Temperature induced transition of the pH-activity curve of heavy meromyosin adenosine triphosphatase and inosine triphosphatase.

The pH-activity curve of heavy meromyosin ATPase [EC 3.6.1.3] was measured at various temperatures. The pH-activity curve at higher temperatures showed a maximum at low pH and a minimum at pH 7 to 8 as has been already reported. At lower temperatures it was sigmoidal in shape, similar to a simple dissociation curve of pKa 6 to 7. The pH-activity curve at intermediate temperatures appeared to be inbetween the two extreme shapes. These changes in pH-activity curve with temperature were found to be common in the presence of divalent cations such as Mg2+, Mn2+, and Ca2+. The ATPase mechanism may be identical in the presence of any divalent cation, and the rate determining step revealing the steady state rate alters by changing the temperature. The transition temperatures estimated at pH 8 were 10 degrees, 8 degrees, and about 5 degrees in the presence of MnCl2, CaCl2, and MgCl2, respectively. The difference in the temperature coefficients above and below the transition temperature was most distinct in the presence of MnCl2, and vague in the presence of CaCl2. A similar change of pH-activity curve with temperature was found with heavy meromyosin ITPase in the presence of MgCl2.