Absence Of Myosin Research Articles

Molecular Interaction Site on Procoagulant Skeletal Muscle Myosin for Factor Xa-Dependent Prothrombin Activation

Skeletal muscle myosin (SkM) is a muscle protein consisting of a dimer of heterotrimers, each trimer comprising a regulatory light chain (RLC), an essential light chain (ELC), and a heavy chain (HC). Recently it was discovered that SkM has potent procoagulant and prothrombotic activity (Deguchi H, et al, Blood. 2016;128:1870-1878). Mechanistic studies showed that SkM's potent prothrombotic activity involved enhancing thrombin generation due to SkM's ability to bind coagulation factors Xa and Va which accelerates prothrombin activation. However, detailed molecular mechanisms for SkM's binding of these coagulation factors have not been described. Since a well-known myosin inhibitor, trifluoperazine (TFP), inhibited SkM's procoagulant activity and since this inhibitor binds to the ELC in SkM's "neck" region which connects the HC head region to the HC tail (Figure, panel A), we hypothesized that SkM's TFP binding region on the ELC in the neck region directly contributes to SkM's procoagulant activity. To identify potential binding site(s) on SkM for factors Xa and Va, 22 peptides representing the neck region's RLC, ELC, and HC were screened for inhibition of SkM-supported prothrombin activation by purified factor Xa, factor Va, and calcium ions. These peptides contained 25-40 residues and overlapped by approximately 5-10 amino acids. Peptides ELC109-138 and ELC129-159, corresponding to amino acid residues 109-138 and 129-159 of the ELC, inhibited SkM-supported prothrombin activation at 100 μM, whereas their partially overlapping neighboring peptides, ELC99-122 and ELC149-173, did not. Three HC peptides (peptides HC781-810, HC796-835, HC815-854) and one RLC peptide (RLC133-162) inhibited SkM-supported prothrombin activation at 100 μM, and each was also inhibitory, to varying degrees, when assayed at 5 μM. Dose-dependency inhibition assays gave IC50 values (50% inhibition of activity) for the peptides HC781-810, HC796-835, HC815-854, and RLC133-162 of 64, 1.2, 2.3 and 26 μM. Peptides HC781-810 and HC815-854 also inhibited prothrombin activation in the absence of myosin but in the presence of phospholipid vesicles containing 20 % phosphatidylserine (IC50 = 7.5 and 104 μM, respectively). In contrast, the strong inhibitory effects of peptides HC796-835, RLC133-162, ELC109-138 and ELC129-159 seen in the presence of myosin were not at all apparent in the presence of phospholipid-supported prothrombin activation when myosin was absent. This suggests that peptides HC796-835, RLC133-162, ELC109-138 and ELC129-159 specifically inhibit SkM-supported prothrombin activation. The 19 synthetic peptides representing the SkM neck region were also screened at 25 µM (final) for their inhibition of recalcification-induced thrombin generation in human plasma which contains significant circulating levels of SkM. Among the 19 peptides tested, HC796-835 and HC815-854 significantly inhibited thrombin generation when screened at 25 µM in plasma. Immobilized peptide HC796-835 showed direct binding of purified factor Xa with apparent Kd of 1.4 μM. This very potent inhibitory peptide, HC796-835, exhibited 50% inhibition of SkM-enhanced prothrombin activation at 1.2 μM, indicating that this peptide's sequence provides a factor Xa binding site on SkM which contributes to its inhibitory action. More specifically, an overlapping peptide containing amino acid residues 815-835 inhibited SkM-enhanced prothrombin activation by factors Xa and Va while a peptide comprising residues 796-811 did not. These studies suggest that residues 815-835 of SkM's HC are responsible for directly binding factor Xa and implies that this binding is responsible for SkM's procoagulant activity (Figure, panel B). In summary, we identified human SkM peptides which specifically blocked SkM-enhanced thrombin generation but not phospholipid-stimulated prothrombin activation in purified reaction mixtures and which inhibited blood clotting in plasma. The most potent anticoagulant HC peptide also directly binds purified factor Xa. These findings strongly suggest that the neck region of SkM, as defined by these inhibitory peptides (Figure, panel B), provides a phospholipid-independent procoagulant surface for thrombin generation that, depending on the in vivo physiologic context, may contribute to either hemostasis or thrombosis. Figure Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Spontaneous transitions of actin-bound tropomyosin toward blocked and closed states.

