessons from a tarantula: new insights into muscle thick filament and myosin interacting-heads motif structure and function

The tarantula skeletal muscle X-ray diffraction pattern suggested that the myosin heads were helically arranged on the thick filaments. Electron microscopy (EM) of negatively stained relaxed tarantula thick filaments revealed four helices of heads allowing a helical 3D reconstruction. Due to its low resolution (5.0 nm), the unambiguous interpretation of densities of both heads was not possible. A resolution increase up to 2.5 nm, achieved by cryo-EM of frozen-hydrated relaxed thick filaments and an iterative helical real space reconstruction, allowed the resolving of both heads. The two heads, "free" and "blocked", formed an asymmetric structure named the "interacting-heads motif" (IHM) which explained relaxation by self-inhibition of both heads ATPases. This finding made tarantula an exemplar system for thick filament structure and function studies. Heads were shown to be released and disordered by Ca²⁺-activation through myosin regulatory light chain phosphorylation, leading to EM, small angle X-ray diffraction and scattering, and spectroscopic and biochemical studies of the IHM structure and function. The results from these studies have consequent implications for understanding and explaining myosin super-relaxed state and thick filament activation and regulation. A cooperative phosphorylation mechanism for activation in tarantula skeletal muscle, involving swaying constitutively Ser35 mono-phosphorylated free heads, explains super-relaxation, force potentiation and post-tetanic potentiation through Ser45 mono-phosphorylated blocked heads. Based on this mechanism, we propose a swaying-swinging, tilting crossbridge-sliding filament for tarantula muscle contraction.

Slow myosin ATP turnover in the super-relaxed state in tarantula muscle

We measured the nucleotide turnover rate of myosin in tarantula leg muscle fibers by observing single turnovers of the fluorescent nucleotide analog 2'-/3'-O-(N'-methylanthraniloyl)adenosine-5'-O-triphosphate, as monitored by the decrease in fluorescence when 2'-/3'-O-(N'-methylanthraniloyl)adenosine-5'-O-triphosphate (mantATP) is replaced by ATP in a chase experiment. We find a multiexponential process with approximately two-thirds of the myosin showing a very slow nucleotide turnover time constant (∼30 min). This slow-turnover state is termed the super-relaxed state (SRX). If fibers are incubated in 2'-/3'-O-(N'-methylanthraniloyl)adenosine-5'-O-diphosphate and chased with ADP, the SRX is not seen, indicating that trinucleotide-relaxed myosins are responsible for the SRX. Phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chain eliminates the fraction of myosin with a very long lifetime. The data imply that the very long-lived SRX in tarantula fibers is a highly novel adaptation for energy conservation in an animal that spends extremely long periods of time in a quiescent state employing a lie-in-wait hunting strategy. The presence of the SRX measured here correlates well with the binding of myosin heads to the core of the thick filament in a structure known as the "interacting-heads motif," observed previously by electron microscopy. Both the structural array and the long-lived SRX require relaxed filaments or relaxed fibers, both are lost upon myosin phosphorylation, and both appear to be more stable in tarantula than in vertebrate skeletal or vertebrate cardiac preparations.

Electron microscopic visualization of the cross-bridge movement coupled with ATP hydrolysis in muscle thick filaments in aqueous solution, reminiscences and future prospects

Although it has been well established that muscle contraction results from cyclic attachment-detachment between the cross-bridges extending from the thick filaments and the sites on the thin filaments, the movement of the cross-bridges coupled with ATP hydrolysis still remains to be a matter for debate and speculation. The most straightforward way to elucidate this mystery is to record individual cross-bridge movement in response to ATP. Using a gas environmental chamber (EC, or hydration chamber), with which biological specimens retaining their physiological function can be observed under an electron microscope, my coworkers and I succeeded in recording the ATP-induced individual cross-bridge movement in two different kinds of synthetic thick filaments in 1997 and 2008. In the synthetic bipolar filaments consisting of rabbit skeletal muscle myosin, the amplitude of cross-bridge movement exhibits a peak at 5-7.5 nm, and the direction of cross-bridge movement is away from, but not towards, the filament bare region in the absence of thin filaments. After exhaustion of ATP, the cross-bridges return towards their initial position, indicating that the initial cross-bridge state may be analogous to that after completion of power stroke. These results constitute the first visualization of the cross-bridge recovery stroke, indicating that the EC is a powerful tool to open new horizons in the research fields of life sciences.

