Calcium regulation in chicken gizzard muscle and inosine triphosphate-induced superprecipitation of skeletal acto-gizzard myosin.

Inosine triphosphate (ITP) does not serve as a substrate for myosin light-chain kinase from gizzard muscle. That is to say, myosin light-chain is not phosphorylated in ITP media. Nevertheless, at pH 6.8, 1 mM or 5 mM ITP induces superprecipitation of skeletal acto-gizzard myosin. The ITP-induced superprecipitation occurs in the absence or presence of calcium ions, and regardless of whether gizzard myosin is phosphorylated or not. On the other hand, at pH 8, 5 MM ITP induces practically no superprecipitation of skeletal acto-gizzard unphosphorylated myosin, whereas it does induce a strong superprecipitation of skeletal acto-gizzard phosphorylated myosin. Superprecipitation is also independent of the presence or absence of calcium ions.