After muscle contraction, myosin cross-bridge heads detach from thin actin filaments during relaxation. Structural and kinetic data of cross-bridge-thin filament interactions have shown that tropomyosin's position on F-actin is biased toward the blocked or closed states when myosin detaches. It is not clear if structural linkages between tropomyosin and myosin cross-bridge heads, or tropomyosin and Ca2+-free troponin, drive the process or whether tropomyosin movement is energetically independent of myosin and troponin influence. Here we provide in silico data about tropomyosin dynamics on troponin/myosin-free F-actin indicating that tropomyosin moves from the open state toward blocked- or closed-state positions on actin. To follow transitions inherent to tropomyosin itself on F-actin, we performed MD simulations initiated from the blocked-, open-, and intermediate-state models and followed tropomyosin over the surface of F-actin in the absence of myosin and troponin. These MD simulations maintain tropomyosin in a cable-like conformation, including the tropomyosin overlap domain, while allowing tropomyosin to retain most of its motional freedom. Tropomyosin shows considerable azimuthal movement away from the open state toward the surrounds of a more energetically favorable blocked B-state position over F-actin. In contrast, little movement away from the B-state location is observed. Our results are consistent with previous predictions based on electrostatic interaction energy landscapes determined by rigid-body translocation of tropomyosin. They support the view that in the absence of myosin, i.e., when myosin cross-bridges detach from actin, the blocked- or closed-state positions of tropomyosin are energetically favored, while the open state is not.

Cardiomyopathy Linked Mutations in Alpha Tropomyosin Influence Blocked State Stability but not Myosin Strong Binding

Coiled-coil tropomyosin binds super-helically along F-actin. Together with the troponin complex, tropomyosin inhibits myosin-binding. McKillop and Geeves (1993) introduced a three-state model for thin filament regulation with tropomyosin occupying three positions on the actin filament; blocked, closed and open. In the absence of myosin, tropomyosin primarily occupies the closed and blocked-states with the blocked-state being stabilized by Ca2+-free troponin. The probability of tropomyosin occupying any one of these two states is dependent on factors including cytosolic Ca2+-concentration (altering troponin conformation), mechanical strain, ionic strength, pH, and mutations that alter tropomyosin affinity for actin. Recently, we examined the impact of cardiomyopathy-linked tropomyosin mutations on the energy landscape of the tropomyosin/actin interaction. Our results demonstrated that mutations associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy showed reduced interaction-energy with actin resulting in a destabilization of the blocked-state. Using an in vitro motility assay here, we tested the ability of the mutant tropomyosins to regulate acto-myosin interactions, as well as the impact of strong binding cross-bridges on reconstituted thin filaments containing E40K and E62Q mutations in human alpha-tropomyosin (which lead to dilated (DCM) and hypertrophic (HCM) cardiomyopathies, respectively). Regulated thin filament velocity measurements showed an increase in low-Ca2+ contractility of E62Q reconstituted thin filaments when compared to wild-type and E40K reconstituted thin filaments. The ability of myosin to activate reconstituted mutant thin filaments at low-Ca2+ was not significantly different between the three tropomyosins, indicating that the enhanced motile fraction observed with E62Q is likely due to a destabilization of the blocked-state rather than alterations in myosin-dependent activation. The motility data is consistent with molecular dynamics simulations of the mutant tropomyosins in the presence of actin which show significant, yet subtle and complex alterations to the electrostatic interactions between tropomyosin and actin.

