High energy phosphate utilization for work production and tension maintenance in frog muscle

Abstract

Frog (Rana esculenta, L.) gastrocnemii (161 pairs) or sartorii (8 pairs) were stimulated by intermittent tetani at 10°C (20 Hz, supramaximal intensity, N₂ atmosphere) isometrically (IM) or isotonically (IT) for various durations (6–30 s) at different tensions (0.05–1.00 P₀=maximal IM tension at resting length,l _o). The energy expenditure (E) was measured from ATP and phosphocreatine breakdown and the high energy phosphate equivalent of lactic acid production. Both in IM and IT conditions,E was found to be a linear function of the summated tetanus duration (t):E=a+b t, whereb is the energy cost of tension maintenance. For the gastrocnemius, both in IM and IT,b was independent of the tension developed and equal to 0.45 μmol ∼ P · g⁻¹ · s⁻¹, whereas for the sartoriusb was tension-dependent, varying between 0.58 and 0.28 μmol ∼ P · g⁻¹ · s⁻¹ for P₀ and 0.18 P₀, respectively. The constancy of theb value in muscles with pennate structure may be tentatively attributed, at least in part, to the greater internal energy dissipation, regardless of the tension developed. The terma of the above equation is due to all time-independent processes of muscle contraction, i.e.: (1) activation energy; (2) internal work and (3) external work (in IT only). Based on the measured value ofa and on the work performed, the mechanical equivalent of ∼ P splitting was calculated as 17.7 kJ · mol⁻¹, a figure close to that previously obtained on frog sartorius (16.7 kJ · mol⁻¹) and dog gastrocnemius (19.2 kJ · mol⁻¹) When taking into account the energy due to the activation processes, the calculated “net” mechanical equivalent of ∼ P splitting amounted to 25.5 kJ · mol⁻¹.