Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Physiology logoLink to The Journal of Physiology
. 1981 Jul;316:453–468. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1981.sp013800

Effect of muscle length on energy balance in frog skeletal muscle.

N A Curtin, R C Woledge
PMCID: PMC1248155  PMID: 6976425

Abstract

1. Measurements were made of the extents of ATP splitting and the creatine kinase reaction and the heat + work (h+w) produced during 5s isometric tetani of frog semitendinosus muscle at 0 degrees C. A comparison was made of tetani at two different muscle lengths. These lengths were l0 (sarcomere length 2.3 micrometers before stimulation), which is near the optimum for interaction of actin and myosin, and lmax (sarcomere length 3.8 micrometers) at which actin-myosin interaction is largely prevented. 2. As in earlier studies of muscle at l0, the observed h+w was significantly greater than the amount explained by the energy from ATP splitting and the creatine kinase reaction. Our main new finding is that a significant amount of unexplained energy is also produced at lmax where there is a negligible amount of actin-myosin interaction. This suggests that the unexplained energy cannot be due solely to actin-myosin interaction. 3. On average less unexplained energy is produced at lmax than at l0. Thus it seems likely that the process (or one of the processes) producing this energy is dependent on muscle length. 4. The observed h+w was divided on the basis of its time course into the two parts, labile and stable, which were defined by Aubert (1956). The labile part of the h+w has an exponentially declining rate, and the stable part has a constant rate. The production of labile h+w influenced by muscle length in two ways: the total amount and the rate of its production are significantly smaller at lmax than at l0. 5. At both lengths the labile h+w is equal, within experimental error, to the unexplained h+w.

Full text

PDF
453

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Blinks J. R., Rüdel R., Taylor S. R. Calcium transients in isolated amphibian skeletal muscle fibres: detection with aequorin. J Physiol. 1978 Apr;277:291–323. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1978.sp012273. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Curtin N. A., Woledge R. C. A comparison of the energy balance in two successive isometric tetani of frog muscle. J Physiol. 1977 Sep;270(2):455–471. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1977.sp011962. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Curtin N. A., Woledge R. C. Chemical change and energy production during contraction of frog muscle: how are their time courses related? J Physiol. 1979 Mar;288:353–366. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Curtin N. A., Woledge R. C. Energetics of relaxation in frog muscle. J Physiol. 1974 Apr;238(2):437–446. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1974.sp010535. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Curtin N. A., Woledge R. C. Energy balance in DNFB-treated and untreated frog muscle. J Physiol. 1975 Apr;246(3):737–752. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1975.sp010913. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Curtin N. A., Woledge R. C. Energy changes and muscular contraction. Physiol Rev. 1978 Jul;58(3):690–761. doi: 10.1152/physrev.1978.58.3.690. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dawson M. J., Gadian D. G., Wilkie D. R. Muscular fatigue investigated by phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance. Nature. 1978 Aug 31;274(5674):861–866. doi: 10.1038/274861a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Fawaz E. N., Roth L., Fawaz G. The Enzymatic Estimation of Inorganic Phosphate. Biochem Z. 1966 Mar 28;344(2):212–214. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Floyd K., Smith I. C. The mechanical and thermal properties of frog slow muscle fibres. J Physiol. 1971 Mar;213(3):617–631. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1971.sp009404. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Godfraind-De Becker A. Effet de l'iodure, potentiateur de la secousse musculaire, sur la thermogenèse du tétanos. Arch Int Physiol Biochim. 1965 Jan;73(1):162–163. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Gordon A. M., Huxley A. F., Julian F. J. Tension development in highly stretched vertebrate muscle fibres. J Physiol. 1966 May;184(1):143–169. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1966.sp007908. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Gordon A. M., Huxley A. F., Julian F. J. The variation in isometric tension with sarcomere length in vertebrate muscle fibres. J Physiol. 1966 May;184(1):170–192. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1966.sp007909. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. HUXLEY A. F., PEACHEY L. D. The maximum length for contraction in vertebrate straiated muscle. J Physiol. 1961 Apr;156:150–165. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1961.sp006665. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Homsher E., Kean C. J. Skeletal muscle energetics and metabolism. Annu Rev Physiol. 1978;40:93–131. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ph.40.030178.000521. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Homsher E., Kean C. J., Wallner A., Garibian-Sarian V. The time-course of energy balance in an isometric tetanus. J Gen Physiol. 1979 May;73(5):553–567. doi: 10.1085/jgp.73.5.553. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Homsher E., Mommaerts W. F., Ricchiuti N. V., Wallner A. Activation heat, activation metabolism and tension-related heat in frog semitendinosus muscles. J Physiol. 1972 Feb;220(3):601–625. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1972.sp009725. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. INFANTE A. A., KLAUPIKS D., DAVIES R. E. LENGTH, TENSION AND METABOLISM DURING SHORT ISOMETRIC CONTRACTIONS OF FROG SARTORIUS MUSCLES. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1964 Jul 29;88:215–217. doi: 10.1016/0926-6577(64)90171-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Infante A. A., Davies R. E. The effect of 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene on the activity of striated muscle. J Biol Chem. 1965 Oct;240(10):3996–4001. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Julian F. J., Morgan D. L. Intersarcomere dynamics during fixed-end tetanic contractions of frog muscle fibres. J Physiol. 1979 Aug;293:365–378. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1979.sp012894. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. KUFFLER S. W., VAUGHAN WILLIAMS E. M. Small-nerve junctional potentials; the distribution of small motor nerves to frog skeletal muscle, and the membrane characteristics of the fibres they innervate. J Physiol. 1953 Aug;121(2):289–317. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1953.sp004948. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Kretzschmar K. M., Wilkie D. R. The use of the Peltier effect for simple and accurate calibration of thermoelectric devices. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1975 Aug 19;190(1100):315–321. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1975.0095. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Kushmerick M. J., Paul R. J. Relationship between initial chemical reactions and oxidative recovery metabolism for single isometric contractions of frog sartorius at 0 degrees C. J Physiol. 1976 Jan;254(3):711–727. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1976.sp011254. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Smith I. C. Energetics of activation in frog and toad muscle. J Physiol. 1972 Feb;220(3):583–599. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1972.sp009724. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Winegrad S. The intracellular site of calcium activaton of contraction in frog skeletal muscle. J Gen Physiol. 1970 Jan;55(1):77–88. doi: 10.1085/jgp.55.1.77. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Physiology are provided here courtesy of The Physiological Society

RESOURCES