Tropomyosin movement on F-actin during muscle activation explained by energy landscapes

Muscle contraction is regulated by tropomyosin movement across the thin filament surface, which exposes or blocks myosin-binding sites on actin. Recent atomic structures of F-actin–tropomyosin have yielded the positions of tropomyosin on myosin-free and myosin-decorated actin. Here, the repositioning of α-tropomyosin between these locations on F-actin was systematically examined by optimizing the energy of the complex for a wide range of tropomyosin positions on F-actin. The resulting energy landscape provides a full-map of the F-actin surface preferred by tropomyosin, revealing a broad energy basin associated with the tropomyosin position that blocks myosin-binding. This is consistent with previously proposed low-energy oscillations of semi-rigid tropomyosin, necessary for shifting of tropomyosin following troponin-binding. In contrast, the landscape shows much less favorable energies when tropomyosin locates near its myosin-induced “open-state” position. This indicates that spontaneous movement of tropomyosin away from its energetic “ground-state” to the open-state is unlikely in absence of myosin. Instead, myosin-binding must drive tropomyosin toward the open-state to activate the thin filament. Additional energy landscapes were computed for disease-causing actin mutants that distort the topology of the actin–tropomyosin energy landscape, explaining their phenotypes. Thus, the computation of such energy landscapes offers a sensitive way to estimate the impact of mutations.

A Periodic Pattern of Evolutionarily Conserved Basic and Acidic Residues Constitutes the Binding Interface of Actin-Tropomyosin

Actin filament cytoskeletal and muscle functions are regulated by actin binding proteins using a variety of mechanisms. A universal actin filament regulator is the protein tropomyosin, which binds end-to-end along the length of the filament. The actin-tropomyosin filament structure is unknown, but there are atomic models in different regulatory states based on electron microscopy reconstructions, computational modeling of actin-tropomyosin, and docking of atomic resolution structures of tropomyosin to actin filament models. Here, we have tested models of the actin-tropomyosin interface in the "closed state" where tropomyosin binds to actin in the absence of myosin or troponin. Using mutagenesis coupled with functional analyses, we determined residues of actin and tropomyosin required for complex formation. The sites of mutations in tropomyosin were based on an evolutionary analysis and revealed a pattern of basic and acidic residues in the first halves of the periodic repeats (periods) in tropomyosin. In periods P1, P4, and P6, basic residues are most important for actin affinity, in contrast to periods P2, P3, P5, and P7, where both basic and acidic residues or predominantly acidic residues contribute to actin affinity. Hydrophobic interactions were found to be relatively less important for actin binding. We mutated actin residues in subdomains 1 and 3 (Asp(25)-Glu(334)-Lys(326)-Lys(328)) that are poised to make electrostatic interactions with the residues in the repeating motif on tropomyosin in the models. Tropomyosin failed to bind mutant actin filaments. Our mutagenesis studies provide the first experimental support for the atomic models of the actin-tropomyosin interface.

Regulation of actin-myosin interaction by conserved periodic sites of tropomyosin

Cooperative activation of actin-myosin interaction by tropomyosin (Tm) is central to regulation of contraction in muscle cells and cellular and intracellular movements in nonmuscle cells. The steric blocking model of muscle regulation proposed 40 y ago has been substantiated at both the kinetic and structural levels. Even with atomic resolution structures of the major players, how Tm binds and is designed for regulatory function has remained a mystery. Here we show that a set of periodically distributed evolutionarily conserved surface residues of Tm is required for cooperative regulation of actomyosin. Based on our results, we propose a model of Tm on a structure of actin-Tm-myosin in the "open" (on) state showing potential electrostatic interactions of the residues with both actin and myosin. The sites alternate with a second set of conserved surface residues that are important for actin binding in the inhibitory state in the absence of myosin. The transition from the closed to open states requires the sites identified here, even when troponin + Ca(2+) is present. The evolutionarily conserved residues are important for actomyosin regulation, a universal function of Tm that has a common structural basis and mechanism.

Myosin Kinase of Molluscan Smooth Muscle. Regulation by Binding of Calcium to the Substrate and Inhibition of Myorod and Twitchin Phosphorylation by Myosin

