Inhibition of TnI-TnC interaction and contraction of skinned muscle fibres by the synthetic peptide TnI [104–115]

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Abstract
Circular dichroism was used to study the induction of helix in TnC or TnI-TnC by the TnI peptide [104–115] at various Ca2+ concentrations. The increase in negative ellipticity and pCa2+ values for the peptide-TnC complex, indicates that binding of the peptide to TnC, induces a small helical conformational change in TnC. This results in an increase in the Ca2+ binding constant and the pCa50 value required to induce 50% of Ca2+-dependent helix in TnC. The introduction of the peptide to a preformed mixture of TnI-TnC resulted in an increase in negative ellipticity and a decrease in the pCa50 and the apparent Ca2+ binding constant towards the values obtained for the TnI peptide-TnC complex and away from those of TnI-TnC. This demonstrates that the TnI peptide can successfully compete with TnI for TnC and thereby inhibit the TnI-TnC interaction. The addition of the TnI peptide to skinned rabbit psoas or porcine cardiac fibres resulted in the inhibition of the force development and a decrease in the pCa50 values required for 50% Ca2+ activation. The magnitude of the inhibition of tension development and the shift in the Ca2+ sensitivity for skinned cardiac muscle fibres was approximately half that observed with skeletal muscle fibres. In view of the CD findings, these skinned fibre results can be accounted for by the peptide inhibiting the TnI interaction with TnC. However, it is possible that the TnI peptide also has a direct inhibitory effect on TM-actin. Mastoparan, another TnC binding peptide, also inhibited the tension development in skinned skeletal and cardiac muscle fibres, but was much less efficient than the TnI peptide.