the molecular basis for diminished muscle function in acidosis: a proposal

A testable molecular proposal for the effects of acidosis on skeletal and cardiac muscle is presented. it is based on fluorescence studies published in 1974, which provided evidence for carboxylates in an ef-hand ca2+ binding site having an abnormal pka. this results in an h+-bound blocked substate in the 3-state model of muscle regulation whose contribution inhibits myosin binding in the ph 7 to 6 range. a schematic cartoon illustrates the substate within the 3-state model.