Relaxation, [Ca2+]i, and the latch-bridge hypothesis in swine arterial smooth muscle.

During vascular smooth muscle relaxation, myosin light-chain phosphorylation values decrease to resting values more rapidly than do stress values. Because phosphorylation is proportionally low, the latch-bridge hypothesis predicts that stress during relaxation should be predominantly carried by latch bridges. I evaluated the mechanical properties of latch bridges by changing tissue length and measuring myoplasmic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]) with aequorin during relaxation of swine carotid medial tissues. Stress production was predicted with the latch-bridge model of Hai and Murphy, in which the measured aequorin [Ca2+] signal is the only determinant of stress. The aequorin-based latch-bridge model predicted relaxation induced by removal of the histamine stimulation. However, when tissues were relaxed by removal of extracellular Ca2+ or Ca(2+)-channel blockers in the continued presence of histamine, the aequorin-based model modestly underestimated the resulting relaxation. This underestimation was most likely caused by a small increase in the [Ca2+] sensitivity of phosphorylation since a model with an altered [Ca2+] sensitivity of phosphorylation more accurately predicted the resulting relaxation. The time course of relaxation in swine carotid artery was not substantially altered when the tissue was either briefly stretched or shortened and then returned to the original length. Because stretch should detach cross bridges, I modified the aequorin-based latch-bridge model to account for stretch-induced cross-bridge detachment. Because [Ca2+] values were slightly above resting values both before and after the stretch, the model predicted that phosphorylated cross bridges could reattach, be dephosphorylated, and form new latch bridges. The model predicted relaxation except during the first few seconds after stretch. These results suggest that latch-bridge reattachment is not necessary to explain the majority of the response to stretch during relaxation. The rate-limiting step for relaxation appears to be removal of [Ca2+] and not latch-bridge detachment.