The kinetics of magnesium adenosine triphosphate cleavage in skinned muscle fibres of the rabbit.

The time course of magnesium adenosine triphosphate (Mg ATP) cleavage in chemically skinned muscle fibres of the rabbit was measured by a method in which Mg ATP cleavage was initiated by photolytic release of ATP from P3-1-(2-nitro)phenylethyladenosine 5'-triphosphate (caged ATP) and terminated by rapid freezing 50 ms to 8 s later. Up to 5 mM-ATP was released following a single 50 ns laser pulse at 347 nm. Mg ATP cleavage was measured at 19 degrees C in the presence and absence of calcium ions, for fibres near rest length and stretched beyond overlap of the myofilaments. At full overlap and in the absence of calcium (less than 10(-8) M) and nucleotide, the fibres developed rigor tension. Following the laser pulse the tension decreased to that of a relaxed fibre in two distinct phases. The first phase lasted about 40 ms and was followed by a second phase during which tension decreased to zero with an approximately exponential time course with a rate constant of 11 s-1. In the presence of 2 X 10(-5) M-free calcium ions, the initial phase following the laser flash lasted approximately 13 ms, and was followed by an exponential rise of tension with a rate constant of 28 s-1. The active tension reached by the muscle fibres was 54 kN/m2. For fibres stretched beyond overlap, no change in tension was observed following the release of Mg ATP. Under all conditions the time course of Mg ATP cleavage was biphasic, and consisted of a rapid initial burst of ADP formation, complete within 50 ms, followed by a slower steady-state rate of Mg ATP cleavage. The number of molecules of Mg ATP cleaved during the burst was approximately equal to the number of myosin subfragment 1 heads for fibres at full myofilament overlap, and equal to 0.7 molecules per myosin subfragment 1 head for fibres stretched beyond overlap. At full overlap in the presence of calcium ions, the steady-state rate equalled 1.8 mol Mg ATP cleaved per mole myosin subfragment 1 head per second. In all other cases the steady-state rate of Mg ATP cleavage was at least 10-fold less. When fibres at full overlap were pre-incubated with 2 mM-ADP, the initial phase of the tension response was somewhat prolonged, but the burst of ADP formation was also complete within 50 ms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)