Biomedical subjects

M C Reedy

Publications and source records attributed to M C Reedy.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1990

X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy from Lethocerus flight muscle partially relaxed by adenylylimidodiphosphate and ethylene glycol.

The low-angle X-ray diffraction pattern from Lethocerus flight muscle fibres was recorded in rigor or under two conditions that modify crossbridge structure and behaviour, aqueous adenylylimidodiphosphate (AMPPNP) and AMPPNP + calcium in an ethylene glycol-water mixture. The effects on the 38.7 nm layer-line peaks (hk.6) of the diffraction patterns were studied in detail. In aqueous AMPPNP at room temperature, a condition in which rigor tension drops to half without loss of stiffness, the peaks remained nearly as intense as in rigor except for the 10.6, which dropped to half. In 20% (v/v) ethylene glycol-AMPPNP + 100 microM-Ca2+ at 23 degrees C (gly + pnp + Ca), a condition which removed muscle tension but left stiffness close to the rigor value, the 10.6 and 11.6 peaks greatly decreased but the 31.6 remained relatively high. The 14.5 nm meridional peak (00.16) became stronger on addition of AMPPNP and again on adding glycol + calcium. Considered in terms of constructively interfering filaments and crossbridges, the X-ray data indicated a transfer of diffracting crossbridge mass towards the thick filament as relaxation proceeds. We compared the X-ray diffraction patterns and crossbridge structure seen with electron microscopy (EM) under the same chemical conditions. EM and X-ray observations were mutually quite consistent overall. However, X-ray data indicated that more crossbridge mass was stereospecifically related to actin before fixation in the partially relaxed state (gly + pnp + Ca) than was suggested by the disordered crossbridge profiles seen by EM. We conclude that myosin heads at the start of the power stroke may both be closely related to their thick filament origins and form actin-determined attachments to the thin filament.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1990

Binding of ADP and adenosine 5'-[beta, gamma-imido]triphosphate to insect flight muscle fibrils.

We have studied the binding of ADP and adenosine 5'-[beta, gamma-imido]triphosphate (AdoPP[NH]P) to insect flight muscle fibrils. We find that 25% of the myosin heads, presumably those which do not interact with actin, bind AdoPP[NH]P with a binding constant greater than 3 X 10(6) M-1, similar to the binding constant of the same compound to the rabbit myosin heads which do not overlap with actin. The remaining heads in insect myofibrils bind AdoPP[NH]P with an association constant of 8 X 10(3) M-1, which is eight times stronger than the affinity of this compound for rabbit myosin heads in overlap with actin. Therefore, in contrast to the situation with rabbit myofibrils where AdoPP[NH]P binds much more weakly than ADP, with insect myofibrils these two adenosine phosphates bind with almost equal affinity. This is consistent with the numerous structural studies on insect flight muscle which were interpreted on the basis that most of the actomyosin sites were saturated with nucleotide at an AdoPP[NH]P concentration of 1 mM.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

PubMed1990

Molecular genetics of Drosophila alpha-actinin: mutant alleles disrupt Z disc integrity and muscle insertions.

We have isolated a Drosophila melanogaster alpha-actinin gene and partially characterized several mutant alleles. The Drosophila protein sequence is very similar (68% identity) to those of chicken alpha-actinin isoforms, but less closely related (30% identity) to Dictyostelium alpha-actinin. The gene is within subdivision 2C of the X chromosome, coincident with 15 lethal (1)2Cb mutations. At least four alleles, l(1)2Cb1, l(1)2Cb2, l(1)2Cb4, and l(1)2Cb5 are interrupted by rearrangement breakpoints and must be null. In all four cases, hemizygous mutants complete embryogenesis and do not die until the second day of larval growth, signifying that either the role of alpha-actinin in nonmuscle cells is redundant or that a distinct and only distantly related gene encodes the non-muscle isoform. Allelic but less severely affected fliA mutants are apparently due to point mutations, and develop into adults having thoracic muscle abnormalities. EM of mutant muscles reveals that Z discs and myofibrillar attachments are disrupted, whereas epithelial "tendon" cells are less affected. We discuss these phenotypes in the light of presumed in vivo alpha-actinin functions.

Actinin↗

PubMed1989

Formation of reverse rigor chevrons by myosin heads.

The uniform angle and conformation of myosin subfragment 1 (S1) bound to actin filaments (F-actin) attest to the precise alignment and stereospecificity of the binding of these two contractile proteins. Because actin filaments are polar, myosin heads must swing or rotate about the head-tail junction in order to bind. Electron microscopy of isolated thick filaments and of myosin molecules suggests that the molecules are flexible, but myosin fragments and crossbridges have been reported not to interact with inappropriately oriented actin filaments. Here we describe myofibrillar defects engendered by a site-directed mutation within the flight-muscle-specific actin gene of the fruitfly Drosophila. The mutation apparently retards sarcomere assembly: peripheral thick and thin filaments are misregistered and not incorporated into the Z-line. Therefore, a myosin filament encounters thin filaments with the 'wrong' polarity. We show that myosin heads tethered in a single thick filament can bind with opposite rigor crossbridge angles to flanking thin filaments, which are apparently of opposite polarities. Preservation of identical actomyosin interfaces requires that sets of heads originating from opposite sides of the thick filament swivel 180 degrees relative to each other, implying that myosin crossbridges are as flexible as isolated molecules.

Actins↗

PubMed1989

Three-dimensional image reconstruction of insect flight muscle. I. The rigor myac layer.

We have obtained detailed three-dimensional images of in situ cross-bridge structure in insect flight muscle by electron microscopy of multiple tilt views of single filament layers in ultrathin sections, supplemented with data from thick sections. In this report, we describe the images obtained of the myac layer, a 25-nm longitudinal section containing a single layer of alternating myosin and actin filaments. The reconstruction reveals averaged rigor cross-bridges that clearly separate into two classes constituting lead and rear chevrons within each 38.7-nm axial repeat. These two classes differ in tilt angle, size and shape, density, and slew. This new reconstruction confirms our earlier interpretation of the lead bridge as a two-headed cross-bridge and the rear bridge as a single-headed cross-bridge. The importance of complementing tilt series with additional projections outside the goniometer tilt range is demonstrated by comparison with our earlier myac layer reconstruction. Incorporation of this additional data reveals new details of rigor cross-bridge structure in situ which include clear delineation of (a) a triangular shape for the lead bridge, (b) a smaller size for the rear bridge, and (c) density continuity across the thin filament in the lead bridge. Within actin's regular 38.7-nm helical repeat, local twist variations in the thin filament that correlate with the two cross-bridge classes persist in this new reconstruction. These observations show that in situ rigor cross-bridges are not uniform, and suggest three different myosin head conformations in rigor.

Actins↗

PubMed1989

Three-dimensional image reconstruction of insect flight muscle. II. The rigor actin layer.

The averaged structure of rigor cross-bridges in insect flight muscle is further revealed by three-dimensional reconstruction from 25-nm sections containing a single layer of thin filaments. These exhibit two thin filament orientations that differ by 60 degrees from each other and from myac layer filaments. Data from multiple tilt views (to +/- 60 degrees) was supplemented by data from thick sections (equivalent to 90 degrees tilts). In combination with the reconstruction from the myac layer (Taylor et al., 1989), the entire unit cell is reconstructed, giving the most complete view of in situ cross-bridges yet obtained. All our reconstructions show two classes of averaged rigor cross-bridges. Lead bridges have a triangular shape with leading edge angled at approximately 45 degrees and trailing edge angled at approximately 90 degrees to the filament axis. We propose that the lead bridge contains two myosin heads of differing conformation bound along one strand of F-actin. The lead bridge is associated with a region of the thin filament that is apparently untwisted. We suggest that the untwisting may reflect the distribution of strain between myosin and actin resulting from two-headed, single filament binding in the lead bridge. Rear bridges are oriented at approximately 90 degrees to the filament axis, and are smaller and more cylindrical, suggesting that they consist of single myosin heads. The rear bridge is associated with a region of apparently normal thin filament twist. We propose that differing myosin head angles and conformations consistently observed in rigor embody different stages of the power stroke which have been trapped by a temporal sequence of rigor cross-bridge formation under the constraints of the intact filament lattice.

Actins↗

PubMed1988

Two attached non-rigor crossbridge forms in insect flight muscle.

