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Biomedical subjects

N R Alpert

Publications and source records attributed to N R Alpert.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Heart muscle mechanics.

The goal implicit in the research reviewed above is to describe the contractile behavior of heart muscle in terms of crossbridge and filament behavior. It is necessary to elucidate these details in cardiac muscle because of the distinct biochemical differences between skeletal and cardiac myosin. As is evident in this review, significant advances have been made toward describing unique mechanical properties of cardiac muscle crossbridges. Several major problems now require attention: (a) Activation parameters are labile, making mechanical measurements sensitive to measurement perturbation; (b) significant structural inhomogeneities at the cellular and sarcomere level prevent precise assignment of externally measured force to internal structures (force generators, passive elements) within whole cardiac muscle and individual cells; (c) high resting stiffness and forces of poorly understood origin and properties confound attempts to interpret force measurements and dynamics. The differences between heart and skeletal muscle myosin may provide the means for identifying structural counterparts of the Huxley-Simmons model (33); they may also be useful in evaluating the electrostatic and quantum-mechanical models.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1978

The ATPase activity of subfragment-1 from the hypertrophied heart.

Myosin and subfragment-1 were prepared from rabbit hearts hypertrophied secondary to pulmonary artery constriction. The Ca2+ -stimulated ATPase activity was reduced while the potassium/EDTA-stimulated ATPase activity was unchanged in both the myosin and subfragment 1 (S-1) from hypertrophied hearts. When hypertrophy myosin was mixed with an equal quantity of control myosin, the ATPase activity of the mixed protein fell halfway between control and hypertrophy values. Similar results were obtained with control and hypertrophy S-1. The actin-stimulated ATPase activity of hypertrophy S-1 was slightly depressed but unlike hypertrophy myosin this depression was not significant when compared to normal S-1. This suggests that papain cleavage may have removed part of the conformational difference that exists between control and hypertrophy myosins.

Actins↗
PubMed1978

Isometric force development, isotonic shortening, and elasticity measurements from Ca2+-activated ventricular muscle of the guinea pig.

Isometric tension and isotonic shortening were measured at constant levels of calcium activation of varying magnitude in mechanically disrupted EGTA-treated ventricular bundles from guinea pigs. The results were as follows: (a) The effect of creatine phosphate (CP) on peak tension and rate of shortening saturated at a CP concentration more than 10 mM; below that level tension was increased and shortening velocity decreased. We interpreted this to mean that CP above 10 mM was sufficient to buffer MgATP(2-) intracellularly. (b) The activated bundles exhibited an exponential stress-strain relationship and the series elastic properties did not vary appreciably with degree of activation or creatine phosphate level. (c) At a muscle length 20 percent beyond just taut, peak tension increased with Ca(2+) concentration over the range slightly below 10(-6) to slightly above 10(-4)M. (d) By releasing the muscle length-active tension curves were constructed. Force declined to 20 percent peak tension with a decrease in muscle length (after the recoil) of only 11 percent at 10(-4)M Ca(2+) and 6 percent at 4x10(-6)M Ca(2+). (e) The rate of shortening after a release was greater at lower loads. At identical loads (relative to maximum force at a given Ca(2+) level), velocity at a given time after the release was less at lower Ca(2+) concentrations; at 10 M(-5), velocity was 72 percent of that at 10(-4)M, and at 4x10(-6)M, active shortening was usually delayed and was 40 percent of the velocity at 10(-4) M. Thus, under the conditions of these experiments, both velocity and peak tension depend on the level of Ca(2+) activation over a similar range of Ca(2+) concentration.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1977

Functional integrity of the SH1 site in myosin from hypertrophied myocardium.

The hypothesis that an alteration in the SH1 site of hypertrophy myosin is reponsible for the reduced Ca2+-stimulated ATPase activity is examined.The functional integrity of the SH1 site was evaluated by measurement of the (K+)-EDTA-stimulated and Mg2+-inhibited ATPase activities. Neither activity differed from control although the Ca2+-stimulated ATPase of the same preparations was significantly reduced. The reduction in Ca2+-activated ATPase was independent of ionic strength. Titration with N-ethylmaleimide elevated the Ca2+-stimulated ATPase of hypertrophy myosin to the same peak activity as control. Actin-stimulated ATPase activity of hypertrophy myosin was also reduced. The results indicate that the SH1 of hypertrophy myosin is functionally intact for (K+)EDTA-stimulated ATPase and Mg2+ inhibition, but functionally deficient with regard to Ca2+-stimulated and actin-activated ATPase activities. This implies a partition of the functional aspects of SH1.

Actins↗
PubMed1977

The thyroid in the spontaneously hypertensive rat: a light and electron microscopic study.

