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K Ajtai

Publications and source records attributed to K Ajtai.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Following the rotational trajectory of the principal hydrodynamic frame of a protein using multiple probes.

A generalized set of fluorescence polarization intensities and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra from multiple fluorescent and EPR probes of a specific site on an oriented and immobilized protein element in a biological assembly, combined with anisotropic rotational relaxation studies of the purified and labeled protein element freely rotationally diffusing in solution, are used to determine the angular distribution of the principal hydrodynamic frame of the protein element in the biological assembly. This multiprobe analysis method removes all of the basic ambiguities in the measured principal frame angular distribution introduced by limitations or symmetries intrinsic to standard fluorescence polarization intensity ratios and EPR spectra. The angular distribution of the principal frame is also more highly resolved than that previously reported for multiprobe determinations of probe angular distributions and is more useful for determining biological mechanisms because it indicates the order and orientation of the protein element rather than that of the extrinsic probe. Application of this method to the determination of the principal hydrodynamic frame distribution of myosin cross-bridges in muscle fibers in four physiological states, including the active isometric state, demonstrates the method's practicality by indicating the path of cross-bridge orientation changes during the active cycle [Ajtai, Toft, & Burghardt (1994) Biochemistry (following paper in this issue)].

Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy↗

Path and extent of cross-bridge rotation during muscle contraction.

The angular distribution of myosin cross-bridges in muscle fibers was investigated in four physiological states using a multiple probe analysis of varied extrinsic probes of the cross-bridge [Burghardt & Ajtai (1994) Biochemistry (preceding paper in this issue)]. The analysis combines data of complementary techniques from different probes giving the highest possible angular resolution. Four extrinsic probes of the fast reactive sulfhydryl (SH1) on myosin subfragment 1 (S1) were employed. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra from paramagnetic probes, deuterium- and 15N-substituted for greater sensitivity to orientation, on S1 were measured when the protein was freely tumbling in solution and when it was decorating muscle fibers. The EPR spectra from labeled S1 tumbling in solution were measured at X- and Q-band microwave frequencies to uniquely specify the orientation of the probe relative to the S1 principal hydrodynamic frame. The EPR spectra from labeled S1 decorating muscle fibers in rigor and in the presence of MgADP were measured at X-band and used in the multiple probe analysis of cross-bridge orientation. The time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy decay (TRFAD) of fluorescent probes on S1 was measured when the protein was freely tumbling in solution, and fluorescence polarization (FP) intensities from fluorescent probes modifying SH1 in intact muscle fibers were measured for fibers in rigor, in the presence of MgADP, in isometric contraction, and in relaxation at low ionic strength. The TRFAD measurements limit the range of possible orientations of the probe relative to the S1 principal hydrodynamic frame. The FP intensity measurements were used in the multiple probe analysis of cross-bridge orientation. The combination of the EPR and FP data determined a highly resolved cross-bridge angular distribution in rigor, in the presence of MgADP, in isometric contraction, and in relaxation at low ionic strength. These findings confirm earlier observations of a rigid body rotation of the SH1 region in the myosin head group upon physiological state changes and indicate the path and extent of cross-bridge rotation during contraction. The rotation of the cross-bridge is visualized with computer-generated space-filling models of actomysin in six states of the contraction cycle.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Luminescent/paramagnetic probes of order and orientation in biological assemblies: the transformation of luminescent probes into pi-radicals by photochemical reduction within the contractile apparatus.

Several unsubstituted xanthene dyes (eosin, erythrosin, and fluorescein) were irradiated by laser light at their absorption maximum in the presence of different reducing agents. Due to photochemical reduction the quinoidal structure of the xanthene ring is transformed into a semiquinone and a pi-radical is formed having a characteristic electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal of an unpaired electron spin with proton hyperfine interactions. A strong EPR signal is observed from the dye in solution or when specifically attached to myosin following irradiation in the presence of dithiothreitol or cysteine. The spectroscopic methods of fluorescence polarization and EPR are useful in the study of ordered biological assemblies. These methods generate complementary information about the order of the system but a consistent quantitative interpretation of the related data is complicated because the signals arise from different donors. Our method allows us to detect both signals from the same donor. We applied our new technique to the study of skeletal muscle fibers. The fluorescent dye iodoacetamidofluorescein was covalently attached to the reactive thiol of the myosin molecule in muscle fibers. Fluorescence polarization and EPR spectroscopy were performed on the labeled fibers in rigor. Both signals indicate a highly ordered system characteristic of cross-bridges bound to actin.

