[X-ray study of pH-dependence of thick filament structure in stripped fiber bundles of vertebrate skeletal muscles].
Molecular origin of pH-dependence of rigor tension in chemically skinned fibre bundles of rabbit psoas muscle was studied with the help of X-ray diffraction technique. It was found that a shift of pH from the neutral value of about 7.0 either to basic or to acidic regions by one unit is accompanied by changes of relative intensities in a number of meridional reflections. These effects are explained as the result of pH-induced detachment of subfragments-2 of myosin molecules from the thick filament surface. The data obtained indicate that force generation in muscle may be caused by the structural changes of subfragments-2 of myosin molecules.