|
|
||||||||
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and 2Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60612
Submitted 8 September 2003 ; accepted in final form 3 December 2003
In the rat heart the actin-bound nucleotide contained both ATP and ADP. The ratio of bound ATP to bound ADP depended on the functional state of the heart; it was higher in hearts stopped reversibly in diastole (low Ca2+, high Mg2+, or high K+), than in stimulated (inotropic agents or pacing) hearts. Immunoblotting and gel electrophoresis showed the existence of G-actin (30% of total actin) in the cytoplasm of the heart. Pure actin was isolated from rat hearts: in G-actin the bound nucleotide readily exchanged with ATP or ADP, and in F-actin the bound nucleotide did not exchange with ATP or ADP. The free and bound nucleotides were separated in the intact heart by extraction with 75% methanol at 15°C. In rat hearts perfused with 32P-labeled orthophosphate the actin-bound nucleotide rapidly exchanged with the cytoplasmic ATP. The full exchange of the bound ATP was immediate, whereas the full exchange of the bound ADP was slower. The full exchange of the bound ATP was independent of the heartbeat frequency, whereas the full exchange of the bound ADP was frequency dependent. The data suggest that the transformation of actin monomer-ATP to actin polymer-ADP is a part of the normal contraction-relaxation cycle of the rat heart.
actin nucleotide; nucleotide exchange
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |