CVS Session 4 Flashcards
Which channels in the CSM are open at rest?
Inward rectifier potassium channels
What is the main factor causing establishment of the resting membrane potential?
Potassium permeability of the CSM at rest
Why is the resting membrane potential of a cardiac myocyte -90 mV and not Ek (-95 mV)?
Small permeability of CSM to other ions
Between which two equilibrium potentials does the membrane potential of a ventricular myocyte stay within throughout an action potential?
Sodium (+30 mV)
Potassium (-90 mV)
How long does a ventricular action potential last?
~280 ms
What determines the point of plateau in a ventricular action potential?
Myocyte type
What causes the upstroke of a ventricular action potential?
Opening of V-G sodium channels –> sodium influx
What two events cause the initial repolarisation of the ventricular action potential?
Transient V-G outward potassium channels –> potassium efflux
Reversal of NCX caused by depolarisation –> small -ve current
What causes the plateau of action potential in a ventricular cardiac myocyte?
Opening of V-G L-type calcium channels –> calcium influx balanced w/ potassium efflux
What causes repolarisation of the ventricular action potential?
V-G potassium channels –> potassium efflux
How do V-G potassium channels vary?
Depend on myocyte present - different types behave differently contributing differently to electrical properties of the myocyte
How is the membrane potential of SAN cells described?
Unstable
What is the pacemaker potential?
Slow depolarisation to threshold
What initiates Ip?
Membrane potential more -ve than -50 mV activating hyperpolarisation-activated cyclic-nucleotide (HCN) gated channels
What do HCN channels do?
Allow sodium influx at SAN myocyte membrane potential
Also potassium influx at other potentials
How can the activation of the pacemaker potential be increased?
A more -ve membrane potential
After threshold has been reached, what causes the upstroke of the SAN action potential?
Opening of V-G calcium channels –> calcium influx
What causes the downstroke of the SAN action potential?
Opening of V-G potassium channels –> potassium efflux
Why do pacemaker cells not require innervation?
They do not sit at rest so have natural automaticity
Why is the SAN the ‘master pacemaker’?
It is fastest to depolarise so sets rhythm of contraction
What will take over the pacemaker function of the SAN if it is compromised?
AVN
How are the action potential graphs of the SAN and AVN related?
Similar shape but AVN is over a longer period of time
How are the action potential graphs of atrial muscle, Purkinje fibre and ventricular muscle cells related?
All similar shape w/ resting potential around -80 mV
What is the approximate resting membrane potential of the pacemaker cells?
-50 mV
What gives cardiac muscle cells mechanical strength?
Glycoprotein that spans membrane and crosses gap b/w cells - desmosome
What facilitates electrical coupling of cardiac cells?
Connexon subunits on both sides of membrane forming non-specific pore - gap junction
What is the function of intercalated disks?
To join cardiac muscle cells
Describe the nucleus in a cardiac muscle cell.
Single
Central
What releases 25% of the calcium needed for the sliding filament model in cardiac muscle cells?
Depolarisation opening L-type calcium channels in T-tubules
What causes calcium-induced calcium release?
Localised increase in calcium concentration opens CICR channels in sarcoplasmic reticulum
Why is there a close link b/w L-type calcium channels and CICR channels in cardiac muscle cells?
Cardiac tissue needs actual calcium influx for contraction
What function does calcium perform during contraction of the cardiac muscle cell?
Binds to TnC –> conformational tropomyosin change –> reveals myosin binding site on actin
What function does calcium have during diastole?
Increased calcium concentration stimulates SERCA –> calcium moves into SR –> sarcolemmal calcium ATPase and sodium/calcium exchanger pump calcium out of the cell through the CSM
How is the tone of BV controlled?
Smooth muscle cells in tunica media of arteries, arterioles and veins
How do the actin filaments in myocytes of BV compare to those in other cells?
Longer so can shorten cell more
How are actin filaments in BV myocytes anchored within the cell?
Dense bodies
Bonds
What can cause excitation-contraction coupling of BV myocytes?
Depolarisation
Activation of GPCRs
How does depolarisation cause excitation-contraction coupling?
Allows entry of calcium through calcium channels
What class of GPCRs are activated in excitation-contraction coupling?
Alpha-adrenoreceptors
Give a brief overview of the activation of GPCRs causing excitation-contraction coupling.
IP3 acts as calcium channel –> SR releases calcium –> calcium binds to calmodulin instead of TnC –> MLCK activated which phosphorylates regulatory light chain on myosin head –> actin-myosin interaction
What affect does decreasing calcium levels have on myosin light chain phosphatase?
Causes it to dephosphorylate the myosin light chain –> no interaction –> relaxation
What is PKA?
Protein Kinase A - phosphorylates MLCK therefore inhibiting contraction as it prevents it phosphorylating the light chain on myosin head