Abstract
1. Steady lengthenings at different velocities (0.02-1.6 microns/s per half-sarcomere, temperature 2.5-5.5 degrees C) were imposed on isolated frog muscle fibres at the plateau of the isometric tetanus (tension T0). When tension during lengthening had attained a steady value (Ti), which varied from about 1.5 to about 2 times T0 depending on lengthening velocity, tension transients were elicited by applying step length changes of different amplitudes. The change in length of a selected segment, close to the end of the fibre connected to the force transducer, was controlled by means of a striation follower. 2. The instantaneous plots of tension versus the length change during the step itself showed that at the high forces developed during steady lengthening, as at the plateau of isometric tetanus, the elasticity of the fibre was almost undamped in the whole range of lengthening velocities used. 3. The tension transient elicited by step length changes imposed in isometric conditions exhibited the characteristic four phases described previously: following the tension change simultaneous with the step (phase 1), there was a quick partial recovery (phase 2, the speed of which increased going from the largest step stretch to the largest step release), a subsequent pause or inversion in recovery (phase 3) and finally a slower approach to the tension before the step (phase 4). 4. In the region of small steps the plot of the extreme tension attained during the step (T1) versus step amplitude appeared more linear during steady lengthening than in isometric conditions and deviated progressively from linearity with increase in the size of step releases. The amount of instantaneous shortening necessary to drop tension to zero (Y0), measured by the abscissa intercept of the straight line drawn through T1 points for small steps, was about 4.1 nm per half-sarcomere in isometric conditions and 5.4 nm per half-sarcomere during lengthening at low speed (0.09 microns/s per half-sarcomere, Ti about 1.6 T0). Taken altogether this indicates, in agreement with previous work, that force enhancement during steady lengthening is due to increase in both number and extension of attached cross-bridges. During lengthening at high speed (0.8 microns/s per half-sarcomere), further enhancement in steady force (Ti about 1.9 T0) was accompanied by increase of Y0 to 6.3 nm per half-sarcomere, indicating that increase in lengthening velocity exclusively produces increase in cross-bridge extension.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)