Stabilization of helical order in the thick filaments by blebbistatin: further evidence of coexisting multiple conformations of myosin

The degree of helical order of the thick filament of mammalian skeletal muscle is highly dependent on temperature and the nature of the ligand. Previously, we showed that there was a close correlation between the conformation of the myosin heads on the surface of the thick filaments and the extent of their helical order. Helical order required the heads to be in the closed conformation. In addition, we showed that, with the same ligand bound at the active site, three conformations of myosin coexisted in equilibrium. Hitherto, however, there was no detectable helical order as measured by x-ray diffraction under the temperatures studied for myosin with MgADP and the nucleotide-free myosin, raising the possibility that the concept of multiple conformations has limited validity. In this study, blebbistatin was used to stabilize the closed conformation of myosin. The degree of helical order is substantially improved with MgATP at low temperature or with MgADP or in the absence of nucleotide. The thermodynamic parameters of the disorder<-->order transition and the characteristics of the ordered array were not significantly altered by binding blebbistatin. The simplest explanation is that the binding of blebbistatin increases the proportion of myosin in the closed conformation from being negligible to substantial. These results provide further evidence for the coexistence of multiple conformations of myosin under a wide range of conditions and for the closed conformation being directly coupled to helical order.

Neutron diffraction measurements of skeletal muscle using the contrast variation technique: analysis of the equatorial diffraction patterns

Among various methods for structural studies of biological macromolecules, neutron scattering and diffraction have a unique feature in that the contrast between the scattering length density of the molecules and that of the solvent can be varied easily by changing the D2O content in the solvent. This "contrast variation" technique enables one to obtain information on variations of scattering length density of the molecules of interest. Here, in order to explore the possibilities of the contrast variation technique in neutron fiber diffraction, neutron diffraction measurements of skeletal muscles were performed. The neutron fiber diffraction patterns from frog sartorius muscles were measured in various D2O concentrations in the relaxed state where no tension of muscle is produced, and in the rigor state where all myosin heads of the thick filaments bind tightly to actin in the thin filaments. It was shown that in both states, there were reflections having distinct contrast matching points, indicating a variation in the scattering length density of the protein regions in the unit cell of the muscle structure. Analysis of the equatorial reflections by the two-dimensional projected scattering length density map calculations by Fourier synthesis and model calculations provided the phase information of the equatorial reflections, with which the projected scattering length density maps of the unit cell of the hexagonal filament array in both states were calculated. The analysis showed that the scattering length density of the thick filament region was higher than that of the thin filament region, and that the scattering length density of the thick filament backbone changed as muscle went from the relaxed state into the rigor state.

Direct demonstration of the cross-bridge recovery stroke in muscle thick filaments in aqueous solution by using the hydration chamber

Despite >50 years of research work since the discovery of sliding filament mechanism in muscle contraction, structural details of the coupling of cyclic cross-bridge movement to ATP hydrolysis are not yet fully understood. An example would be whether lever arm tilting on the myosin filament backbone will occur in the absence of actin. The most direct way to elucidate such movement is to record ATP-induced cross-bridge movement in hydrated thick filaments. Using the hydration chamber, with which biological specimens can be kept in an aqueous environment in an electron microscope, we have succeeded in recording ATP-induced cross-bridge movement in hydrated thick filaments consisting of rabbit skeletal muscle myosin, with gold position markers attached to the cross-bridges. The position of individual cross-bridges did not change appreciably with time in the absence of ATP, indicating stability of time-averaged cross-bridge mean position. On application of ATP, individual cross-bridges moved nearly parallel to the filament long axis. The amplitude of the ATP-induced cross-bridge movement showed a peak at 5-7.5 nm. At both sides of the filament bare region, across which the cross-bridge polarity was reversed, the cross-bridges were found to move away from, but not toward, the bare region. Application of ADP produced no appreciable cross-bridge movement. Because ATP reacts rapidly with the cross-bridges (M) to form complex (M x ADP x Pi) with an average lifetime >10 s, the observed cross-bridge movement is associated with reaction, M + ATP --> M x ADP x Pi. The cross-bridges were observed to return to their initial position after exhaustion of ATP. These results constitute direct demonstration of the cross-bridge recovery stroke.