Animals↗

Stereospecific reaction of muscle fiber proteins with the 5' or 6' isomer of (iodoacetamido)tetramethylrhodamine.

The labeling of muscle fiber proteins with iodoacetamido)tetramethylrhodamine (IATR) was reinvestigated with the purified 5' or 6' isomers of IATR. Both isomers modify the myosin heavy chain within the 20-kDa fragment of myosin subfragment 1 (S1) but with different rates, and only the 5'-IATR alters K(+)-EDTA- and Ca(2+)-activated ATPases. Absorption spectroscopic and ATPase studies of probe stoichiometry indicate that for 5'-IATR there are two probes per myosin sulfhydryl 1 (SH1). Quantitative fluorograms of the SDS-PAGE gels confirm that there are one covalent and one noncovalent probe per SH1 when S1 is labeled with 5'-IATR (5'-IATR-S1) and that there are one covalent and two noncovalent probes per S1 when S1 is labeled with 6'-IATR (6'-IATR-S1). The 5'- and 6'-IATR probes have similar fluorescent lifetimes when bound to S1, but quenching studies with potassium iodide show that 5'-IATR-S1 has a single class of strongly bound chromophores while 6'-IATR-S1 has two or more classes of chromophores. It is possible that 5'-IATR labels SH1 as a dimer. The polarization anisotropies of 5'- and 6'-IATR-S1 indicate that 5'-IATR is immobilized, while 6'-IATR is moving independently, on the surface of S1. The emission spectrum from 5'-IATR-S1 is unaffected by the addition of MgATP, while 6'-IATR-S1 shows a spectral shift and total intensity change. When labeling muscle fibers, 5'-IATR labels myosin SH1 and differentiates between the fiber physiological states by indicating cross-bridge rotation in quantitative agreement with previous results [Burghardt et al. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 7515]. 6'-IATR reacts preferentially with actin in muscle fibers and does not differentiate between fiber physiological states as expected for an actin probe. The stereospecificity of the rhodamine isomers for SH1 indicates features of the local protein structure. The experimental results are used with theoretical methods for determining molecular structure to suggest a qualitative scheme for the specific interaction of 5'-IATR with its binding pocket on the surface of S1.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Luminescent/paramagnetic probes for detecting order in biological assemblies: transformation of luminescent probes into pi-radicals by photochemical reduction.

The spectroscopic methods of fluorescence polarization and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) are used to study order and orientation of extrinsically labeled protein elements of ordered biological systems. These methods generate complementary information about the order of the system, but a consistent quantitative interpretation of the related data is complicated because the signals arise from different donors. We introduce a new method that allows us to detect both signals from the same donor. Unsubstituted xanthene dyes (eosin, erythrosin, and fluorescein) were irradiated by laser light at their absorption maximum in the presence of different reducing agents. Due to photochemical reduction, the quinoidal structure of the xanthene ring is transformed into a semiquinone, and a pi-radical is formed having a characteristic EPR signal of an unpaired electron spin with proton hyperfine interactions. A strong EPR signal is observed from the dye in solution or when specifically attached to a protein following irradiation in the presence of dithiothreitol or cysteine. We applied this technique to the study of skeletal muscle fibers. The fluorescent dye (iodoacetamido)fluorescein was covalently attached to the reactive thiol of the myosin molecule in muscle fibers. Fluorescence polarization and EPR spectroscopy were performed on the labeled fibers in rigor. Both signals indicate a highly ordered system characteristic of cross-bridges bound to actin. Our use of the same signal donor for fluorescence and EPR studies of probe order is a promising new technique for the study of order in protein elements of biological assemblies.

Actomyosin↗

Mapping global angular transitions of proteins in assemblies using multiple extrinsic reporter groups.