The present study was undertaken to seek ultrastructural changes in the thyroid gland of the spontaneously hypertensive rat which would contribute to the understanding of previously reported abnormalities in thyroid function. Light and electron microscopic observations and measurements of plasma T3 and systolic blood pressure were recorded from a colony of Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) and of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The systolic blood pressure of SHR was significantly higher than that of WKY but the plasma T3 levels of the two groups did not differ significantly. After administration of propylthiouracil (PTU), serum T3 levels and systolic pressure of both groups decreased. The size of the thyroid follicles in SHR was highly variable throughout the gland, and the colloid contained unevenly dense areas and cell debris. The follicular cells contained slightly dilated rough surfaced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and numerous pleomorphic bodies of uneven density. After treatment with PTU, the vessels between the follicles of SHR did not become as dilated as those in WKY but the fine structure of follicular cells in SHR was similar to that of WKY and was characteristic of the typical thyroid response to PTU administration. We suggest that the thyroid in SHR does not respond adequately to the elevated TSH levels reported to be present in these animals, although it can respond to the highly elevated TSH levels which occur with PTU administration. This impairment most probably involves defects in synthesis and/or secretion of thyroid hormones in response to TSH stimulation.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Metal-film thermopiles for use with rabbit right ventricular papillary muscles.

A method of fabricating Hill-Downing type, planar thermopiles by vacuum-deposition techniques is described in detail. The present model was designed for initial heat measurements on rabbit papillary muscles as small as 1 mg blotted wt, but it is also suitable for small bundles of frog muscle fibers (30-75). The thermopile has 20 or 14 junctions, an active length of 5 or 3.5 mm, and an actual thickness of 20 micrometer. It has an effective heat capacity of about 0.3 mcal/degrees C, a heat loss coefficient of about 0.3 mcal/degrees C - s, a temperature sensitivity of 1.4 mV/degrees C (20 junctions), and an electrical resistance of 180-200 omega. Infrared-emitting diodes are used to heat the thermopile and muscle artificially for thermal time constant and conduction-delay measurements. Performance of the thermopiles is demonstrated with initial heat records from rabbit right ventricular papillary muscles and a bundle of frog semitendinosus muscle fibers. Results of preliminary experiments concerning latency for heat generation, initial rate of heat generation, and activation heat in both types of muscles are presented.

Alloys↗
PubMed1977

The mechanical characteristics of hypertrophied rabbit cardiac muscle in the absence of congestive heart failure: the contractile and series elastic elements.

Right ventricular papillary muscles from normal rabbits and rabbits with sustained pulmonary artery constriction (67% decrease in external diameter) were studied at several resting muscle lengths and at an early instant in the isometric twitch. Instantaneous force-velocity data were obtained at 30-38% of time to peak tension (TPT) and at 96%, 98%, and 100% of the resting muscle length at which active twitch tension was maximal. Unloaded shortening velocity (Vmax) was estimated with a linearized form of the Hill hyperbolic formula, and was depressed in hypertrophy to 36% less than normal. We found that Vmax did not change with muscle length in the normal or hypertrophied muscles; therefore there was a length- and time-independent depression of contractile element shortening capacity that was consistent with previous work from this laboratory which demonstrated a depression of myosin and actomyosin ATPase activity in hypertrophy.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Purification of cardiac myosin. Application to hypertrophied myocardium.

A method is described for the preparation of high purity myosin from small amounts of cardiac muscle. The method employs homogenization and prolonged extraction of the cardiac tissue. Purification is achieved through three successive precipitation-dissolution cycles and without the use of column chromatographic techniques. Purity of the myosin preparation is assessed at various stages of the purification procedure by sodium dodecylsulfate-acrylamide gel electrophoresis and by measurement of RNA and nucleoprotein content. With 1.5-2.0 g of rabbit right ventricle as the starting tissue, this method yields 4-6 mg myosin per g wet tissue. The method is also shown to give similar results with rabbit right ventricles hypertrophied by pulmonary stenosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

A stable, sensitive, low-compliance capacitance force transducer.

The measurement of active and passive force levels in heart muscle requires short-and long-term base-line stability. The capacitance force transducer described here represents an optimization of the relationship between sensitivity, compliance, and frequency response in a design that minimizes long-term base-line drift related to thermal gradients within the apparatus. Thermal stability of the instrument is obtained with the use of quartz and Invar in the construction of the variable capacitor, the maintenance of internal transducer temperature at a constant level well above ambient, and the use of thermally insulating air gaps. Sensitivity ranges from 1.0 to 2.0 V/g wt in the several instruments tested, the output is linear, compliance is negligible with static loads up to 6 g wt, hysteresis is not significant with transient loading with 20 g wt, and long-term drift is greater than or equal to 0.050 g wt. These instruments are designed for use with myocardial preparations but can be adapted for skeletal muscle experiments.

Heart↗
PubMed1972

The effect of shortening on the time-course of active state decay.

The active state describes the force developed in a muscle when the contractile elements are neither lengthening nor shortening. Recently it was suggested that perturbations used to measure the active state also alter the time-course of the active state. The present research was undertaken to assess quantitatively the effect of two such perturbations, isotonic shortening and quick release, on the active state in frog sartorius muscle. Methods were developed which allowed the determination of active state points following periods of controlled isotonic shortening or quick release early in the contraction cycle. All experiments were carried out within the plateau region of the length-tension curve. Both isotonic shortening and quick release altered the active state decay. The active state force decreased as the extent of shortening or release was increased. For each 0.1 mm of isotonic shortening there was a 2% decrease in active state force. Quick release produced a larger decrement. From this data we conclude that the time-course of active state can be measured only in relative terms because it is altered by the motion which takes place in the contractile machine while the active state is being measured. This finding helps to resolve paradoxes in the literature relating to the time-course of the active state, calculated and experimentally determined isometric tetanic myograms, and the heat of shortening.

Animals↗