Blebbistatin stabilizes the helical order of myosin filaments by promoting the switch 2 closed state

Blebbistatin is a small-molecule, high-affinity, noncompetitive inhibitor of myosin II. We have used negative staining electron microscopy to study the effects of blebbistatin on the organization of the myosin heads on muscle thick filaments. Loss of ADP and Pi from the heads causes thick filaments to lose their helical ordering. In the presence of 100 microM blebbistatin, disordering was at least 10 times slower. In the M.ADP state, myosin heads are also disordered. When blebbistatin was added to M.ADP thick filaments, helical ordering was restored. However, blebbistatin did not improve the order of thick filaments lacking bound nucleotide. Addition of calcium to relaxed muscle homogenates induced thick-thin filament interaction and filament sliding. In the presence of blebbistatin, filament interaction was inhibited. These structural observations support the conclusion, based on biochemical studies, that blebbistatin inhibits myosin ATPase and actin interaction by stabilizing the closed switch 2 structure of the myosin head. These properties make blebbistatin a useful tool in structural and functional studies of cell motility and muscle contraction.

Helical order in tarantula thick filaments requires the "closed" conformation of the myosin head

Myosin heads are helically ordered on the thick filament surface in relaxed muscle. In mammalian and avian filaments this helical arrangement is dependent on temperature and it has been suggested that helical order is related to ATP hydrolysis by the heads. To test this hypothesis, we have used electron microscopy and image analysis to study the ability and temperature dependence of analogs of ATP and ADP.Pi to induce helical order in tarantula thick filaments. ATP or analogs were added to rigor myofibrils or purified thick filaments at 22 degrees C and 4 degrees C and the samples negatively stained. The ADP.Pi analogs ADP.AlF4 and ADP.Vi, and the ATP analogs ADP.BeFx, AMPPNP and ATPgammaNH2, all induced helical order in tarantula thick filaments, independent of temperature. In the absence of nucleotide, or in the presence of ADP or the ATP analog, ATPgammaS, there was no helical ordering. According to crystallographic and tryptophan fluorescence studies, all of these analogs, except ATPgammaS and ADP, induce the "closed" conformation of the myosin head (in which the gamma phosphate pocket is closed). We suggest that helical order requires the closed conformation of the myosin head but is not dependent on the hydrolysis of ATP.

Mammalian cardiac muscle thick filaments: their periodicity and interactions with actin

Cardiac muscle has been extensively studied, but little information is available on the detailed macromolecular structure of its thick filament. To elucidate the structure of these filaments I have developed a procedure to isolate the cardiac thick filaments for study by electron microscopy and computer image analysis. This procedure uses chemical skinning with Triton X-100 to avoid contraction of the muscle that occurs using the procedures previously developed for isolation of skeletal muscle thick filaments. The negatively stained isolated filaments appear highly periodic, with a helical repeat every third cross-bridge level (43 nm). Computed Fourier transforms of the filaments show a strong set of layer lines corresponding to a 43-nm near-helical repeat out to the 6th layer line. Additional meridional reflections extend to at least the 12th layer line in averaged transforms of the filaments. The highly periodic structure of the filaments clearly suggests that the weakness of the layer lines in x-ray diffraction patterns of heart muscle is not due to an inherently more disordered cross-bridge arrangement. In addition, the isolated thick filaments are unusual in their strong tendency to remain bound to actin by anti-rigor oriented cross-bridges (state II or state III cross-bridges) under relaxing conditions.

Structure and nucleotide-dependent changes of thick filaments in relaxed and rigor plaice fin muscle

The myosin crossbridge array, positions of non-crossbridge densities on the backbone, and the A-band "end filaments" have been compared in chemically skinned, unfixed, uncryoprotected relaxed, and rigor plaice fin muscles using the freeze-fracture, deep-etch, rotary-shadowing technique. The images provide a direct demonstration of the helical packing of the myosin heads in situ in relaxed muscle and show rearrangements of the myosin heads, and possibly of other myosin filament proteins, when the heads lose ATP on going into rigor. In the H-zone these changes are consistent with crossbridge changes previously shown by others using freeze-substitution. In addition, new evidence is presented of protein rearrangements in the M-region (bare zone), associated with the transition from the relaxed to the rigor state, including a 27-nm increase in the apparent width of the M-region. This is interpreted as being mostly due to loss or rearrangement of a nonmyosin (M9) protein component at the M-region edge. The structure and titin periodicity of the end-filaments are described, as are suggestions of titin structure on the myosin filament backbone.

