An optimized micro-assay of myosin II ATPase activity based on the molybdenum blue method and its application in screening natural product inhibitors / 中国天然药物

Myosin II plays multiple roles in physiological and pathological functions through its ATPase activity. The present study was designed to optimize a micro-assay of myosin II ATPase activity based on molybdenum blue method, using a known myosin II ATPase inhibitor, blebbistatin. Several parameters were observed in the enzymatic reaction procedure, including the concentrations of the substrate (ATP) and calcium chloride, pH, and the reaction and incubation times. The proportion of coloration agent was also investigated. The sensitivity of this assay was compared with the malachite green method and bioluminescence method. Additionally, 20 natural compounds were studied for myosin II ATPase inhibitory activity using the optimized method. Our results showed that ATP at the concentration of 5 mmol·L(-1) and ammonium molybdate : stannous chloride at the ratio of 15 : 1 could greatly improve the sensitivity of this method. The IC50 of blebbistatin obtained by this method was consistent with literature. Compound 8 was screened with inhibitory activity on myosin II ATPase. The optimized method showed similar accuracy, lower detecting limit, and wider linear range, which could be a promising approach to screening myosin II ATPase inhibitors in vitro.

Mechanical effect of Myosin Ⅱ on cell mitosis / 医用生物力学

Cytoskeleton can cause active deformations and resist passive deformations which related to some active deformations of cells known as mitosis. Mitosis occurs through a series of stereotypical shape changes resulted in the mechanical separation of a mother cell into two daugther cells, accompanied by mechanical phenomena throughout the whole course. As a molecular motor of cytoskeleton, myosin II is a kind of multifunctional protein that can participate in mitosis. To make deep study on the roles of myosin II in mitosis could get important theoretical and application value. This paper will sum up the recent research achievements on roles of myosin II in mitosis.

Calcium, cyclic GMP and the control of myosin II during chemotactic signal transduction of Dictyostelium.

Evidence is presented for Ca 2+ and cyclic GMP being involved in signal transduction between the cell surface cyclic AMP receptors and cytoskeletal myosin II involved in chemotactic cell movement. Ca2+ is shown to be required for chemotactic aggregation of amoebae. The evidence for uptake and/or eflux of this ion being regulated by the nucleotide cyclic GMP is discussed. The connection between Ca2+, cyclic GMP and chemotactic cell movement has been explored using "streamer F" mutants. The primary defect in these mutants is in the structural gene for the cyclic GMP-specific phosphodiesterase which results in the mutants producing an abnormally prolonged peak of accumulation of cyclic GMP in response to stimulation with the chernoattractant cyclic AMP. While events associated with production and relay of cyclic AMP signals are normal, certain events associated with movement are (like the cyclic GMP response) abnormally prolonged in the mutants. These events include Ca2+ uptake, myosin II association with the cytoskeleton and inhibition of myosin heavy and light chain phosphorylation. These changes can be correlated with the amoebae becoming elongated and transiently decreasing their locomotive speed after chemotactic stimulation. Other mutants studied in which the accumulation of cyclic GMP in response to cyclic AMP stimulation was absent produced no myosin II responses. Models are described in which cyclic GMP (directly or indirectly via Ca2+) regulates accumulation of myosin II on the cytoskeleton by inhibiting phosphorylation of the myosin heavy and light chain kinases.