The fluorescence polarization intensities from fluorescent probes and the electron paramagnetic resonance spectra from spin probes, specifically modifying elements of a biological assembly such as myosin sulfhydryl 1 (SH1) in muscle fibers, are interpreted in terms of probe order parameters using a model-independent method. The probe order parameters are related to each other by an Euler rotation of coordinates. We use this relationship to link the sets of order parameters from the different probes and in so doing create a system of equations that can be solved using only the information available from the experimental data. The solution yields the Euler angles relating the different probe coordinate frames and a larger set of probe order parameters than can be directly detected experimentally. The Euler angles are used to display the relative orientation of the probe molecular frames. The order parameters give rise to probe angular distributions that are at the theoretical limit of resolution. We demonstrate the utility of this analytical method by investigating the rotation of myosin SH1 from its orientation in rigor upon the binding of the nucleotide MgADP to the myosin cross-bridge. Our findings, discussed in the accompanying paper, suggest that the rigor-to-MgADP cross-bridge angular transition consists predominantly of a rotation about the hydrodynamic axis of symmetry of the cross-bridge, i.e., its torsional degree of freedom [Ajtai, K., Ringler, A., & Burghardt, T. P. (1992) Biochemistry (following paper in this issue)].

Chemical Phenomena↗

Probing cross-bridge angular transitions using multiple extrinsic reporter groups.

15N- and 2H-substituted maleimido-TEMPO spin label ([15N,2H]MTSL) and the fluorescent label 1,5-IAEDANS were used to specifically modify sulfhydryl 1 of myosin to study the orientation of myosin cross-bridges in skeletal muscle fibers. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum from muscle fibers decorated with labeled myosin subfragment 1 ([15N,2H]MTSL-S1) or the fluorescence polarization spectrum from fibers directly labeled with 1,5-IAEDANS was measured from fibers in various physiological conditions. The EPR spectra from fibers with the fiber axis oriented at 90 degrees to the Zeeman field show a clear spectral shift from the rigor spectrum when the myosin cross-bridge binds MgADP. This shift is attributable to a change in the torsion angle of the spin probe from cross-bridge rotation and is observable due mainly to the improved angular resolution of the substituted probe. The EPR data from [15N,2H]MTSL-S1 decorating fibers are combined with the fluorescence polarization data from the 1,5-IAEDANS-labeled fibers to map the global angular transition of the labeled cross-bridges due to nucleotide binding by an analytical method described in the accompanying paper [Burghardt, T. P., & Ajtai, K. (1992) Biochemistry (preceding paper in this issue)]. We find that the spin and fluorescent probes are quantitatively consistent in the finding that the actin-bound cross-bridge rotates through a large angle upon binding MgADP. We also find that, if the shape of the cross-bridge is described as an ellipsoid with two equivalent minor axes, then cross-bridge rotation takes place mainly about an axis parallel to the major axis of the ellipsoid. This type of rotation may imitate the rotation motion of cross-bridges during force generation.

Animals↗

Specificity and orientation of (iodoacetamido)proxyl spin-labeled myosin subfragment 1 decorating muscle fibers: localization of protein-bound spin labels using SDS-PAGE.

The nitroxide spin label (iodoacetamido)proxyl (IPSL) was specifically and rigidly attached to sulfhydryl 1 (SH1) on myosin subfragment 1 (S1). The specificity of this label for SH1 was demonstrated by using a technique where the spin label is localized on the electrophoresis-isolated proteolytic fragments of myosin using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Studies of the rigidity of the probe on SH1 indicate that the IPSL is immobilized on the surface of S1 in the presence and absence of the nucleotides MgADP or MgATP. The EPR spectrum of muscle fibers decorated with IPSL-S1 shows that the IPSL-S1 rotates from its orientation in rigor upon binding MgADP. The angular displacement due to nucleotide binding is larger than that detected with the (maleimido)tempo spin label [Ajtai, K., French, A. R., & Burghardt, T. P. (1989) Biophys. J. 56, 535-541], demonstrating that the IPSL is oriented on the myosin cross-bridge in a manner that is favorable for detecting cross-bridge rotation during the rigor to MgADP state transition.