Major contractile proteins were purified from relaxed actomyosin extracted from molluscan catch muscle myofibrils using ammonium sulfate fractionation and divalent cation precipitation. A fraction of this actomyosin was precipitated and purified as a supramolecular complex composed of twitchin (TW), myosin (MY), and myorod (MR). Another TW-MR complex was obtained via the removal of myosin. These supramolecular complexes and filaments assembled from purified myosin contained an endogenous protein kinase that phosphorylated myosin and myorod. Significantly, the activity of this novel myosin-associated (MA) kinase was inhibited at calcium concentrations of >0.1 microM. After partial purification of the kinase, we established that the inhibition resulted from binding of calcium to the substrate (myosin) and not from the binding to the enzyme (kinase). No inhibition was observed when myorod was used as a substrate, although the latter is identical to the rod portion of myosin lacking the head domains. Phosphorylation sites of myorod were identified, three at the C-terminal tip and three at the N-terminal domain. In the presence of calcium, addition of myosin to the TW-MR complex resulted in inhibition of this phosphorylation, while in the absence of myosin, this inhibition was negligible. Added myosin also inhibited phosphorylation of twitchin by PKA-like kinase, the latter also present in the complex. The opposite was true with the TW-MY-MR complex; that is, phosphorylation of myosin was inhibited by twitchin and/or myorod. Thus, in parallel to the well-established direct activation by calcium, molluscan catch muscle myosin also regulated its own phosphorylation. Therefore, in addition to the established phosphorylation of twitchin by PKA-like kinase, phosphorylation of myosin and myorod by myosin-associated kinase appears to play an important role in the development of the catch state.

N-Terminal Fragments of Cardiac Myosin Binding Protein-C Inhibit Actomyosin Motility by Tethering Actin

Cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C) mutations are a leading cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. cMyBP-C has 11 domains, C0 through C10, that bind sarcomeric proteins, including myosin and actin. A 29 kD N-terminal fragment (C0C1f) of cMyBP-C containing the first two domains C0 and C1 and the first 15 residues of the conserved MyBP-C motif is cleaved from cMyBP-C following ischemic-reperfusion injury (Sadayappan et al., JMCC 44:S44, 2008). Expressed C0C1f fragments inhibit actin velocities in the motility assay at a 2:1 molar ratio to myosin, similar to other N-terminal fragments: C0C3, C0C2, and C1C2. Interestingly, fragments containing only the C0C1 domains do not alter velocity, suggesting the additional 15 residues in C0C1f are necessary for inhibition. Adding C0C1 to the motility assay can partially reverse the C0C3-mediated inhibition of velocity, suggesting C0C1 may compete with C0C3 for actin binding. cMyBP-C fragments may affect motility by creating a tether between actin and the flowcell surface. To test this, motility experiments were performed under high ionic strength, saturating MgATP, and in the absence of methylcellulose, conditions in which most actin filaments diffuse away from the surface due to weak interactions with myosin. In the presence of C0C2, many actin filaments bound and translocated on the surface, confirming this fragment's tethering capacity. Additionally, in the laser trap we adhered C0C3 fragments to a bead in the absence of myosin and observed C0C3 transiently binding to a single actin filament with an ∼100 ms attached lifetime. We also saw evidence that C0C3 may partially unfold under load. These experiments strongly suggest that N-terminal domains of cMyBP-C containing the MyBP-C motif tether actin filaments and provide one mechanism for modulating actomyosin motion generation, i.e. by imposing an effective viscous load within the sarcomere.

Interaction between fish myoglobin and myosin in vitro

Interaction between tuna myoglobin and myosins from tuna and sardine was investigated in a model system at 4 °C for up to 24 h. Both sardine and tuna myosins bound progressively with tuna myoglobin as the storage time increased ( P < 0.05). The soret absorption peak was noticeable in the myoglobin–myosin mixture. The oxidation of oxymyoglobin in the presence of myosin was generally greater than that found in the absence of myosin ( P < 0.05). Oxymyoglobin underwent oxidation to a greater extent in the presence of tuna myosin than sardine myosin ( P < 0.05). The interaction between fish myoglobin and myosin also caused changes in reactive sulfhydryl content and altered the tryptophan fluorescent intensity. The loss in Ca 2+-ATPase activity of myosin varied with fish species and was governed by the myoglobin added. Thus, the interaction between fish myoglobin and myosin most likely occurred as a function of time and was species-specific.

