Abstract
The technique for mechanical dissection of microscopic myofibrilar bundles containing few myofibrils is described. A sensitive electrooptical tension transducer capable of resolving the tension generated by such myofibrilar bundles to within a fraction of a percent is used to study the response of the preparations to low ATP concentrations. The rate of tension development decreased with a decrease in ATP concentration. Below 10-6 M ATP the myofibrils did not demonstrate any mechanical activity at all. These findings are discussed in terms of the kinetics of the crossbridge cycle.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 189-204 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Mechanochemistry and Cell Motility |
Volume | 4 |
Issue number | 3 |
State | Published - 1 Dec 1977 |