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Biophys J, August 2001, p. 1093-1100, Vol. 81, No. 2
Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle Washington 98195 USA
We carried out experiments on single isolated myofibrils
in which thin filaments had been functionally removed, leaving the connecting (titin) filaments as the sole agent taking up the length change. With technical advances that gave sub-nanometer detectability we examined the time course of single sarcomere-length change when the
myofibril was ramp-released or ramp-stretched by a motor. The
sarcomere-length change was stepwise. Step sizes followed a consistent
pattern: the smallest was ~2.3 nm, and others were integer multiples
of that value. The ~2.3-nm step quantum is the smallest consistent
biomechanical event ever demonstrated. Although the length change must
involve the connecting filament, the size of the quantum is an order of
magnitude smaller than anticipated from folding of Ig- or
fibronectin-like domains, implying either that folding occurs in
sub-domain units or that other mechanisms are involved.
Biophys J, August 2001, p. 1093-1100, Vol. 81, No. 2
© 2001 by the Biophysical Society 0006-3495/01/08/1093/08 $2.00
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