Second thoughts on septation by the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe: pull vs. push mechanisms with an appendix – dimensional modelling of the flat and variable septa

The correlation of contraction by an actomyosin band with the closing of the septum of dividing cells of the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, cannot suggest cause-and-effect because contraction would be apparent whether the membrane enveloping the centripetally closing septum were pulled or were pushed. Thus the common observation of contraction is not critical. Diagrams of published electron micrographs of dividing wild-type fission yeasts illustrate variable (tilted) septal images that are counterintuitive to a pull model. Circumference calculations based on those images suggest that some variable forms might be only 6% closed even though their two-dimensional profiles would be 50% closed, if they were not tilted. Development of multiseptate forms of cdc4-8 and cdc4-377 temperature sensitive mutants incubated at their restrictive temperature was followed. These multiseptate forms are shown to have functional (functional in terms of generating divided uninucleate cytoplasts) but grotesque septa which are formed in the absence of actomyosin bands. By contrast, the myosin of the plant phragmoplast is not properly oriented for contractility, and Dictyostelium (attached cells) and Saccharomyces (mutants) have been shown to divide in the absence of myosin II, just as S. pombe does (above). Hence contractility, the essence of a pull model for septum closure, would seem to be non-essential. Other, non-contractile mechanisms of myosin are emphasized, and a push model becomes a rational default hypothesis. The essence of push models is that their synthesis/assembly mechanisms are driving force sufficient for septum closure.

Mini-thin filaments regulated by troponin–tropomyosin

Striated muscle thin filaments contain hundreds of actin monomers and scores of troponins and tropomyosins. To study the cooperative mechanism of thin filaments, "mini-thin filaments" were generated by isolating particles nearly matching the minimal structural repeat of thin filaments: a double helix of actin subunits with each strand approximately seven actins long and spanned by a troponin-tropomyosin complex. One end of the particles was capped by a gelsolin (segment 1-3)-TnT fusion protein (substituting for normal TnT), and the other end was capped by tropomodulin. EM showed that the particles were 46 +/- 9 nm long, with a knob-like mass attributable to gelsolin at one end. Average actin, tropomyosin, and gelsolin-troponin composition indicated one troponin-tropomyosin attached to each strand of the two-stranded actin filament. The minifilaments thus nearly represent single regulatory units of thin filaments. The myosin S1 MgATPase rate stimulated by the minifilaments was Ca2+-sensitive, indicating that single regulatory length particles are sufficient for regulation. Ca2+ bound cooperatively to cardiac TnC in conventional thin filaments but noncooperatively to cardiac TnC in minifilaments in the absence of myosin. This suggests that thin filament Ca2+-binding cooperativity reflects indirect troponin-troponin interactions along the long axis of conventional filaments, which do not occur in minifilaments. Despite noncooperative Ca2+ binding to minifilaments in the absence of myosin, Ca2+ cooperatively activated the myosin S1-particle ATPase rate. Two-stranded single regulatory units therefore may be sufficient for myosin-mediated Ca2+-binding cooperativity. Functional mini-thin filaments are well suited for biochemical and structural analysis of thin-filament regulation.

The pathway of myofibrillogenesis determines the interrelationship between myosin and paramyosin synthesis in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Examination of null mutants in myosin B and paramyosin yields insights into the complex mechanisms that regulate expression of the three major components of Caenorhabditis elegans body-wall muscle thick filaments myosin A, myosin B and paramyosin. In the absence of myosin B, paramyosin accumulation is reduced, although neither its synthesis nor that of myosin A is affected. This implies that the interaction of myosin B with paramyosin inhibits paramyosin degradation. By contrast, the absence of paramyosin results in reduced synthesis and accumulation of myosin B but has no effect on myosin A synthesis. The non-reciprocal effects of the null mutants on turnover and synthesis are best understood as an epigenetic phenomenon that reflects the pathway of thick filament assembly. The synthesis of myosin A and paramyosin, which are involved in the initial steps of thick filament formation, is independent of myosin B; however, a properly assembled paramyosin-containing thick filament core is essential for efficient synthesis of myosin B.

Site-specific mutations in the myosin binding sites of actin affect structural transitions that control myosin binding.

