Phosphorylation and its effects on ATPase activity of cardiac and skeletal myosins

Myosin isolated under phosphorylation conditions, showed an additional band of phosphorylated light chain. In the case of cardiac myosin, LC2 is the phosphorylated light chain whereas in skeletal myosin, it is the 18,000 dalton component known as DTNB light chain. There are no differences in K+-EDTA and Ca2+ activated myosin ATPase of cardiac and skeletal of control and phosphorylated myosins. Our experiments showed that the rat heart and skeletal muscle myosins isolated under phosphorylating conditions exhibited high phosphate content which is associated with higher actin activated Mg2+ ATPase activity of myosin as compared to control. Control myosin phosphorylated using myosin light chain kinase and Ca2+ also showed high actin activated myosin ATPase activity. Beef heart myosin isolated in the presence of phosphate buffer, also exhibited a higher level of phosphate followed by an increase in actin activation as compared to myosin isolated in the absence of phosphate buffer. All these experimental data suggest that there is a direct relationship between actin activation and the amount of phosphate incorporated as a result of phosphorylation.