Trinitrophenylation of smooth muscle myosin

The reaction of trinitrobenzenesulfonate with gizzard myosin was studied. The initial phase of the reaction involved two residues and at this level of modification the following was observed: the Mg2+-ATPase of myosin, the actin-activated ATPase of phosphorylated myosin and the phosphorylation kinetics of myosin were not affected. However, trinitrophenylation did induce an activation of the actin-activated ATPase of dephosphorylated myosin and in this respect mimicked the effect of light chain phosphorylation. The Mg2+-dependence of actin-activated ATPase also is altered on trinitrophenylation. These alterations of enzymatic properties could be at least partly explained by the finding that trinitrophenylation favored the 6S conformation of myosin.