. The depressive effect of P i on the force-pCa relationship in skinned single muscle fibers is temperature dependent. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 290: C1041-C1050, 2006. First published November 9, 2005 doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00342.2005.-Increases in P i combined with decreases in myoplasmic Ca 2ϩ are believed to cause a significant portion of the decrease in muscular force during fatigue. To investigate this further, we determined the effect of 30 mM Pi on the force-Ca 2ϩ relationship of chemically skinned single muscle fibers at near-physiological temperature (30°C). Fibers isolated from rat soleus (slow) and gastrocnemius (fast) muscle were subjected to a series of solutions with an increasing free Ca 2ϩ concentration in the presence and absence of 30 mM Pi at both low (15°C) and high (30°C) temperature. In slow fibers, 30 mM P i significantly increased the Ca 2ϩ required to elicit measurable force, referred to as the activation threshold at both low and high temperatures; however, the effect was twofold greater at the higher temperature. In fast fibers, the activation threshold was unaffected by elevating P i at 15°C but was significantly increased at 30°C. At both low and high temperatures, 30 mM P i increased the Ca 2ϩ required to elicit half-maximal force (pCa50) in both slow and fast fibers, with the effect of P i twofold greater at the higher temperature. These data suggest that during fatigue, reductions in the myoplasmic Ca 2ϩ and increases in Pi act synergistically to reduce muscular force. Consequently, the combined changes in these ions likely account for a greater portion of fatigue than previously predicted based on studies at lower temperatures or high temperatures at saturating Ca 2ϩ levels.force-pCa relationship; phosphate; fatigue HIGH-FREQUENCY STIMULATION of skeletal muscle results in a rapid loss of force and power, with the steepest decline occurring during the later stages of fatigue. This is attributed, at least in part, to elevated levels of P i resulting from the rapid breakdown of ATP and creatine phosphate. In addition, decreases in the intracellular levels of Ca 2ϩ as a result of compromised Ca 2ϩ release also act to reduce force and power (1,2,20). Changes in these ions also may act synergistically to produce even further reductions in force.During intense muscle contraction, a strong inverse correlation exists between muscular force and P i , an observation that supports the hypothesis that increases in intracellular P i at least in part induce fatigue (20,52). This hypothesis stemmed from experiments in single skinned fibers demonstrating that elevated P i reduces isometric force in nonexercised fibers at saturating Ca 2ϩ concentrations (7-9, 36, 38, 39, 42). At a typical fatiguing concentration of 30 mM P i , maximal isometric force (P o ) can be depressed by Ͼ50% compared with near-zero P i in single mammalian fibers (44).In addition to changes in P i , myoplasmic free Ca 2ϩ concentration declines during fatigue, resulting from a decrease in the amount of Ca 2ϩ released from the ...