Towards an atomic model of the thick filaments of muscle

The thick filaments of muscle and non-muscle cells are polymers of myosin molecules whose energy-transducing heads lie on the filament surface, where they interact with actin to generate force. A key structural question is how the myosin heads are arranged in the relaxed state, and how this arrangement changes on activation of contraction. We have fitted the atomic structure of the myosin head to the three-dimensional structure of myosin filaments of tarantula muscle determined by electron microscopy to produce a near-atomic model of the head arrangement. A good fit is obtained only when the two heads from a myosin molecule run along the helical tracks antiparallel to each other. Oppositely oriented heads from axially adjacent molecules in a helix interact with each other, with their nucleotide-binding pockets opposed. This arrangement, supported also by crosslinking evidence, suggests a simple mechanism for the stabilization of myosin head helices in relaxed muscle via the formation of intermolecular "dimers" of heads from axially adjacent myosin molecules.

Structure and periodicities of cross-bridges in relaxation, in rigor, and during contractions initiated by photolysis of caged Ca2+

Ultra-rapid freezing and electron microscopy were used to directly observe structural details of frog muscle fibers in rigor, in relaxation, and during force development initiated by laser photolysis of DM-nitrophen (a caged Ca2+). Longitudinal sections from relaxed fibers show helical tracks of the myosin heads on the surface of the thick filaments. Fibers frozen at approximately 13, approximately 34, and approximately 220 ms after activation from the relaxed state by photorelease of Ca2+ all show surprisingly similar cross-bridge dispositions. In sections along the 1,1 lattice plane of activated fibers, individual cross-bridge densities have a wide range of shapes and angles, perpendicular to the fiber axis or pointing toward or away from the Z line. This highly variable distribution is established very early during development of contraction. Cross-bridge density across the interfilament space is more uniform than in rigor, wherein the cross-bridges are more dense near the thin filaments. Optical diffraction (OD) patterns and computed power density spectra of the electron micrographs were used to analyze periodicities of structures within the overlap regions of the sarcomeres. Most aspects of these patterns are consistent with time resolved x-ray diffraction data from the corresponding states of intact muscle, but some features are different, presumably reflecting different origins of contrast between the two methods and possible alterations in the structure of the electron microscopy samples during processing. In relaxed fibers, OD patterns show strong meridional spots and layer lines up to the sixth order of the 43-nm myosin repeat, indicating preservation and resolution of periodic structures smaller than 10 nm. In rigor, layer lines at 18, 24, and 36 nm indicate cross-bridge attachment along the thin filament helix. After activation by photorelease of Ca2+, the 14.3-nm meridional spot is present, but the second-order meridional spot (22 nm) disappears. The myosin 43-nm layer line becomes less intense, and higher orders of 43-nm layer lines disappear. A 36-nm layer line is apparent by 13 ms and becomes progressively stronger while moving laterally away from the meridian of the pattern at later times, indicating cross-bridges labeling the actin helix at decreasing radius.

Approximating the isometric force-calcium relation of intact frog muscle using skinned fibers

In previous papers we used estimates of the composition of frog muscle and calculations involving the likely fixed charge density in myofibrils to propose bathing solutions for skinned fibers, which best mimic the normal intracellular milieu of intact muscle fibers. We tested predictions of this calculation using measurements of the potential across the boundary of skinned frog muscle fibers bathed in this solution. The average potential was -3.1 mV, close to that predicted from a simple Donnan equilibrium. The contribution of ATP hydrolysis to a diffusion potential was probably small because addition of 1 mM vanadate to the solution decreased the fiber actomyosin ATPase rate (measured by high-performance liquid chromatography) by at least 73% but had little effect on the measured potential. Using these solutions, we obtained force-pCa curves from mechanically skinned fibers at three different temperatures, allowing the solution pH to change with temperature in the same fashion as the intracellular pH of intact fibers varies with temperature. The bath concentration of Ca2+ required for half-maximal activation of isometric force was 1.45 microM (22 degrees C, pH 7.18), 2.58 microM (16 degrees C, pH 7.25), and 3.36 microM (5 degrees C, pH 7.59). The [Ca2+] at the threshold of activation at 16 degrees C was approximately 1 microM, in good agreement with estimates of threshold [Ca2+] in intact frog muscle fibers.

Evaluation of freeze substitution in rabbit skeletal muscle. Comparison of electron microscopy to X-ray diffraction

Rabbit psoas muscle fibres, relaxed and in rigor, have been freeze substituted for electron microscopy. Fourier transforms and average density maps of micrographs of transverse sections have been obtained and compared to X-ray diffraction data. The Fourier amplitudes from rigor and relaxed muscle are comparable to equatorial data from X-ray diffraction of muscle if there is more disorder in the electron micrographs which can be described by a 'temperature' factor. The phases of reflections out to the 3,2 have been determined; those reflections at the same radius and therefore not separable in the X-ray patterns, such as the 2,1 and the 1,2, are separated in the transforms of sections through the A band. In transforms from both rigor and relaxed muscle they have the same phase. In rigor muscle they have different amplitudes. All the phases are positive or negative showing that the lattice is centrosymmetric at the resolution obtained. The phases obtained generally support those suggested by model building studies using X-ray diffraction data. In rigor muscle, areas where the cross-bridges are regularly attached are clearly seen in thin transverse sections. A handedness to this structure is indicated by a lack of mirror symmetry, in both the Fourier transform of thick sections, and in the averaged density map. This correlates well with the arrangement where the myosin head is bound as in the acto-S1 structure but only to actin monomers within a limited azimuthal range.

X-ray diffraction measurements of the extensibility of actin and myosin filaments in contracting muscle

We have used a small angle scattering system assembled on the high flux multipole wiggler beam line at CHESS (Cornell) to make very accurate spacing measurements of certain meridional and layer-line reflections from contracting muscles. During isometric contraction, the actin 27.3 A reflection increases in spacing from its resting value by approximately 0.3%, and other actin reflections, including the 59 and 51 A off-meridional reflections, show corresponding changes in spacing. When tension is augmented or diminished by applying moderate speed length changes to a contracting muscle, changes in spacing in the range of 0.19-0.24% (when scaled to full isometric tension) can be seen. The larger difference between the resting and isometric spacings suggests either nonlinearity at low tension levels or the presence of a component related to activation itself. Myosin filaments also show similar increases in axial period during slow stretch, in addition to the well known larger change associated with activation. An actin spacing change of 0.25-0.3% can also be measured during a 2 ms time frame immediately after a quick release, showing that the elastic behavior is rapid. These observations of filament extensions totaling 2-3 nm per half-sarcomere may necessitate some significant revision of the interpretation of a number of mechanical experiments in muscle, in which it has usually been assumed that virtually all of the elasticity resides in the cross-bridges.

Ultrastructure of skeletal muscle fibers studied by a plunge quick freezing method: myofilament lengths

We have set up a system to rapidly freeze muscle fibers during contraction to investigate by electron microscopy the ultrastructure of active muscles. Glycerinated fiber bundles of rabbit psoas muscles were frozen in conditions of rigor, relaxation, isometric contraction, and active shortening. Freezing was carried out by plunging the bundles into liquid ethane. The frozen bundles were then freeze-substituted, plastic-embedded, and sectioned for electron microscopic observation. X-ray diffraction patterns of the embedded bundles and optical diffraction patterns of the micrographs resemble the x-ray diffraction patterns of unfixed muscles, showing the ability of the method to preserve the muscle ultrastructure. In the optical diffraction patterns layer lines up to 1/5.9 nm-1 were observed. Using this method we have investigated the myofilament lengths and concluded that there are no major changes in length in either the actin or the myosin filaments under any of the conditions explored.

The proteolytic susceptibility of specific sites in myosin light chains is modulated by the filament conformation

The proteolytic susceptibilities of specific sites in the LC1 and LC2 N-termini were modulated by ionic strength in myosin (a species able to form filaments) but not in S1. (a) In the presence of Ca2+ or Mg2+, the proteolytic susceptibility (apparent initial reaction rate) showed a sharp discontinuity at a critical ionic concentration similar for LC1', LC2' and LC2'' cleavages. (b) The susceptibility of LC1' and LC2'' was higher at low ionic concentration in the more compact structure of the filament than in the dissociated form at high ionic concentration. (c) The ionic concentration effect was no longer observed with species unable to form filaments. (d) This effect occurred at a critical ionic concentration markedly different from the critical concentration at which the monomer-filament equilibrium was found. These observations lead to the following conclusions. (a) The ionic concentration effect is an attribute of the filament structure. (b) In the filament the faster cleavage at sites (LC1' and LC2'') near the LC1 and LC2 N-termini are due to an extended configuration of the N-terminal segment binding to a site in the filament structure. (c) The slower rate of formation of LC2' in the filament indicates that the N-terminal segment of LC2 binds more tightly to the structure than that of LC1. (d) The critical ionic concentration is not that of the filament-monomer equilibrium but corresponds to the order-disorder transition of the heads in the filament. These results suggest that the N-termini of the light chains (here in striated muscles) play a role in a secondary regulatory mechanism. The analysis of these regions may contribute to our understanding of the altered activity and regulation seen in such diseases as idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy [Margossian, S. S., White, H. D., Caulfield, J. B., Norton, P., Taylor, S. & Slayter, H. S. (1992) Circulation 85, 1720-1733].

