In vitro studies of skeletal muscle membranes. Effects of denervation on the macromolecular components of cation transport in red and white skeletal muscle.

The effects of denervation on the macromolecular components of active monovalent cation transport in skeletal muscle have been studied using purified sarcolemma membranes. A comparison of membrane activities of fast-twitch, slow-twitch, and mixed-fiber muscles was made to determine what role, if any, the motor nerve has in regulating this important aspect of muscle metabolism. A dramatic increase in the basal sarcolemmal Mg++ ATPase activity (three- to fourfold) was found for both major muscle types. An increase in the ouabain-inhibitable (Na+ + K+)-stimulated enzyme was also found, but the effect was substantially less (1.5- to twofold). [3H]-ouabain binding, as an index of glycoside receptor sites, also increased (two- to threefold) midway in the course of denervation. On the other hand, the phosphorylated intermediate activity, a functional component of the transport system, clearly decreased over the same time course and remained below control values for the remainder of the course. This resulted in a two- to threefold increase in the turnover number, suggesting that active transport of cations should increase dramatically with denervation. The membrane protein patterns on SDS gels were less obvious than the changes observed in the functional components. The major effects appeared after only one week and seemed to be restricted to high molecular weight membrane proteins, especially in the 100,000 to 250,000 daltons range. This effect was more prominent in slow-twitch membranes with an apparent semiquantitative decrease in stain at 240,000 daltons. In gels of membranes from fast-twitch muscles a decreased stain in the range of 100,000 to 110,000 daltons occurred, and this became more obvious with longer periods of denervation. The results suggest that considerable influence on the macromolecular components of active cation transport in skeletal muscle is exerted by the motor nerve. No appreciable difference was found in this effect when the two major types of skeletal muscle, fast-twitch and slow-twitch, were compared, suggesting that motor nerve regulation of this membrane property is qualitatively the same.