Temperature dependence of active tension in mammalian (rabbit psoas) muscle fibres: effect of inorganic phosphate.

1. The effect of added inorganic phosphate (P(i), range 3-25 mM) on active tension was examined at a range of temperatures (5-30 degrees C) in chemically skinned (0.5 % Brij) rabbit psoas muscle fibres. Three types of experiments were carried out. 2. In one type of experiment, a muscle fibre was maximally activated at low temperature (5 degrees C) and its tension change was recorded during stepwise heating to high temperature in approximately 60 s. As found in previous studies, the tension increased with temperature and the normalised tension-(reciprocal) temperature relation was sigmoidal, with a half-maximal tension at 8 degrees C. In the presence of 25 mM added P(i), the temperature for half-maximal tension of the normalised curve was approximately 5 degrees C higher than in the control. The difference in the slope was small. 3. In a second type of experiment, the tension increment during a large temperature jump (from 5 to 30 degrees C) was examined during an active contraction. The relative increase of active tension on heating was significantly higher in the presence of 25 mM added P(i) (30/5 degrees C tension ratio of 6-7) than in the control with no added P(i) (tension ratio of approximately 3). 4. In a third type of experiment, the effect on the maximal Ca(2+)-activated tension of different levels of added P(i) (3-25 mM) (and P(i) mop adequate to reduce contaminating P(i) to micromolar levels) was examined at 5, 10, 20 and 30 degrees C. The tension was depressed with increased [P(i)] in a concentration-dependent manner at all temperatures, and the data could be fitted with a hyperbolic relation. The calculated maximal tension depression in excess [P(i)] was approximately 65 % of the control at 5-10 degrees C, in contrast to a maximal depression of 40 % at 20 degrees C and 30 % at 30 degrees C. 5. These experiments indicate that the active tension depression induced by P(i) in psoas fibres is temperature sensitive, the depression becoming less marked at high temperatures. A reduced P(i)-induced tension depression is qualitatively predicted by a simplified actomyosin ATPase cycle where a pre-phosphate release, force-generation step is enhanced by temperature.