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Tilting of the light-chain region of myosin during step length changes and active force generation in skeletal muscle

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Abstract

FORCE generation and relative sliding between the myosin and actin filaments in muscle are thought to be caused by tilting of the head region of the myosin crossbridges between the filaments1–3. Structural and spectroscopic experiments have demonstrated segmental flexibility of myosin in muscle4–6, but have not shown a direct linkage between tilting of the myosin heads and either force generation or filament sliding. Here we use fluorescence polarization to detect changes in the orientation of the light-chain region of the head, the part most likely to tilt5,7,8, and synchronized head movements by imposing rapid length steps9–11. We found that the light-chain region of the myosin head tilts both during the imposed filament sliding and during the subsequent quick force recovery that is thought to signal the elementary force-generating event.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Randall Institute, Kings College London, 26-29 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RL, UK

    Malcolm Irving & Cibele Sabido-David

  2. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104-6058, USA

    Taylor St Claire Alien

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

    James S. Craik, Birgit Brandmeier, John E. T. Corrie & David R. Trentham

  4. MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 2QH, UK

    John Kendrick-Jones

  5. Pennsylvania Muscle Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104-6083, USA

    Yale E. Goldman

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  1. Malcolm Irving
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  2. Taylor St Claire Alien
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  3. Cibele Sabido-David
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  4. James S. Craik
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  7. John E. T. Corrie
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Irving, M., St Claire Alien, T., Sabido-David, C. et al. Tilting of the light-chain region of myosin during step length changes and active force generation in skeletal muscle. Nature 375, 688–691 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/375688a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/375688a0

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