We have performed thin-section electron microscopy on muscle fibers fixed in different mechanically monitored states, in order to identify structural changes in myosin crossbridges associated with force production and maintenance. Tension and stiffness of fibers from glycerinated Lethocerus flight muscle were monitored during a sequence of conditions using AMPPNP and then AMPPNP plus increasing concentrations of ethylene glycol, which brought fibers through a graded sequence from rigor relaxation. Two intermediate crossbridge forms distinct from the rigor or relaxed forms were observed. The first was produced by AMPPNP at 20 degrees C, which reduced isometric tension 60 to 70% below rigor level without reducing rigor stiffness. Electron microscopy of these fibers showed that, in spite of the drop in tension, no obvious change from the 45 degrees crossbridge angle characteristic of rigor occurred. However, the thick filament ends of the crossbridges were altered from their rigor positions, so that they now marked a 14.5 nm repeat, and formed four separate origins at each crossbridge level. The bridges were also less slewed and bent than rigor bridges, as seen in transverse sections. The second crossbridge form was seen in glycol-AMPPNP at 4 degrees C, just below the glycol concentration that produced mechanical relaxation. These fibers retained 90% of rigor stiffness at 40 Hz oscillation, but would not bear sustained tension. Stiffness was also high in the presence of calcium at room temperature under similar conditions. Electron microscopy showed crossbridges projecting from the thick filaments at an angle that centered around 90 degrees, rather than the 45 degree angle familiar from rigor. This coupling of relaxed appearance with persistent stiffness suggests that the 90 degree form may represent a weakly attached crossbridge state like that proposed to precede force development in current models of the crossbridge power stroke.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1988

Two attached non-rigor crossbridge forms.

It is possible to produce a graded progression from rigor toward relaxation using MgAMPPNP and substituting ethylene glycol for part of the solvent water. Fibers have been brought through this progression to various stages while measuring isometric force and stiffness, then fixed for thin-section electron microscopy. Distinct state-dependent crossbridge forms were observed in thin cross and longitudinal sections. When MgAMPPNP was added to rigor fibers at 23 degrees C, the tension dropped to about one-third of its original value, but crossbridge angle remained at 45 degrees. Distinct changes were seen in crossbridge shape and angle close to the thick filament, presumably in the S2 region of myosin. Adding 30% glycol in the presence of AMPPNP reduced tension to nearly zero while stiffness remained high, provided either calcium was present or the muscle was kept cold. Under these conditions, the crossbridges were oriented at approximately 90 degrees to the filaments, and in cross-section appeared straight and joined the thick filament at separate azimuths. Raising the glycol concentration to 40% or the temperature to 23 degrees C in the absence of calcium lowered the stiffness to a value slightly above that of MgATP relaxed muscle. The 90 degrees crossbridge forms seen in stiff versus relaxed fibers were closely similar but the distribution of bridges and the optical transforms suggested more bridge attachments when stiffness was high. The 90 degrees crossbridges appear structurally distinct from the rigor form and may in the stiff fibers represent a stable but weak binding state of the actomyosin contact.

Actins↗

PubMed1987

The structure of insect flight muscle in the presence of AMPPNP.

Glycerinated insect (Lethocerus) flight muscle in the presence of the non-hydrolysable ATP-analogue AMPPNP (1 mM at 4 degrees C) has been prepared for electron microscopy using X-ray diffraction monitoring during fixation and embedding. Superior preservation of the original structure has been achieved through use of a fixative which included tannic acid and excess Mg2+. New features have been recognized in single filament layers (myac and actin) and 15 nm cross sections. As previously shown, some aspects of relaxed structure (14.5 nm shelves along thick filaments) and of rigor (38.7 nm angled bridges along thin filaments) are retained in a modified form. New observations include: (1) In 15 nm cross sections that show single 14.5 nm levels: (a) The flared X structure characteristic of rigor is replaced by a straight-X figure in which the crossbridge density is aligned along the myosin-actin plane, rather than skewed across it as in rigor. (b) In AMPPNP, each crossbridge appears to have a separate origin from the thick filament, rather than bifurcating two from one stem as in the flared X of rigor. The separation of crossbridge origins is also evidenced by the loss of 'ladder rungs' in actin layers. (2) A halving (19.3 nm) of the 38.7 nm axial repeat along actin, rather than a thirding (12.9 nm) as in rigor, indicates redistribution of bridge attachments in cold AMPPNP. (3) In AMPPNP, the 14.5 nm shelves of density around the thick filament shaft are thicker but extend to smaller radius than similar shelves in ATP-relaxed muscle. This is shown by a lack of 14.5 nm periodicity and diffraction in actin layers of AMPPNP, in contrast to ATP-relaxed actin layers, in which the 14.5 nm period is present. Our results suggest that attached crossbridges are modified by AMPPNP and that ordered features of the analogue state are not accounted for solely by detached myosin heads or by a mixture of relaxed and rigor crossbridges. A two-domain model for the crossbridge is proposed. Domain 1 binds to the thin filament, and while bound, maintains a constant stereospecificity to actin at low resolution, independent of the type or presence of nucleotide at the myosin active site. Domain 2 is proximal to the thick filament and can exist in two characteristic states. In the absence of nucleotide (rigor), Domain 2 adopts a variable relationship to the thick filament, to accommodate the actin-bound end of the bridge.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Actins↗