Animals↗

Fluorescent modification and orientation of myosin sulfhydryl 2 in skeletal muscle fibers.

We describe a protocol for the selective covalent labeling of the sulfhydryl 2 (SH2) on the myosin cross-bridge in glycerinated muscle fibers using the sulfhydryl-selective label 4-[N-[(iodoacetoxy)ethyl]-N-methylamino]-7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (IANBD). The protocol promotes the specificity of IANBD by using the ability to protect sulfhydryl 1 (SH1) from modification by binding the cross-bridge to the actin filament and using cross-bridge-bound MgADP to promote the accessibility of SH2. We determined the specificity of the probe using fluorescence gel scanning of fiber-extracted proteins to isolate the probe on myosin subfragment 1 (S1), limited proteolysis of the purified S1 to isolate the probe on the 20-kilodalton fragment of S1, and titration of the free SH1's on purified S1 using the radiolabeled SH1-specific reagent [14C]iodoacetamide or enzymatic activity measurements. We estimated the distribution of the IANBD on the fiber proteins to be approximately 77% on SH2, approximately 5% on SH1, and approximately 18% on troponin I. We characterized the angular distribution of the IANBD on cross-bridges in fibers when the fibers are in rigor, in relaxation, in the presence of MgADP, and in isometric contraction using wavelength-dependent fluorescence polarization [Ajtai, K., & Burghardt, T. P. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 4517-4523]. With wavelength-dependent fluorescence polarization we use the ability to rotate the transition dipole in the molecular frame using excitation wavelength variation to investigate the three angular degrees of freedom of the cross-bridge.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Myosin cross-bridge orientation in rigor and in the presence of nucleotide studied by electron spin resonance.

The tilt series electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrum from muscle fibers decorated with spin labeled myosin subfragment 1 (S1) was measured from fibers in rigor and in the presence of MgADP. ESR spectra were measured at low amplitude modulation of the static magnetic field to insure that a minimum of spectral lineshape distortion occurs. Ten tilt series ESR data sets were fitted simultaneously by the model-independent methodology described in the accompanying paper (Burghardt, T. P., and A. R. French, 1989. Biophys. J. 56:525-534). By this method the average and standard error in the mean of order parameters for the probe angular distribution were calculated for the two states of the fiber investigated. The average order parameters were used to reconstruct the probe angular distribution in two dimensions, one angular dimension corresponding to a polar angle measured relative to the fiber axis, and the other a torsional angular degree of freedom of the probe. We find that the probe angular distributions for the rigor and MgADP states of the fiber differ such that the rigor distribution is broader and shifted relative to the distribution in the presence of MgADP. The shape of the rigor distribution suggests the presence of two probe orientations, one similar to that in the presence of MgADP, and another at a different orientation. The shape of the distribution in the presence of MgADP suggests that the binding of the nucleotide to the rigor cross-bridge shifts the spin population into a more homogeneous one by causing a cross-bridge rotation.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Effect of negative mechanical stress on the orientation of myosin cross-bridges in muscle fibers.

The effect of positive and negative stress on myosin cross-bridge orientation in glycerinated muscle fibers was investigated by using fluorescence polarization spectroscopy of the emission from the covalent label tetramethyl-rhodamine-5-(and -6)-iodoacetamide (IATR) specifically modifying sulfhydryl one (SH1) on the myosin heavy chain. Positive tension was applied by stretching the fiber in rigor. Negative tension was applied in two steps by using a protocol introduced by Goldman et al. [Goldman, Y. E., McCray, J. A. & Vallette, D. P. (1988) J. Physiol. (London) 398, 75P]: relaxing a fiber at resting length and stretching it until the relaxed tension is appreciable and then placing the fiber in rigor and releasing the tension onto the rigor cross-bridges. We found, as have others, that positive tension has no effect on the fluorescence polarization spectrum from the SH1-bound probe, indicating that the cross-bridge does not rotate under these conditions. Negative tension, however, causes a change in the fluorescence polarization spectrum that indicates a probe rotation. The changes in the polarization spectrum from negative stress are partially reversed by the subsequent application of positive stress. It appears that negative tension strains the cross-bridge, or the cross-bridge domain containing SH1, and causes it to rotate.