Experiments on rigor crossbridge action and filament sliding in insect flight muscle

We have explored three aspects of rigor crossbridge action: 1. Under rigor conditions, slow stretching (2% per hour) of insect flight muscle (IFM) from Lethocerus causes sarcomere ruptures but never filament sliding. However, in 1 mM AMPPNP, slow stretching (5%/h) causes filament sliding but no sarcomere ruptures, although stiffness equals rigor values. Thus loaded rigor attachments in IFM show no strain relief over several hours, but near-rigor states that allow short-term strain relief indicate different grades of strongly bound bridges, and suggest approaches to annealing the rigor lattice. 2. Sarcomeres of Lethocerus flight muscle, stretched 20-60% and then rigorized, show "hybrid" crossbridge patterns, with overlap zones in rigor, but H-bands relaxed and revealing four-stranded R-hand helical thick filament structure. The sharp boundary exhibits precise phasing between relaxed and rigor arrays along each thick filament. Extrapolating one lattice into the other should allow detailed modeling of the action of each myosin head as it enters rigor. 3. The "A-(bee)-Z problem" exposes a conflict about actin rotational alignment between A-bands and Z-bands of bee IFM, raising the possibility that rigor induction might rotate actins forcefully from one pattern to the other. As Squire noted, 3-D reconstructions of Z-bands in relaxed bee IFM2) imply A-bands where actin target zones form rings rather than helices around thick filaments. However, we confirm Trombitás et al. that rigor crossbridges in bee IFM mark helically arrayed target zones. Moreover, we find that loose crossbridge interactions in relaxed bee IFM mark the same helical pattern. Thus no change of actin rotational alignment by rigor crossbridges seems necessary, but 3-D structure of IFM Z-bands should be re-evaluated regarding the apparent contradiction with A-band symmetry.

Structure of the myosin filaments of relaxed and rigor vertebrate striated muscle studied by rapid freezing electron microscopy

Rapid freezing followed by freeze-substitution has been used to study the ultrastructure of the myosin filaments of live and demembranated frog sartorius muscle in the states of relaxation and rigor. Electron microscopy of longitudinal sections of relaxed specimens showed greatly improved preservation of thick filament ultrastructure compared with conventional fixation. This was revealed by the appearance of a clear helical arrangement of myosin crossbridges along the filament surface and by a series of layer line reflections in computed Fourier transforms of sections, corresponding to the layer lines indexing on a 43 nm repeat in X-ray diffraction patterns of whole, living muscles. Filtered images of single myosin filaments were similar to those of negatively stained, isolated vertebrate filaments and consistent with a three-start helix. M-line and other non-myosin proteins were also very well preserved. Rigor specimens showed, in the region of overlapping myosin and actin filaments, periodicities corresponding to the 36, 24, 14.4 and 5.9 nm repeats detected in X-ray patterns of whole muscle in rigor; in the H-zone they showed a disordered array of crossbridges. Transverse sections, whose Fourier transforms extend to the (3, 0) reflection, supported the view, based on X-ray diffraction and conventional electron microscopy, that in the overlap zone of relaxed muscle most of the crossbridges are detached from the thin filaments while in rigor they are attached. We conclude that the rapid freezing technique preserves the molecular structure of the myofilaments closer to the in vivo state (as monitored by X-ray diffraction) than does normal fixation.

Insect crossbridges, relaxed by spin-labeled nucleotide, show well-ordered 90 degrees state by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy, but spectra of electron paramagnetic resonance probes report disorder

