Lecture 19 Flashcards
What are sarcomeres?
sarcomeres are the functional unit of muscles and are found on all muscle fibres. They are the units between z lines.
What are costameres?
Costamere are specialized sites of transmembrane complexes and are the location where the transmission of force is concentrated.
What are the complexes that link the extracellular matrix to the actin cytoskeleton?
dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (dystrophin associated protein complex).
Integrin-Talin-Vinculin complex
What does DGC do?
DGC acts to link the basal lamina to the actin skeleton.
What is the function of laminin?
laminin resides within the extracellular matrix and binds to alpha dystroglycan.
What is the sequence of structures that bind from the basal lamina to the actin within the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC)?
Basal lamina bound by laminin.
Laminin connected to alpha dystroglycan which is found in the sarcolemma.
alpha dystroglycan binds to beta dystroglycan which attaches to dystrophin
dystrophin attaches to actin.
What causes duchenne’s muscular dystrophy?
Dystrophin mutation causes duchenne’s muscular dystrophy
What is dystrophin?
Dystrophin is a large rod-like protein.
It is a key component of the DGC complex.
It contains 2 actin-binding domains.
What is the function of dystrophin?
Links the actin cytoskeleton to the sarcolemma.
What are the functional domains of the dystrophin protein?
2 actin binding domains.
24 Spectrin-like repeats which create rod like appreance of dystrophin.
4 hinge regions which bend the dystrophin molecules.
1 Cysteine rich domain which contains a WW domain, 2 EF domains, and a ZZ domain. These domains are required for interaction with dystroglycan.
1 C-terminal domain required for binding to syntrophin and dystrobrevin.
What happens when dystrophin is defective or absent?
Dissipation of forces throughout the myofiber becomes disrupted and membrane become permeable.
Muscle fiber is constantly broken down and regenerated.
What is the function of dystrophin in relation to syntrophin and dystrobrevin?
dystrophin directs syntrophin and dystrobrevin to the sarcolemma.
What happens to muscles in the absence of dystrophin?
Absence of dystrophin results in muscles containing varying number of muscle fiber size, inflammatory cell infiltrate and accumulating fibrous tissue and membrane permeability.
What are some signalling roles of dystrophin?
dystrophin coordinates the assembly of multiple signalling proteins to the DGC (Grb2, calmdulin, SAPK, and nNOS)
nNOS releases NO during muscle contraction to facilitate vasodilation.
What are the components of the dystroglycan complex?
Laminin
alpha dystroglycan
beta dystroglycan
What is the function of the dystroglycan complex?
Links extracellular matrix to the plasma membrane.
Links to actin cytoskeleton by interacting with dystrophin
How many chains does laminin contain?
3 chains. An alpha, beta, and gamma chain.
Which chain of laminin is necessary for interaction with receptors?
The alpha chain
What results from absence of laminin?
congenital muscular dystrophy (MCD1A)
What are the consequences of congenital muscular dystrophy (MCD1A)?
genetic deficiency of laminin alpha 2 chain
Variable muscle fiber size
Presence of immature fibers
Increased connective tissue fibrosis
What is alpha dystroglycan and what is its function?
Alpha dystroglycan is an extracellular protein that acts as a receptor for laminin.
What does alpha dystroglycan require for proper function?
glycosylation