Actins↗

Probe studies of the MgADP state of muscle cross-bridges: microscopic and wavelength-dependent fluorescence polarization from 1,5-IAEDANS-labeled myosin subfragment 1 decorating muscle fibers.

The microscopic and wavelength-dependent fluorescence polarization signals from the 5-[[[(iodoacetyl)amino]ethyl]amino]naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (1,5-IAEDANS) labeled subfragment 1 of myosin (S-1) decorating muscle fibers in rigor and in the presence of MgADP are measured. Using microscopic fluorescence polarization, we select a small uniform volume (approximately 0.1 micron 3) from the muscle fiber and detect a high degree of angular order. From these data we show that the probe angular distribution from fibers in rigor is quantitatively different from that present when MgADP is bound to S-1. Using wavelength-dependent fluorescence polarization, we vary the wavelength of the excitation light and thereby change the direction that the probe absorption dipole makes with a reference frame fixed in S-1. From these data we show that the binding of MgADP to S-1 causes an angular reorientation of S-1 relative to the actin filament. The difference between the angular distribution of probes for the rigor vs. MgADP states cannot be accounted for by the addition of random probes. The microscopic fluorescence polarization experiments suggest that the earlier attempts to distinguish a rigor from a MgADP probe angular distribution by using the 1,5-IAEDANS probe failed due to the lower resolution of the optical technique employed. The wavelength-dependent fluorescence polarization experiments indicate that the probe dipole orientation on S-1, at the typically used excitation and emission wavelengths, is not ideal for detecting the orientation change in the rigor to MgADP angular transition.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Observation of two orientations from rigor cross-bridges in glycerinated muscle fibers.

The fluorescence polarization from rhodamine labels specifically attached to the fast-reacting thiol of the myosin cross-bridge in glycerinated muscle fibers has been measured to determine the angular distribution of the cross-bridges in different physiological states of the fibers as a function of temperature. To investigate the fibers at temperatures below 0 degree C, we have added glycerol to the bathing solution as an anti-freezing agent. We find that the fluorescence polarization from the rhodamine probe detects distinct angular distributions of the cross-bridges in isometric-active, rigor, MgADP, and low ionic strength relaxed fibers at 4 degrees C. We also find that the rigor cross-bridges in the presence of glycerol can maintain at least two distinct orientations relative to the actin filament, one dominant at temperatures T greater than 2 degrees C and another dominant at T less than -10 degrees C. MgADP cross-bridges in the presence of glycerol maintain approximately the same orientation for all temperatures investigated. The rigor cross-bridge orientation at T less than -10 degrees C is similar to both the MgADP cross-bridge orientation in the presence of glycerol and the active muscle cross-bridge orientation at 4 degrees C. These findings show that the rigor cross-bridge in the presence of glycerol has at least two distinct orientations while attached to actin: one of them dominant at high temperature, the other dominant at low temperature or when MgADP is present. The latter orientation resembles that present in isometric-active fibers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Model-independent time-resolved fluorescence depolarization from ordered biological assemblies applied to restricted motion of myosin cross-bridges in muscle fibers.

