A metabolic control analysis of kinetic controls in ATP free energy metabolism in contracting skeletal muscle

A system analysis of ATP free energy metabolism in skeletal muscle was made using the principles of metabolic control theory. We developed a network model of ATP free energy metabolism in muscle consisting of actomyosin ATPase, sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase, and mitochondria. These components were sufficient to capture the major aspects of the regulation of the cytosolic ATP-to-ADP concentration ratio (ATP/ADP) in muscle contraction and had inherent homeostatic properties regulating this free energy potential. As input for the analysis, we used ATP metabolic flux and the cytosolic ATP/ADP at steady state at six contraction frequencies between 0 and 2 Hz measured in human forearm flexor muscle by P-31-NMR spectroscopy. We used the mathematical formalism of metabolic control theory to analyze the distribution of fractional kinetic control of ATPase flux and the ATP/ADP in the network at steady state among the components over this experimental range and an extrapolated range of stimulation frequencies (up to 10 Hz). The control analysis showed that the contractile actomyosin ATPase has dominant kinetic control of ATP flux in forearm flexor muscle over the 0- to 1.6-Hz range of contraction frequencies that resulted in steady states, as determined by P-31-NMR. However, flux control begins to shift toward mitochondria at >1 Hz. This inversion of flux control from ATP demand to ATP supply control hierarchy progressed as the contraction frequency increased past 2 Hz and was nearly complete at 10 Hz. The functional significance of this result is that, at steady state, ATP free energy consumption cannot outstrip the ATP free energy supply. Therefore, this reduced, three-component muscle ATPase system is inherently homeostatic.