Inhibition of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump by cytosolic protein(s) endogenous to heart and slow skeletal muscle but not fast skeletal muscle.

Cytosol from rabbit heart and slow and fast skeletal muscles was fractionated using (NH4)2SO4 to yield three cytosolic protein fractions, viz., CPF-I (protein precipitated at 30% saturation), CPF-II (protein precipitated between 30 and 60% saturation), and cytosol supernatant (protein soluble at 60% saturation). The protein fractions were dialysed and tested for their effects on ATP-dependent, oxalate-supported Ca2+ uptake by sarcoplasmic reticulum from heart and slow and fast skeletal muscles. CPF-I from heart and slow muscle, but not from fast muscle, caused marked inhibition (up to 95%) of Ca2+ uptake by sarcoplasmic reticulum from heart and from slow and fast muscles. Neither unfractionated cytosol nor CPF-II or cytosol supernatant from any of the muscles altered the Ca2+ uptake activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum. Studies on the characteristics of inhibition of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ uptake by CPF-I (from heart and slow muscle) revealed the following: (a) Inhibition was concentration- and temperature-dependent (50% inhibition with approx. 80 to 100 micrograms CPF-I; seen only at temperatures above 20 degrees C). (b) The inhibitor reduced the velocity of Ca2+ uptake without appreciably influencing the apparent affinity of the transport system for Ca2+. (c) Inhibition was uncompetitive with respect to ATP. (d) Sarcoplasmic reticulum washed following exposure to CPF-I showed reduced rates of Ca2+ uptake, indicating that inhibition results from an interaction of the inhibitor with the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane. (e) Concomitant with the inhibition of Ca2+ uptake, CPF-I also inhibited the Ca2+-ATPase activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum. (f) Heat-treatment of CPF-I led to loss of inhibitor activity, whereas exposure to trypsin appeared to enhance its inhibitory effect. (g) Addition of CPF-I to Ca2+-preloaded sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles did not promote Ca2+ release from the vesicles. These results demonstrate the presence of a soluble protein inhibitor of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump in heart and slow skeletal muscle but not in fast skeletal muscle. The characteristics of the inhibitor and its apparently selective distribution suggest a potentially important role for it in the in vivo regulation of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump, and therefore in determining the duration of Ca2+ signal in slow-contracting muscle fibers.