Biomedical subjects

S J Kron

Publications and source records attributed to S J Kron.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1990

Myosin step size. Estimation from slow sliding movement of actin over low densities of heavy meromyosin.

We have estimated the step size of the myosin cross-bridge (d, displacement of an actin filament per one ATP hydrolysis) in an in vitro motility assay system by measuring the velocity of slowly moving actin filaments over low densities of heavy meromyosin on a nitrocellulose surface. In previous studies, only filaments greater than a minimum length were observed to undergo continuous sliding movement. These filaments moved at the maximum speed (Vo), while shorter filaments dissociated from the surface. We have now modified the assay system by including 0.8% methylcellulose in the ATP solution. Under these conditions, filaments shorter than the previous minimum length move, but significantly slower than Vo, as they are propelled by a limited number of myosin heads. These data are consistent with a model that predicts that the sliding velocity (v) of slowly moving filaments is determined by the product of vo and the fraction of time when at least one myosin head is propelling the filament, that is, v = vo [1-(1-ts/tc)N], where ts is the time the head is strongly bound to actin, tc is the cycle time of ATP hydrolysis, and N is the average number of myosin heads that can interact with the filament. Using this equation, the optimum value of ts/tc to fit the measured relationship between v and N was calculated to be 0.050. Assuming d = vots, the step size was then calculated to be between 10nm and 28 nm per ATP hydrolyzed, the latter value representing the upper limit. This range is within that of geometric constraint for conformational change imposed by the size of the myosin head, and therefore is not inconsistent with the swinging cross-bridge model tightly coupled with ATP hydrolysis.

Actins↗

PubMed1990

The myosin step size: measurement of the unit displacement per ATP hydrolyzed in an in vitro assay.

Chemomechanical coupling in muscle contraction may be due to "swinging crossbridges," such that a change in the angle at which the myosin head binds to the actin filament is tightly coupled to release of products of ATP hydrolysis. This model would limit the step size, the unit displacement of actin produced by a single ATP hydrolysis, to less than twice the chord length of the myosin head. Recent measurements have found the step size to be significantly larger than this geometric limit, bringing into question any direct correspondence between the crossbridge and ATP-hydrolysis cycles. We have measured the rate of ATP hydrolysis due to actin sliding movement in an in vitro motility assay consisting of purified actin and purified myosin. We have calculated an apparent myosin step size well within the geometric limit set by the size of the myosin head. These data are consistent with tight coupling between myosin crossbridge movement and ATP hydrolysis.

Actins↗

PubMed1990

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.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗

PubMed1986

Fluorescent actin filaments move on myosin fixed to a glass surface.

Single actin filaments stabilized with fluorescent phalloidin exhibit ATP-dependent movement on myosin filaments fixed to a surface. At pH 7.4 and 24 degrees C, the rates of movement average 3-4 micron/s with skeletal muscle myosin and 1-2 micron/s with Dictyostelium myosin. These rates are very similar to those measured in our previous myosin movement assays. The rates of movement are relatively independent of the type of actin used. The filament velocity shows a broad pH optimum between 7.0 and 9.0, and the concentration of ATP required for half-maximal velocity is 50 microM. Evidence was obtained to suggest that movement of actin over myosin requires at most the number of heads in a single thick filament. This system provides a practical, quantitative myosin-movement assay with purified proteins.

Actins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Movement of myosin-coated beads on oriented filaments reconstituted from purified actin.

Although the biochemical properties of the actin/myosin interaction have been studied extensively using actin activation of myosin ATPase as an assay, until recently no well-defined assay has been available to measure the mechanical properties of ATP-dependent movement of myosin along actin filaments. The first direct measurements of the rate of myosin movement in vitro used a naturally occurring, biochemically ill-defined array of actin filaments from the alga Nitella. We report here the construction of an oriented array of filaments reconstituted from purified muscle actin and the use of this array in a biochemically defined quantitative assay for the directed movement of myosin-coated polystyrene beads. We demonstrate for the first time that actin alone, linked to a substratum by a protein anchor, is sufficient to support movement of myosin at rates consistent with the speeds of muscle contraction and other forms of cell motility.

Actins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Myosin subfragment-1 is sufficient to move actin filaments in vitro.

The rotating crossbridge model for muscle contraction proposes that force is produced by a change in angle of the crossbridge between the overlapping thick and thin filaments. Myosin, the major component of the thick filament, is comprised of two heavy chains and two pairs of light chains. Together they form two globular heads, which give rise to the crossbridge in muscle, and a coiled-coil rod, which forms the shaft of the thick filament. The isolated head fragment, subfragment-1 (S1), contains the ATPase and actin-binding activities of myosin (Fig. 1). Although S1 seems to have the requisite enzymatic activity, direct evidence that S1 is sufficient to drive actin movement has been lacking. It has long been recognized that in vitro movement assays are an important approach for identifying the elements in muscle responsible for force generation. Hynes et al. showed that beads coated with heavy meromyosin (HMM), a soluble proteolytic fragment of myosin consisting of a part of the rod and the two heads, can move on Nitella actin filaments. Using the myosin-coated surface assay of Kron and Spudich, Harada et al. showed that single-headed myosin filaments bound to glass support movement of actin at nearly the same speed as intact myosin filaments. These studies show that the terminal portion of the rod and the two-headed nature of myosin are not required for movement. To restrict the region responsible for movement further, we have modified the myosin-coated surface assay by replacing the glass surface with a nitrocellulose film. Here we report that myosin filaments, soluble myosin, HMM or S1, when bound to a nitrocellulose film, support actin sliding movement (Fig. 2). That S1 is sufficient to cause sliding movement of actin filaments in vitro gives strong support to models of contraction that place the site of active movement in muscle within the myosin head.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