Skip to main content

Superfast tension transients from intact muscle fibres

Pflügers Archiv volume 400, pages 280–285 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

We have measured tension transients from tetanically stimulated intact single fibres of the M. lumbricalus and the M. tibialis anterior of the frog. The measurements were carried out between 5.5 and 7°C at a sarcomere length of 2.1 and 3.1 μm with a dsiplacement servo system capable of performing displacements of 50 μm in 40 μs. We found a very fast recovery process in the tension transients thus obtained and quantified the speed of the observed recovery process in terms of elasticity and damping.

If a ramp-shaped input signal of 150 μs duration is applied to the system, the velocity is constant over about 100 μs. This property of the system enables us to study the velocity-dependent part of the initial drop in tension in more detail. The first part of the tension transients thus obtained, show three phases: an initial rapid drop in tension, a slower steady decrease in tension and a rapid recovery (30 μs).

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  • Blangé T, Van den Hooff H (1982) Superfast tension transients from intact muscle fibres. J Cell Res Muscle Mot 3:456

    Google Scholar 

  • Civan MM, Podolsky RJ (1966) Contraction kinetics of striated muscle fibres following quick changes in length. J Physiol 184: 511–534

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg E, Hill TL, Yi-der Chen (1980) Crossbridge model for muscle contraction. Quantitative analysis. Biophys J 29:195–227

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford LE, Huxley AF, Simmons RM (1974) Mechanism of early tension recovery after quick release in tetanical tetanized muscle fibres. J Physiol 240:42–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford LE, Huxley AF, Simmons RM (1977) Tension response to sudden length change in stimulated frog muscle near slack length. J Physiol 269:441–515

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford LE, Huxley AF, Simmons RM (1981) The relation between stiffness and filament overlap in stimulated frog muscle fibres. J Physiol 311:219–249

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon AM, Huxley AF, Julien FJ (1966) The variation in isometric tension in vertebrate muscle fibres. J Phys 184:170

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrington WF (1979) On the contractile force in skeletal muscle. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 76:5066–5070

    Google Scholar 

  • Van den Hooff H, Blangé T (1981) A dark-field illuminator cone for the dissecting microscope. Microsc Acta 85:17–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Van den Hooff H, Blangé T, Van der Tweel LH (1982) A displacement servosystem for muscle research permitting 50 m length changes within 40 s. Pflügers Arch 395:152–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Huxley HE (1969) The mechanisms of muscular contraction. Science 164:1356–1366

    Google Scholar 

  • Huxley AF, Simmons RM (1971) Proposed mechanism of force generation in striated muscle. Nature 253:533–538

    Google Scholar 

  • Podolsky RJ, Nolan AC, Zaveler SA (1969) Cross bridge properties derived from muscle isotonic velocity transients. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 64:504–511

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoenberg M, Wells JB, Podolsky RJ (1974) Muscle compliance and the longitudinal transmission of mechanical impulses. J Gen Physiol 64:623–642

    Google Scholar 

  • Stienen GJM, Blangé T, Schnerr MC (1978) Tension responses of frog sartorius muscle to quick ramp shaped shortenings and some effects of metabolic inhibition. Pflügers Arch 376:97–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Stienen GJM, Blangé T (1980) A quantitative analyses of the force transient of skeletal muscle in response to quick changes length. In: Baan J, Arntzenius AC, Yellin EL (eds) Cardiac dynamics. Martinus Nijhoff, Den Haag Boston London, pp 69–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Stienen GJM, Blangé T (1981) Local movement in stimulated frog sartorius muscle. J Gen Phys 78:151–170

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas D, Ishiwata S, Seidel JC, Gergely J (1980) Submillisecond rotational dynamics of spin-labeled myosin heads in myofibrils. Biophys J 38:873–890

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsong TY, Karr T, Harrington WF (1979) Rapid helix-coil transitions in the S-2 region of myosin. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 76:1109–1113

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, University of Amsterdam, 1e Const. Huygensstraat 20, NL-1054 BW, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    H. van den Hooff & T. Blangé

Authors
  1. H. van den Hooff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. T. Blangé
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

van den Hooff, H., Blangé, T. Superfast tension transients from intact muscle fibres. Pflugers Arch. 400, 280–285 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00581560

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00581560

Key words

  • Muscle fibre
  • Muscle
  • Muscle contraction
  • Tension transient
  • Cross bridge