There are three isoforms of class V myosin in mammals. While myosin Va has been studied well, little is known about the function of other myosin V isoforms (Vb and Vc) at a molecular level. Here we report the mechanoenzymatic function of human myosin Vb (HuM5B) for the first time. Electron microscopic observation showed that HuM5B has a double-headed structure with a long neck like myosin Va. V max and K actin of the actin-activated ATPase activity of HuM5B were 9.7 ( 0.4 s -1 and 8.5 ( 0.1 µM, respectively. K actin and K ATP of the actin-activated ATPase activity were significantly higher than those of myosin Va. ADP markedly inhibited the ATPase activity. The rate of release of ADP from acto-HuM5B was 12.2 ( 0.5 s -1 , which was comparable to the V max of the actin-activated ATPase activity. These results suggest that ADP release is the rate-limiting step for the actin-activated ATPase cycle; thus, HuM5B is a high duty ratio myosin. Consistently, the actin gliding velocity (0.22 ( 0.03 µm/s) remained constant at a low motor density. The actin filament landing assay revealed that a single HuM5B molecule is sufficient to move the actin filament continuously, indicating that HuM5b is a processive motor.Myosin is a mechanoenzymatic protein that interacts with actin and converts the chemical energy from ATP hydrolysis to the mechanical work. In addition to well-characterized conventional, filament-forming, two-headed myosin II of muscle and non-muscle cells, a number of myosin-like proteins have been discovered, and it is known that myosin constitutes a diverse superfamily divided into at least 18 classes (1-7). Class V myosins are one of the most ancient myosins of the superfamily, and their genes have been identified in species from yeast, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila to humans (7). Dictyostelium MyoJ and plant class XI and VIII myosins are structurally and functionally related to class V myosins. Yeast contains two class V myosins, while C. elegans and Drosophila contain a single class V myosin. In mammals, there are three distinct subclasses of myosin V. Mammalian class V myosin was first discovered from dilute mice that have a lighter color coat due to the lack of proper pigment transport (8). This myosin V is now classified as myosin Va, and most of the biochemical and cell biological works for class V myosin have been done with this myosin V isoform (see ref 9 for a review). There are two additional myosin V isoforms reported, i.e., myosin Vb and myosin Vc (10, 11), yet their properties at a molecular level have not been studied.The structure of myosin Va was visualized by electron microscopy, and it was shown that myosin Va is the twoheaded structure with the long neck connecting the head and the coiled-coil domain. On the basis of the amino acid sequence homology with myosin Va (10, 11), it is thought that, overall, the structure of myosin Vb and myosin Vc resembles that of myosin Va. The heavy chain of myosin Vb has a molecular mass of 214 kDa and composed of the N-terminal conserved m...