We have examined the effects of actin mutations on myosin binding, detected by cosedimentation, and actin structural dynamics, detected by spectroscopic probes. Specific mutations were chosen that have been shown to affect the functional interactions of actin and myosin, two mutations (4Ac and E99A/E100A) in the proposed region of weak binding to myosin and one mutation (I341A) in the proposed region of strong binding. In the absence of nucleotide and salt, S1 bound to both wild-type and mutant actins with high affinity (K(d) < microM), but either ADP or increased ionic strength decreased this affinity. This decrease was more pronounced for actins with mutations that inhibit functional interaction with myosin (E99A/E100A and I341A) than for a mutation that enhances the interaction (4Ac). The mutations E99A/E100A and I341A affected the microsecond time scale dynamics of actin in the absence of myosin, but the 4Ac mutation did not have any effect. The binding of myosin eliminated these effects of mutations on structural dynamics; i.e., the spectroscopic signals from mutant actins bound to S1 were the same as those from wild-type actin. These results indicate that mutations in the myosin binding sites affect structural transitions within actin that control strong myosin binding, without affecting the structural dynamics of the strongly bound actomyosin complex.

Mapping Subdomains in the C-terminal Region of Troponin I Involved in Its Binding to Troponin C and to Thin Filament

Troponin I (TnI) is the inhibitory component of troponin, the ternary complex that regulates skeletal and cardiac muscle contraction. Previous work showed that the C-terminal region of TnI, when linked to the "inhibitory region" (residues 98-116), possesses the major regulatory functions of the molecule (Farah, C. S., Miyamoto, C. A., Ramos, C. H. I., Silva, A. C. R., Quaggio, R. B., Fujimori, K., Smillie, L. B., and Reinach, F. C. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 5230-5240). To investigate these functions in more detail, serial deletion mutants of the C-terminal region of TnI were constructed. These experiments showed that longer C-terminal deletions result in lower inhibition of the actomyosin ATPase activity and weaken the interaction with the N-terminal domain of troponin C (TnC), consistent with the antiparallel model for the interaction between these two proteins. The conclusion is that the whole C-terminal region of TnI is necessary for its full regulatory activity. The region between residues 137 and 144, which was shown to have homology with residues 108-115 in the inhibitory region (Farah, C. S., and Reinach, F. C. (1995) FASEB J. 9, 755-767), is involved in the binding to TnC. The region between residues 98 and 129 is involved in modulating the affinity of TnC for calcium. The C-terminal residues 166-182 are involved in the binding of TnI to thin filament. A model for the function of TnI is discussed.

Regulation of cytokinesis.

At the end of mitosis, daughter cells are separated from each other by cytokinesis. This process involves equal partitioning and segregation of cytoplasm between the two cells. Despite years of study, the mechanism driving cytokinesis in animal cells is not fully understood. Actin and myosin are major components of the contractile ring, the structure at the equator between the dividing cells that provides the force necessary to constrict the cytoplasm. Despite this, there are also tantalizing results suggesting that cytokinesis can occur in the absence of myosin. It is unclear what the roles are of the few other contractile ring components identified to date. While it has been difficult to identify important proteins involved in cytokinesis, it has been even more challenging to pinpoint the regulatory mechanisms that govern this vital process. Cytokinesis must be precisely controlled both spatially and temporally; potential regulators of these parameters are just beginning to be identified. This review discusses the recent progress in our understanding of cytokinesis in animal cells and the mechanisms that may regulate it.

Absence of myosin light chain phosphorylation and twitch potentiation in atrophied skeletal muscle

Absence of myosin light chain phosphorylation and twitch potentiation in atrophied skeletal muscle

Cytoskeletal elements in arthorpod sensilla and mammalian photoreceptors

Ciliary receptor cells, typified by cilia or modified cilia, are very common in the animal kingdom. In addition to the cytoskeleton of their ciliary processes these receptors possess other specific prominent cytoskeletal elements. Two representative systems are presented: i) scolopidia, mechanosensitive sensilla of various arthropod species; and ii) photoreceptor cells of the retina of the bovine eye. Two cytoskeletal structures are characteristic for arthropod scolopidia: a scolopale typifies the innermost auxiliary cell, and long ciliary rootlets are extending well into the sensory cells. The latter element is also charactristics for the inner segment of the photoreceptor cells in bovine. The scolopale of scolopidia is mainly composed of actin filaments. In the absence of myosin, the uniform polarity of the actin filaments and their association with tropomyosin all indicate a stabilizing role of the filament bundles within the scolopale. This function and a certina elasticity of actin filament bundles may be important during stimulation of the sensilla. The ciliary rootlets of both systems originate at the basal bodies at the ciliary base of the sensory cells and project proximally. These rootlets are composed of longitudinally oriented, fine filaments forming a characteristic regular cross-striation. An α-actinin immunoreactivity was detected within the ciliary rootlets of scolopidia. In addition, antibodies to centrin react with the rootlets of both types of receptors. Since centrin is largely responsible for the contraction of the flagellar rootlets in green algae, contraction may also occur in the ciliary rootlets of insect sensilla and vertebrate photoreceptors. In both system, contraction or relaxation of the ciliary rootlets could serve in sensory transduction or adaptation.

