Hg2+-induced contracture in mechanically skinned fibers of frog skeletal muscle

Abstract

In mechanically skinned fibers of the semitendinosus muscle of bullfrogs, we examined the role of membrane sulfhydryl groups on Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Hg2+, a sulfhydryl reagent (20–100 μM), induced a repetitive contracture of skinned fibers, and this contracture did not occur in skinned fibers in which the SR had been disrupted by treatment with a detergent (Brij 58). Procaine (10 mM), Mg2+ (5 mM), or dithiothreitol (1 mM) blocked the Hg2+-induced contracture. Ag+ or p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonic acid produced similar contractures to that induced by Hg2+. We conclude that Hg2+ releases Ca2+ from SR of a skinned fiber by modifying sulfhydryl groups on the SR membrane, and suggest that the Ca2+ released by Hg2+ may trigger a greater release of Ca2+ from SR to develop tension.