The structurally dynamic cytoskeleton is important in many cell functions. Large gaps still exist in our knowledge regarding what regulates cytoskeletal dynamics and what underlies the structural plasticity. Because Rho-kinase is an upstream regulator of signaling events leading to phosphorylation of many cytoskeletal proteins in many cell types, we have chosen this kinase as the focus of the present study. In detergent skinned tracheal smooth muscle preparations, we quantified the proteins eluted from the muscle cells over time and monitored the muscle's ability to respond to acetylcholine (ACh) stimulation to produce force and stiffness. In a partially skinned preparation not able to generate active force but could still stiffen upon ACh stimulation, we found that the ACh-induced stiffness was independent of calcium and myosin light chain phosphorylation. This indicates that the myosin light chain-dependent actively cycling crossbridges are not likely the source of the stiffness. The results also indicate that Rho-kinase is central to the ACh-induced stiffness, because inhibition of the kinase by H1152 (1 μM) abolished the stiffening. Furthermore, the rate of relaxation of calcium-induced stiffness in the skinned preparation was faster than that of ACh-induced stiffness, with or without calcium, suggesting that different signaling pathways lead to different means of maintenance of stiffness in the skinned preparation.
Keywords: MLCK; Triton X-100; blebbistatin; cross-linker proteins; stress relaxation.