Stopped-flow measurement of cytoskeletal contraction: Dictyostelium myosin II is specifically required for contraction of amoeba cytoskeletons.

Cytoskeletons provide valuable information on the composition and organization of the cell's contractile machinery, and in many cases these cell models retain the ability to contract. To quantitate contraction rates, we developed a novel stopped-flow assay permitting simultaneous analysis of thousands of Dictyostelium cytoskeletons within milliseconds of mixing with Mg-ATP. Cytoskeletons were placed in one syringe of the stopped flow apparatus and the appropriate buffer was placed in the second syringe. Mixing with Mg-ATP caused an immediate increase in the absorbance at 310 nm. Rapid fixation of the cytoskeletons during the reaction confirmed that this change in absorbance was highly correlated with contraction of the cytoskeletons. This spectroscopic change was used to measure the effects of temperature, pH, ionic strength, and nucleotides on contraction rate. Treatment with high salt and ATP removed most of the myosin, some actin, and small amounts of minor proteins. These extracted cytoskeletons lost the ability to contract, but after the addition of purified Dictyostelium myosin they regained full function. In contrast, rabbit skeletal muscle myosin was unable to restore contractility, even though it bound to the extracted cytoskeletons. Cytoskeletons prepared from a myosin-null mutant did not contract. Upon the addition of purified ameba myosin, however, they became contractile. These results suggest that filamentous Dictyostelium myosin II is essential for contraction, and that the actin cytoskeleton and associated proteins retain their functional organization in the absence of myosin.

Tropomyosin is co-localized with the actin filaments of the scolopale in insect sensilla

Immuno-electron microscopy confirms that the scolopale, a characteristically prominent cytoskeletal element of insect scolopidia, is composed mainly of actin filaments. Immunohistochemistry reveals that these filaments are co-localized with tropomyosin. Myosin S1-decoration shows that their polarity is unidirectional. Antibodies to α-actinin do not bind within the scolopale. The association of these actin filaments with tropomyosin in the absence of myosin, together with their uniform polarity, strongly suggests that, in the scolopale, they have a stabilizing rather than contractile function. Filament elasticity would appear to be important for stimulation. The degree of elasticity may well be governed by the extent of tropomyosin binding.

Cooperative interactions between troponin molecules bound to the cardiac thin filament.

Striated muscle thin filaments contain many troponin molecules, which contact each other indirectly via tropomyosin and actin. Such allosteric interactions between troponin molecules may be responsible for cooperative Ca2+ binding to the regulatory sites of the cardiac thin filament (Tobacman, L. S., and Sawyer, D. S. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 931-939). To test whether thin filament-bound troponin molecules interact, we studied the competitive binding of troponin and troponin T-troponin I (an inhibitory complex lacking the Ca2+ binding subunit troponin C) to actin-tropomyosin. The relative affinities of these two forms of troponin for the thin filament depended upon their relative concentrations. Under conditions where total binding was saturated, each form binds with greater apparent affinity to sites that have similar neighbors. A theoretical model for competitive binding of two ligands to interacting sites on a linear lattice was developed and fit to the data. Surprisingly, energetically unfavorable interactions occurred between adjacent troponin and troponin T-troponin I molecules not only in the presence of Ca2+, but also in the presence of [ethylenebis(oxyethylenenitrilo)]tetraacetic acid and/or myosin subfragment 1. Removal of Ca2+ strengthened the affinity of troponin for the thin filament less than 50%. These results suggest that, even in the absence of myosin, long range allosteric interactions occur between troponin molecules. The detailed involvement of tropomyosin and actin in these interactions remains to be established.