We formulate a model-independent description of time-dependent restricted molecular rotational motion and apply it to the time-resolved fluorescence depolarization signal from fluorescence-labeled molecules following polarized excitation. In this treatment, the time-dependent molecular orientation distribution is equal to the operation of a linear time-development operator on the initial orientation distribution. The formula for the time-development operator is derived from the equation of motion for the orientation distribution. The time-development operator is then expanded in time in terms of a complete set of orthonormal polynomials. When this expression for the orientation distribution is used to calculate the time-resolved fluorescence depolarization signal, properties of the orthonormal polynomials allow the signal to be quantitated uniquely in terms of matrix elements of the differential operators from the equation of motion. We demonstrate how to obtain the experimental value of the matrix elements directly from the fluorescence depolarization signal. In this paper, we also describe the application of the model-independent formalism to fluorescence-labeled myosin cross-bridges in muscle fibers when the fibers are in a variety of physiological states. We show that the analysis of time-resolved fluorescence depolarization data with the new formalism and the rotational diffusion in a potential model results in a slight revision of our previous estimate of the relaxed cross-bridge rotational diffusion constant and the determination of rank 6 order parameters that were ignored in the previous analysis [Burghardt, T. P., & Thompson, N. L. (1985) Biochemistry 24, 3731-3735]. The rank 6 order parameters are shown to make a significant contribution to the proposed steady-state angular distribution of the relaxed cross-bridges. Order parameters of rank 6 do not contribute to the steady-state fluorescence polarization signal and can only be detected with the time-resolved signal [Burghardt, T. P. (1984) Biopolymers 23, 2383-2406]. We have also applied the model-independent formalism to new data from fibers in rigor when the fibers are in a configuration such that the excitation light polarization is perpendicular to the fiber axis and the light propagates along the fiber axis, so that the fluorescence depolarization signal is sensitive to probe rotational motions about the fiber axis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

Characterization of the isolated 20 kDa and 50 kDa fragments of the myosin head.

We have isolated two proteolytic fragments of subfragment 1 (S-1) of myosin from rabbit skeletal muscle. These fragments, identified by their molecular weights of 20 and 50 kDa, may be functional domains that, when isolated, retain their specific function. We have studied several structural and functional features of the 20 and 50 kDa fragments. Considerable secondary structure in both fragments has been observed in CD spectrum studies. Previously CD spectra showed 64% ordered structure for the 20 kDa fragment (Muhlrad and Morales, M.F. (1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 81, 1003) and here we show 71% ordered structures for the 50 kDa fragment. Fluorescence lifetime studies of tryptophan residues in the 50 kDa fragment and 1,5-IAEDANS-labeled SH-1 in the 20 kDa fragment are used to investigate the tertiary structure of the fragments. We find the tertiary structure relating to this measurement of both fragments to be intact; however, the reaction of 1,5-IAEDANS with SH-1 on the isolated 20 kDa fragment is less specific than with S-1. Furthermore, the fragments showed a tendency to aggregate. The domain concept of S-1 was supported by the characteristic biochemical function of the isolated fragments. Both of the fragments were effective in competing with S-1 for binding to actin in acto-S-1 ATPase measurements. From these studies and in direct binding measurement the 20 kDa fragment proved to bind with higher affinity to actin than did the 50 kDa fragment.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗

Fraction of myosin cross-bridges bound to actin in active muscle fibers: estimation by fluorescence anisotropy measurements.

Time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence anisotropy measurements from fluorescence-labeled myosin cross-bridges in single glycerinated skeletal muscle fibers in rigor, relaxed, MgADP-induced, and contracting states have been made in order to estimate the fraction of actin-bound cross-bridges in active muscle. When the plane of polarization of the excitation light is perpendicular to the fiber axis and its propagation vector has a component parallel to this axis, actin-bound cross-bridge states, such as rigor and MgADP-induced, have time-zero and steady-state anisotropies that are substantially lower than has the relaxed state. This difference provides a means of determining the fraction of cross-bridges bound to actin in active isometric fibers, by comparing the fluorescence anisotropy from active fibers with the anisotropy from bound and unbound cross-bridges in static states. By assuming that the active cross-bridges are either bound (in the manner of rigor or MgADP-induced states) or relaxed, we estimate that greater than 80% of the cross-bridges are actin-bound in active isometric fibers.

Actins↗

CD study of the actin DNase I complex.

DNase I, a specific actin binding protein, forms a stable complex with actin. CD spectroscopy was used to study the question whether the structure of actin and DNase I in their complex are identical with those of the individual components. Far and near UV analysis was used to study the secondary structure and the environment of aromatic chromophores. CD spectroscopic results on actin, DNase I and on their complex in solution are presented which show that no structural change takes place as a result of actin-DNase I complex formation and indicate the absence of aromatic chromophores on the interface of the actin and DNase I in their complex. CD spectroscopy proved to be a convenient technique for studying the interactions between actin and actin binding proteins in solution.

Actins↗