Cross-bridge properties derived from muscle isotonic velocity transients.

The rate constants for the turnover of cross-bridges during frog muscle contraction were determined from an analysis of the motion that follows step decreases in load. For a given projection from the myosin filament, there appears to be a range of about 100 A along the length of the filament over which the projection can attach to the actin filament and form a cross-bridge. The site of attachment is then displaced by a distance of this same order before the link is broken. The values of the rate constants also imply that a cross-bridge is formed each time an actin site comes within range of a myosin projection, so that the turnover of cross-bridges for a given contraction distance is independent of the speed of the motion.