No abstract

1. The characteristics of four calcium indicators, murexide(MX), tetramethylmurexide(TMX), arsenazo III (Az) and antipyrylazo III (Ap), were examined to assess their applicability for biological experiments. 2. Az has the following serious disadvantages, although it has a high sensitivity to Ca: (i) nonlinearity of absorbance change against the concentration of Ca due to a change in the structural composition of its complex (2 : 1 complex to 1 : 1 complex) in the range below 10 micro M Ca2+, and due to the high apparent binding constant to Ca at 20 micro M or higher Ca2+; (ii) severe interference by Mg2+; (iii) rather low association and dissociation rate constants with Ca which are not sufficient under conditions where Ca2+ to be determined in the system cannot be disturbed by Az; (iv) inhibitory effect on Ca uptake by bullfrog fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum. 3. Ap has similar disadvantages, although Ap reacts with Ca faster than Az. (i) Ap suffers from interference by Mg2+ even though the effect of Mg2+ can be minimized at the expense of reduced sensitivity. (ii) Plots of absorbance change versus the concentration of Ca deviate from linearity around 20 micro M Ca2+ or higher. (iii) Ap is not very sensitive at concentrations which would not disturb Ca2+ in the system to be determined. TMX is twice as sensitive as MX. However, TMX may be more permeable through membranes than MX in the presence of ATP. MX has no disadvantages except for its low sensitivity to Ca2+.

It has been clarified that ryanodine binds to Ca2(+)-induced Ca release channels in the open state in sarcoplasmic reticulum. While the pharmacological action of ryanodine is known to be retarded at a low temperature, the Ca-releasing action of caffeine is potentiated at a low temperature. In order to obtain deeper insight into the molecular mechanism underlying Ca-release, the effect of temperature on ryanodine binding to the heavy fraction of sarcoplasmic reticulum (HFSR) from bullfrog skeletal muscle was examined. Although Ca2+ is indispensable for ryanodine binding, Ca2+ alone cannot cause ryanodine binding in a reaction medium of a salt concentration similar to that of the sarcoplasm. In addition to Ca2+, caffeine and/or beta,gamma-methylene adenosine triphosphate (AMPOPCP) are necessary. [3H]Ryanodine binding at 25 degrees C closely paralleled the Ca release activity in respect of the Ca2(+)-dependence in the presence of caffeine and/or AMPOPCP, and the effects of inhibitors. A Scatchard plot for ryanodine binding gave a straight linear line, indicating a single class of homogeneous binding sites. At 0 degrees C, the rate of ryanodine binding decreased. Q10 being about 3 on average. The affinity for ryanodine was reduced to about half that at 25 degrees C, with no change in the maximum number of binding sites. The temperature-dependent change in apparent affinity for Ca2+ on ryanodine binding is not always consistent with that in the case of Ca-release activity. The bound ryanodine may be in an occluded state because it did not dissociate for up to 90 h at 0 degrees C.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

While many reports have shown that Ca2+ alone causes ryanodine binding to the heavy fraction of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (HFSR), our results demonstrate that caffeine or beta,gamma-methylene adenosine triphosphate (AMPOPCP) in addition to Ca2+ is necessary for ryanodine binding, although Ca2+ is indispensable for it. While clarifying the reasons for this discrepancy, we found that a high osmolarity of the reaction medium, but not ionic strength, is a crucial factor. In a hypertonic solution containing 1 M NaCl, Ca2+ alone causes a sizable extent of ryanodine binding. Caffeine and AMPOPCP independently stimulate it, unlike the case of 0.17 M KCl (or NaCl) medium, in which they show a potentiating interaction. Ryanodine binding in the hypertonic solution was markedly enhanced not only as to the binding rate but also the extent. The Scatchard plot was linear, indicating a single class of homogeneous binding sites. The maximum number of binding sites as well as the affinity was also increased in 1 M NaCl-medium. The presence of AMPOPCP and/or caffeine did not affect the magnitudes of them so much, especially that of the affinity, in the hypertonic medium, as in the isotonic medium. The Ca2(+)-dependence of ryanodine binding in the stimulatory range was similar to that in 0.17 M KCl- (or NaCl-) medium. However, the very weak inhibition at high Ca2+ concentrations is in striking contrast to ryanodine binding in the isotonic medium. The stimulation due to a high osmolarity is distinct, as to the mechanism, from that due to AMPOPCP, caffeine, or temperature. The dissociation of [3H]ryanodine bound was also examined under various experimental conditions.

In order to obtain a better understanding of the mechanism of the function of fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum (FSR), we examined the binding of beta,gamma-methylene [3H]adenosine triphosphate (AMPOPCP), an unhydrolyzable ATP analogue, and 45Ca to FSR from bullfrog skeletal muscle. In medium containing 100 mM KCl and 20 mM Tris-maleate (pH 6.80) on ice, FSR has a single class of [3H]AMPOPCP-binding sites which amount to 4.4-8.6 nmol/mg protein (usually about 7 nmol/mg protein). The affinity was in the range of 6.2-12.3 X 10(3) M-1 in the absence of Ca2+. Ca2+ increased the affinity for AMPOPCP without changing the total number of binding sites, whereas Mg2+ decreased it. The change of the affinity is due to the direct effect of Ca2+ and Mg2+ on FSR. The possibility that Mg-AMPOPCP, Ca-AMPOPCP, and free AMPOPCP might have different affinities to FSR is excluded. The extent of Ca2+-induced enhancement in AMPOPCP binding is dependent not only on Ca2+ concentration but also on the concentration of AMPOPCP. The binding sites for AMPOPCP are likely to be the ATP-binding sites on Ca2+-ATPase protein on the basis of several lines of evidence, including competition between ATP, ADP, or AMP. FSR also binds 7-13 nmol Ca/mg protein (usually about 8 nmol/mg protein) with the affinity of 4-14 X 10(4) M-1 in the absence of the nucleotide in a similar medium containing 4 mM MgCl2. The ratio of Ca-binding sites to AMPOPCP-binding sites is mostly 1, but occasionally 2, corresponding to the ratio of Ca accumulated to ATP hydrolyzed by frog FSR. In the presence of a sufficient amount of the nucleotide, the affinity for Ca2+ was also increased. These findings are well explained by the random sequence binding model of Ca2+ and AMPOPCP, which bind to FSR with positive cooperative interaction between them. However, high concentrations of the nucleotide result in a negative cooperative interaction in the nucleotide binding in the presence of Ca2+, whereas no cooperativity is observed in the absence of Ca2+. Stimulation of Ca binding by AMPOPCP is also correspondingly affected. Comparative studies show that rabbit skeletal muscle FSR, in contrast to the frog one, shows negative cooperativity in its interactions with Ca2+ and AMPOPCP under some conditions and that the ratio of Ca-binding sites to AMPOPCP-binding sites is 2, corresponding to the well-known stoichiometry with ATP.