PubMed1987

Developmental changes in the ultrastructure and sarcomere shortening of the isolated rabbit ventricular myocyte.

Sarcomere shortening and ultrastructure of intact isolated myocytes from ventricles of three-week-old and adult rabbits were examined. Cells were fixed and embedded, and after measuring their sarcomere shortening in response to electrical stimulation, they were examined in serial thin sections by electron microscopy. This structure-function analysis showed that adult cells were significantly larger, had longer rest sarcomere lengths, greater amount and velocity of sarcomere shortening, greater velocity of reextension, and shorter contraction duration than immature cells. In immature myocytes, a thin outer shell of myofibrils enveloped a central mass of mitochondria and nuclei, but in adult cells, the cytoskeleton divided the cell into compartments with the mitochondria arranged around and interspersed among the myofibrils. The different arrangement of the organelles and the cytoskeleton at the two ages may account for the shorter rest sarcomere length in the young myocytes and may confer differing internal loads that contribute to their smaller amount and velocity of sarcomere shortening. The corbular and longitudinal sarcoplasmic reticulum were less demarcated in immature than in adult cells. Myocytes from both ages showed postextrasystolic potentiation, suggesting that the sarcoplasmic reticulum modulates calcium at both ages. Restitution of contractility between contractions, obtained by measuring sarcomere shortening of interpolated extrasystoles, was faster in immature than in adult cells and may reflect the structural differences in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The developmental differentiation in the sarcoplasmic reticulum suggests that changes in compartmentalization of calcium and in the distribution of putative calcium-release sites contribute to the increased contractility of adult myocytes.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Image reconstruction using electron micrographs of insect flight muscle. Use of thick transverse sections to supplement data from tilted thin longitudinal sections.

Three-dimensional reconstruction using electron micrographs of thin sections is a powerful technique for determining cross-bridge structure. Tilt restrictions in the electron microscope prevent data collection beyond tilt angles of 60 degrees, giving rise to a "missing cone" of transform data. We show here how much of this data can be obtained using micrographs of thick transverse sections, and the effect this data has on reconstructed images of the insect flight muscle MYAC layer. As a byproduct, the analysis showed that section thinning resulting from prolonged electron irradiation had occurred in the thin longitudinal section used for the previously published MYAC layer reconstruction (Taylor et al., 1984). Comparison of projection density maps calculated from the thin longitudinal section reconstruction and the thick section data show that the data within the missing cone that is not accessible by tilting sharpens the boundaries of the components, flattens the density profile across the thick filament, and enlarges the molecular envelope of the thin filament. We conclude that the reconstructed images of the MYAC layer provide a picture of the structural principles underlying the system but that transform data within the missing cone are necessary to describe accurately the envelopes and profiles of these structural elements.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗

PubMed1985

Rigor crossbridge structure in tilted single filament layers and flared-X formations from insect flight muscle.