The structure of glycerinated Lethocerus insect flight muscle fibers, relaxed by spin-labeled ATP and vanadate (Vi), was examined using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance (e.p.r.) spectra. We obtained excellent relaxation of MgATP quality as determined by mechanical criteria, using vanadate trapping of 2' spin-labeled 3' deoxyATP at 3 degree C. In rigor fibers, when the diphosphate analog is bound in the absence of Vi, the probes on myosin heads are well-ordered, in agreement with electron microscopic and X-ray patterns showing that myosin heads are ordered when attached strongly to actin. In relaxed muscle, however, e.p.r. spectra report orientational disorder of bound (Vi-trapped) spin-labeled nucleotide, while electron microscopic and X-ray patterns both show well-ordered bridges at a uniform 90 degrees angle to the filament axis. The spin-labeled nucleotide orientation is highly disordered, but not completely isotropic; the slight anisotropy observed in probe spectra is consistent with a shift of approximately 10% of probes from angles close to 0 degrees to angles close to 90 degrees. Measurements of probe mobility suggest that the interaction between probe and protein remains as tight in relaxed fibers as in rigor, and thus that the disorder in relaxed fibers arises from disorders of (or within) the protein and not from disorder of the probe relative to the protein. Fixation of the relaxed fibers with glutaraldehyde did not alter any aspect of the spectrum of the Vi-trapped analog, including the slight order observed, showing that the extensive inter- and intra-molecular cross-linking of the first step of sample preparation for electron microscopy had not altered relaxed crossbridge orientations. Two models that may reconcile the apparently disparate results obtained on relaxed fibers are presented: (1) a rigid myosin head could possess considerable disorder in the regular array about the thick filament; or (2) the nucleotide site could be on a disordered, probably distal, domain of myosin, while a more proximal region is well ordered on the thick filament backbone. Our findings suggest that when e.p.r. probes signal disorder of a local site or domain, this is complementary, not contradictory, to signals of general order. The e.p.r. spectra show that a portion of the myosin molecule can be disordered at the same time as the X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy show the bulk of myosin head mass to be uniformly oriented and regularly arrayed.

Visualization of myosin helices in sections of rapidly frozen relaxed tarantula muscle

Tarantula leg muscles in the relaxed state were rapidly frozen against a copper block cooled with liquid helium. Thin longitudinal sections of freeze-substituted specimens, both live and skinned, clearly showed the helical tracks of crossbridges on the surface of the myosin filaments, which are not preserved by conventional fixation. Fourier transforms of selected filaments showed a myosin layer line pattern, similar to that observed in X-ray diffraction patterns of intact tarantula muscle, extending to the sixth order of the 43.5 nm X-ray repeat. The phases of corresponding reflections were similar on the two sides of the meridian on the first layer line, and the crossbridge arrangement showed a line of mirror symmetry running down the center of the filament. These observations show that the number of helices (N) is even, in agreement with N = 4 determined from image analysis of negatively stained, isolated tarantula filaments (Crowther et al., J. Mol. Biol. 184, 429-439, 1985). Filtered images showed clear detail of the crossbridge helices and were similar to filtered images of negatively stained, isolated thick filaments. Thus, rapid freezing combined with freeze-substitution preserves the crossbridges in a three-dimensional arrangement approximating that occurring in vivo.

X-ray studies of order-disorder transitions in the myosin heads of skinned rabbit psoas muscles

Using x-rays from a laboratory source and an area detector, myosin layer lines and the diffuse scattering between them in the moderate angle region have been recorded. At full overlap, incubation of rigor muscles with S-1 greatly reduces the diffuse scattering. Also, three of the four actin-based layer lines lying close to the meridian (Huxley, H. E., and W. Brown, 1967. J. Mol. Biol. 30:384-434; Haselgrove, J. C. 1975. J. Mol. Biol. 92:113-143) increase, suggesting fuller labeling of the actin filaments. These results are consistent with the idea (Poulsen, F. R., and J. Lowy, 1983. Nature [Lond.]. 303:146-152) that some of the diffuse scattering in rigor muscles is due to a random mixture of actin monomers with and without attached myosin heads (substitution disorder). In relaxed muscles, regardless of overlap, lowering the temperature from 24 to 4 degrees C practically abolishes the myosin layer lines (a result first obtained by Wray, J.S. 1987. J. Muscle Res. Cell Motil. 8:62 (a). Abstr.), whilst the diffuse scattering between these layer lines increases appreciably. Similar changes occur in the passage from rest to peak tetanic tension in live frog muscle (Lowy, J., and F.R. Poulsen. 1990. Biophys. J. 57:977-985). Cooling the psoas demonstrates that the intensity relation between the layer lines and the diffuse scattering is of an inverse nature, and that the transition occurs over a narrow temperature range (12-14 degrees C) with a sigmoidal function. From these results it would appear that the helical arrangement of the myosin heads is very temperature sensitive, and that the disordering effect does not depend on the presence of actin. Measurements along the meridian reveal that the intensity of the diffuse scattering increases relatively little and does so in a nearly linear manner: evidently the axial order of the myosin heads is much less temperature sensitive. The combined data support the view (Poulsen, F. R., and J. Lowy. 1983. Nature [Lond.]. 303:146-152) that in relaxed muscles a significant part of the diffuse scattering originates from disordered myosin heads. The observation that the extent of the diffuse scattering is greater in the equatorial than in the meridional direction suggests that the disordered myosin heads have an orientation which is on average more parallel to the filament axis.

