[Thyroxine: structural transformations in the membranes of rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum]

The structure of the membranes of sarcoplasmic reticulum fragments (SRF) normally and in thyrotoxicosis was studied by the spin-label and spin-probe methods and by chemifluorescence. The curves of temperature dependence of the regularity parameter show a typical break for the spin probe at 20 degrees C shifted by 4 degrees C to sower temperatures for thyrotoxins. The same shift was observed with temperature dependence for the correlation period of the spin label covalently bound to the thiol groups of Ca2+ dependent ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum. The latent period of thyrotoxins was reduced and the chemifluorescence intensity increased. The results obtained suggest the occurrence of considerable changes in the structure of SRF membranes in thyrotoxicosis.