The averaged structure of rigor crossbridges in insect flight muscle has been studied in filtered images. Their three-dimensional structure has been deduced by relating tilt views of single filament layers in 25 nm longitudinal sections (myac layers and actin layers) to the flared-X appearance in 15 nm cross-sections showing single crossbridge levels. Tilting myac or actin layers around the filament axis makes crossbridges show one of two patterns. Beadlike densities appear either singly over thin filaments ("center-beading") or doubled and flanking thin filaments ("straddle-beading"). These express two different projections from the crossbridge-actin complexes as seen end-on in flared-X formations. Tannic acid/glutaraldehyde fixation gave improved actin preservation, showing, in 15 nm cross-sections, the long-pitch helical strands as "two-dot" profiles of consistent azimuth in the gaps between double chevrons. The azimuth in the flared-X arms was then inferred from lattice relationships, since it was not seen directly. The tangential attachment of comma-shaped crossbridges to the inferred actin dyad fits the binding geometry in recent actin-subfragment 1 complex reconstructions. However, averaged crossbridge structure differs between lead and rear members of double chevrons, unlike the uniform heads on decorated actin. In filtered images of myac layers, the lead bridges are dense and steeply angled; the rear chevron is seen as a dense bead over the thin filament with faint, less angled bars extending laterally. Actin layer images also suggest that rear and lead bridges differ in angle. Left and right flared-X arms are end-on views of lead and rear chevron bridges, respectively, and differ in shape. Improved fixation with tannic acid/glutaraldehyde allows us to distinguish three crossbridge domains in flared-X arms: (1) a dense bulb-like head merged into the thin filament; (2) a dense but thinner neck tangential to actin; and (3) a faint thin stem joining the necks to myosin filaments. Shape differences in lead and rear members between the head-neck-actin complexes are indicated by the names "L sigmoid" and "R dogleg". Within crossbridges, internal angles between the head-neck axis and the head-actin-head axis differ between sigmoid and dogleg by about 30 degrees, implying a flexible junction between bridge-head and bridge-neck. Lead and rear bridges are axially at least 13 nm apart on actin; the expected 60 degrees difference in azimuth is expressed by head-neck portions, but the head-actin-head axis rotates by only 30 degrees.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Actins↗

PubMed1985

Binding of myosin subfragment 1 to glycerinated insect flight muscle in the rigor state.

The binding of rabbit muscle myosin subfragment 1 (S1) to glycerinated insect flight muscle fibers has been studied by low-angle x-ray diffraction, quantitative sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis, quantitative interference microscopy, and electron microscopy. Changes induced in the rigor x-ray diffraction pattern are consistent with the idea that vacant myosin-binding sites on thin filaments are filled by exogenous S1. Electron microscopy indicates that S1 permeates and labels fibers and fibrils completely. Electron micrographs also show that cross-bridges are not displaced by exogenous S1 under the conditions used, and this is supported by the unchanged mechanical stiffness of the S1-labeled fibers. The amount of bound S1, as measured by gel electrophoresis and interference microscopy, together with the magnitude of the intensity changes in the x-ray diffraction pattern, is consistent with a thick filament structure that contains four molecules of endogenous myosin per 14.5 nm of its length, but does not agree well with earlier estimates of six myosins per crown. Lack of information on possible inhibition of S1-binding by factors other than the presence of cross-bridges, e.g., troponin, render uncertain calculations of the number of attached cross-bridges in the rigor state. However, it appears that at least 75% of the endogenous myosin heads are attached. Occupancy of binding sites on thin filaments after incubation with S1 is high, probably greater than 85%, so that x-ray scattering from those parts of the structure that adhere to the symmetry of the thin filaments can be treated as diffraction from S1-decorated thin filaments. In addition, we show in thin flared X cross sections that exo-S1 heads bind to actin with the geometry described in decorated actin by Taylor, K.A., and L.A. Amos.

Actins↗

PubMed1985

The presence of two skeletal muscle alpha-actinins correlates with troponin-tropomyosin expression and Z-line width.

Two species of alpha-actinin from rabbit fast skeletal muscles were identified with a monospecific antisera. Designated alpha-actinin1f and alpha-actinin2f, their distribution in muscles does not correlate with histochemically defined fast fiber type. Rather, the presence of each correlates with Z-line width and with the expression of different thin filament Ca2+-regulatory complexes. alpha-Actinin1f is expressed with troponin T 1f-alpha beta tropomyosin, and alpha-actinin2f with troponin T 2f-alpha 2 tropomyosin. CNBr peptide maps show that the fast alpha-actinin species differ in primary structure. In contrast, the slow alpha-actinin is indistinguishable from alpha-actinin1f. Further evidence for the similarity of alpha-actinin1f and slow alpha-actinin comes from electron microscopic studies which show that fibers that express these species exhibit thick Z-lines. So, unlike other contractile proteins, the multiple forms of alpha-actinin do not reflect the distinction between fast- and slow-twitch muscles.

Actinin↗