Mechanical properties of smooth muscle. I. Length-tension and force-velocity relations.

GORDON, ALLEN R., AND MARION J. SIEGMAN. Mechanical properties of smooth muscle. I. Length-tension and force-velocity relations. Am. J. Physiol. 221 (5) : 1243-1249. 1971 .-The length-tension and force-velocity relationships of rabbit taenia coli were studied at 22 C. The absence of spontaneous mechanical activity at this temperature was confirmed by test applications of epinephrine. The muscles were tetanically stimulated by means of a maximal 60 Hz, a-c transverse field. An optimum length for tension development was exhibited at which the passive tension was 30yo of the total tension. The maximum developed tension at the optimum length was 0.89 h 0.11 kg/cm2. The inverse relationship between the load or developed tension and the maximum velocity of shortening could be described by the Hill equation. The dynamic constants from the Hill equation were independent of the initial muscle length (a/P,1 = 0.331 zt 0.051; b/l = 0.010 =~t O.OOl/sec.; and V,,,/Z = 0.03 1 &. 0003/set). The similarity of these mechanical properties and those of skeletal muscle suggests that a similar mechanism of contraction exists in taenia coli.

[1]  E. Bülbring,et al.  Metabolic factors affecting the electrical activity of intestinal smooth muscle , 1961, The Journal of physiology.

[2]  R. Ramsey,et al.  The isometric length‐tension diagram of isolated skeletal muscle fibers of the frog , 1940 .

[3]  William Thomas Astbury,et al.  Croonian Lecture: On the Structure of Biological Fibres and the Problem of Muscle , 1947 .

[4]  A. Aberg,et al.  SOME MECHANICAL ASPECTS OF AN INTESTINAL SMOOTH MUSCLE. , 1965, Acta physiologica Scandinavica.

[5]  The force-velocity relation and the dynamic constants of the guinea-pig taenia coli. , 1969, Nihon seirigaku zasshi. Journal of the Physiological Society of Japan.

[6]  R. Speden.  The effect of initial strip length on the noradrenaline‐induced contraction of arterial strips , 1960, The Journal of physiology.

[7]  A. Csapo.  Smooth muscle as a contractile unit. , 1962, Physiological reviews. Supplement.

[8]  A. Huxley.  Muscle structure and theories of contraction. , 1957, Progress in biophysics and biophysical chemistry.

[9]  E. Bulbring.  Measurements of oxygen consumption in smooth muscle. , 1953, The Journal of physiology.

[10]  Kenneth L.Zierler.  SOME ASPECTS OF THE BIOPHYSICS OF MUSCLE , 1973 .

[11]  A. Hill.  The abrupt transition from rest to activity in muscle , 1949, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B - Biological Sciences.

[12]  E. Bulbring.  Correlation between membrane potential, spike discharge and tension in smooth muscle. , 1955, The Journal of physiology.

[13]  B. Katz,et al.  Transverse stimulation of muscle with alternating current. , 1947, The Journal of physiology.

[14]  E. Fischer,et al.  The birefringence of striated and smooth mammalian muscles , 1944 .

[15]  A. Csapo.  Dependence of isometric tension and isotonic shortening of uterine muscle on temperature and on strength of stimulation. , 1954, The American journal of physiology.

[16]  A. Csapo,et al.  Excitability, length tension relation and kinetics of uterine muscle contraction in relation to hormonal status , 1954, The Journal of physiology.

[17]  T. Tomita,et al.  Cable properties of smooth muscle , 1968, The Journal of physiology.

[18]  E. Bozler.  AN ANALYSIS OF THE PROPERTIES OF SMOOTH MUSCLE , 1936 .

[19]  A. Hill.  The viscous elastic properties of smooth muscle , 1926 .

[20]  Toshiro Yoshida,et al.  EFFECT OF LENGTH ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TENSION IN GUINEA-PIG'S AENIA COLT , 1965 .

[21]  B. C. Abbott,et al.  The relation between velocity of shortening and the tension‐length curve of skeletal muscle , 1953, The Journal of physiology.

[22]  D. Bohr,et al.  Effect of stretch on passive tension and contractility of isolated vascular smooth muscle. , 1962, The American journal of physiology.

[23]  F. R. Winton.  The influence of length on the responses of unstriated muscle to electrical and chemical stimulation, and stretching , 1926, The Journal of physiology.

[24]  B. Katz.  The relation between force and speed in muscular contraction , 1939, The Journal of physiology.

[25]  N. Stephens,et al.  Force-velocity characteristics of respiratory airway smooth muscle. , 1969, Journal of applied physiology.

[26]  H. Kuriyama,et al.  The effect of adrenaline on the smooth muscle of guinea‐pig taenia coli in relation to the degree of stretch , 1963, The Journal of physiology.

[27]  A. Huxley,et al.  The variation in isometric tension with sarcomere length in vertebrate muscle fibres , 1966, The Journal of physiology.