Direct determination of myosin filament symmetry in scallop striated adductor muscle by rapid freezing and freeze substitution

Chemically skinned, relaxed bundles of fibers from the striated adductor muscle of the scallop Placopecten magellanicus were rapidly frozen and freeze-substituted. In the electron microscope, ultrathin transverse sections of embedded specimens showed, in many cases, clear regularly organized projections (crossbridges) protruding from the backbones of the myosin filaments. In the majority of cases the number of projections was directly observed to be seven: this was confirmed by alignment and averaging of the images using correlation methods. The rotational power spectrum of the average image showed a strong peak at N = 7. Tilting of sections in the electron microscope showed that the long-pitch crossbridge helices were right-handed. These and other observations confirm directly the essential features of the low-resolution three-dimensional helical reconstruction of negatively stained scallop filaments calculated previously.

X-ray diffraction study of the structural changes accompanying phosphorylation of tarantula muscle

Electron microscopy of negatively stained isolated thick filaments of tarantula muscle has revealed that phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chains is accompanied by a loss of the helical order of myosin heads. From equatorial X-ray diffraction patterns of tarantula muscles in the phosphorylated state we have detected a mass movement in the myosin filaments that supports this finding.

Regulation of ATP-stimulated releasable myofilaments from cardiac and skeletal muscle myofibrils

The mechanism underlying the formation of easily releasable myofilaments, from myofibrils treated with an ATP-containing relaxing solution, was examined in this investigation. The proportion of releasable myofilaments purified from myofibrils of cardiac, fast- and slow-twitch muscles increased as the [ATP] was raised from 0 to 8.5 mM. The protein composition of the easily releasable myofilaments did not differ with increasing ATP concentrations as observed by 5-15% linear gradient SDS-PAGE. There is a nucleotide specificity to the release of myofilaments in the order of ATP greater than GTP much greater than UTP greater than CTP. Experiments with AMP-PNP and inorganic phosphate (Pi) showed that ATP hydrolysis and the build up of Pi are not requirements in the formation of the easily releasable myofilaments. The release of myofilaments was found to be insensitive to variations in pH from 6.5 to 7.5. The ATP stimulation of myofilaments release is ubiquitin-independent, since incubation of purified myofibrils with ubiquitin (1-100 micrograms/ml) at both 20 and 37 degrees C did not change the amount released. Modifying the free sulfhydryl group content by treatment of myofibrils with NEM (0.01-1 mM) or silver nitrate (0.1-10 mM) decreased the proportion of myofilaments that were releasable. Exclusion of 1 mM DTT from the preparation of myofibrils had similar results. These results indicate that the formation of easily releasable myofilaments can be mediated by metabolically related parameters such as the adenosine nucleotides and the reduction-oxidation status of the myofibrillar proteins of striated muscle.

Time-resolved cryo-electron microscopy of vitrified muscular components

Biological objects may be arrested in defined stages of their activity by fast freezing and may then be structurally examined. If the time between the start of activity and freezing is controlled, structural rearrangements due to biological function can be determined. Cryo-electron microscopy shows great potential for the study of such time-dependent phenomena. This study examines the actin polymerization process using cryo-electron microscopy of vitrified specimens. Actin filaments are shown to undergo a structural change during polymerization. In the early stages of the polymerization process (t less than 2 min), filaments exhibit a pronounced structural variation and frequently show a central low-density area. In the later stages of the polymerization, F-actin-ADP filaments have a more uniform appearance and rarely display a central low-density area. These findings, analysed on the basis of a previously proposed polymerization model, suggest that polymerization intermediates (F-actin-ATP and more probably F-actin-ADP-Pi) and filaments at steady state (F-actin-ADP) have different structures. To investigate the physiological relevance of these results at the cellular level, the potential of cryo-substitution in preserving the structure of muscular fibre was assessed. Optical diffraction patterns of relaxed and contracted frog cutaneous muscle are similar to the corresponding X-ray diffraction patterns. The resolution of the images extends to about 7 nm. These results show that dynamic study of muscle contraction is possible using cryo-substitution.