Ca++ activation of ATPase activity, ATP-Pi exchange, and tension in briefly glycerinated heart muscle.

In the course of MG-dependent ATP splitting by heart actomyosin, an "energy rich" actomyosin-ADP complex is formed, which promotes the incorporation of phosphate 32P into ATP in myofibrils. The rate of this ATP-phosphate exchange reaction depends on the extent of actin-myosin overlap which can be decreased by stretching glycerinated muscle fibres. In heart muscle, the calcium-ion dependence of this reaction is similar to that of the actomyosin ATPase, the tension, and "immediate fibre stiffness" (which is "hookean" and which is a measure for the number of myosin cross-bridges attached to and interacting with actin). These findings suggest that calcium increases the amount of "contractile" actomyosin-ADP complexes. The proportionality between tension and ATPase activity further suggests that the rate-limiting step of the cross-bridge cycle (which determines the molecular turnover number, the "Wechselzahl" of the ATPase) is only little affected by calcium ions. These ions act by recruiting more bridges rather than by accelerating their reactions. In addition, the depressing effect of inorganic phosphate on the contractile tension and its presumable role in energetic insuffciency will be discussed.