Action of peptide-B from bovine fibrinogen on ATPase activity and superprecipitation of myosin B

Bovine peptide-B from fibrinogen was capable of accelerating the structural and enzymatic effects associated with superprecipitation of myosin B. The rate of superprecipitation coupled with the hydrolysis of ATP are increased during the structural transformation. In the concentration range from 10-8 to 10-4 M peptide-B, the rate of superprecipitation is increased 12-fold while the hydrolysis of ATP doubles and the time to reach the final extent of superprecipitation is decreased 68%. Under these same conditions, the hydrolysis of ATP by myosin A was unaffected. The concentrations of magnesium and calcium were between 10 and 20 muM, and no additional divalent metal ions were added to the system. Superprecipitation was treated as a model for muscle contraction to explain the in vivo studies of bovine peptide-B in which the peptide behaves as a vasopressor substance producing vascular vasoconstriction. A possible mechanism for the participation of bovine peptide-B in the model for muscle contraction, based on the polarizing interaction of the highly charged density of negativity of the peptide with the actomyosin complex, is presented. Furthermore, bovine peptide-B is speculated as participating in vasoconstriction via attachment to some smooth muscle receptor.