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Elastic distortion of myosin heads and repriming of the working stroke in muscle

Nature volume 374, pages 553–555 (1995)Cite this article

Abstract

MUSCLE contraction is driven by a cyclical interaction between the globular head domain of myosin and the actin filaments1-6. We used quick stretches of 5 nm per half sarcomere to synchronize the movements of myosin heads in active single muscle fibres5,7,8. The intensity of the 14.5 nm X-ray reflection decreased during the stretch, showing that the instantaneous elasticity of muscle1,5 involves distortion of myosin heads. Head movement continued at about 1,500s-1 after the stretch, accompanied by partial force recovery. This indicates a reversal of the force-generating 'working stroke' in the myosin heads5,8,9 that is smaller and faster than assumed previously5,10,11. By 50 ms after the stretch, myosin heads have regained both their original conformation and the ability to execute a normal working stroke. This 'repriming' process is slower than that following shortening12 but much faster than the ATP turnover rate per myosin head.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiologiche, Universita degli Studi di Firenze, Viale GB Morgagni 63, 1-50134, Firenze, Italy

    Vincenzo Lombard & Gabriella Piazzesi

  2. National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London, NW7 1AA, UK

    Michael A. Ferenczi & Hilary Thirlwell

  3. Randall Institute, King's College London, 26 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RL, UK

    Ian Dobbie & Malcolm Irving

Authors
  1. Vincenzo Lombard
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  2. Gabriella Piazzesi
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  3. Michael A. Ferenczi
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  4. Hilary Thirlwell
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  5. Ian Dobbie
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  6. Malcolm Irving
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Lombard, V., Piazzesi, G., Ferenczi, M. et al. Elastic distortion of myosin heads and repriming of the working stroke in muscle. Nature 374, 553–555 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/374553a0

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