Midterm 2 Flashcards
skeletal muscle features
striated and multi-nucleated
cells are organizes into long sections
cardiac muscle features
mono nucleated and striated
smooth muscle features
not striated but multi-nucleated, can contract in multiple directions
functions of muscles (6)
- produce skeletal movement
- maintain posture and body position
- support soft tissues
- guard entrances and exits
- maintain body temperature
- store nutrient reserves
muscle characteristics (4)
contractility, excitability, extensibility, and elasticity
contractility
ability to shorten with force, only creates pulling forces
excitability
capacity to respond to a stimulus
extensibility
ability to be stretched beyond normal resting length
elasticity
ability to return to normal resting length after being stretched due to PEC
organization of connective tissue in muscle
epimysium - surrounds entire muscle
perimysium - surround muscle fascicules, group of muscle fibres, functional unit of muscle
endomysium - surrounds muscle fibre, a group of myofibrils
myofibrils
- contain bundles of protein filaments called myofilaments
- two types of protein filaments: thin (actin) and thick (myosin)
- myofibrils actively shorten > contraction
sarcoplasmic reticulum
- tubular network that surrounds myofibril, have openings into sarcolemma forming a passageway from inside to outside
- store calcium ions needed for contraction cycle
sarcomere
- basic contractile unit of muscle fibre
- arrangement of thick and thin filaments creates a banded appearance
- have A band, I band, and H band, and M line and Z line
A band
region from end to end of myosin filaments
I band
region of only actin filaments, actin filaments end connect to form Z line
H band
region of only myosin filaments
M line
where the myosin ends are bound to each other
Z line
where actin filaments ends and bound to each other
titin
attached myosin to Z line or actin, helps with elasticity
tropomyosin
2-chained helical coil protein, that in complex with troponin, covers the active sites on actin
troponin
associated with tropomyosin, blocks the binding site on actin
myosin features
- can hinge
- head can connect to actin
- has ability to breakdown ATP to generate energy for head
myosin
multiple strands make up thick filament, has a long tail and head that can hinge
sliding filament mechanism
- during muscle contractions, actin and myosin filaments slide over each other
- creates tension (pulling force)
- muscles always pull, they never push
excitation-contraction coupling
- neuromuscular junction (NMJ) stimulates muscle to shorten, motor nerve that synapse on muscle, somatic nervous system
- sarcoplasmic reticulum, stores Ca2+
- troponin, tropomyosin undergo conformational change exposing active sites on actin allowing myosin heads to bind
- myosin crossbridge formation
steps of excitation-contraction coupling
- ACh is released into synaptic cleft, ACH can bind to receptors on motor end plate
- action potential travels along length of axon
- action potential reaches axon terminal causing release of ACh into synaptic cleft
- ACh molecules bind to receptors on surface of motor end plate, causing increased permeability to Na+
- Na+ rush into cells causing action potential propagation along sarcolemma, ACh is broken down by AChE
- action potential travels along sarcolemma until it reaches a T tubule, where it enters muscle fibre
- action potential in muscle fibre triggers release of Ca2+ from sarcoplasmic reticulum
- contraction cycle can begin
contraction cycle basics
binding site on actin exposed > myosin cross-bridge is formed > myosin head pivots > cross-bridge separates > myosin is reactivated
contraction cycle detailed
starts with arrival of Ca2+
- arrival of Ca2+ within zone of overlap in sarcomere
- Ca2+ binds to troponin, moves troponin-tropomyosin complex out of the way, exposing binding site on actin allowing interaction with energized myosin heads
- energize myosin heads binds to active sites forming cross-bridges
- myosin head pivots toward M line, called the power stroke, bound ADP and phosphate are released
- when another ATP binds to the myosin head, the cross-bridge is broken
- myosin head is energized when the free myosin head splits ATP into ADP+P, head is recocked
length of contraction depends on…
- period of stimulation at the NMJ (repeated stimulations)
- amount of calcium in the sarcoplasm
- availability of ATP
muscle relaxation details
- return to resting conditions after contraction
- two mechanisms:
- active transport of Ca2+ across sarcolemma into ECF
- active transport of Ca2+ into sarcoplasmic reticulum
muscle relaxation steps
- ACh is broken down by AChE, which ends the action potential generation
- sarcoplasmic reticulum reabsorbs Ca2+, their concentration in cytosol decreases
- active sites covered, and cross-bridge formation ends, tropomyosin returns to its normal position and active sites are covered again
- without cross-bridge formation, contraction ends
- muscle relaxation occurs, muscle returns passively to its resting length
rigor mortis
- after death circulation stops and the muscle is deprived of nutrients and oxygen
- after a few hours, muscle fibres run out of ATP
- muscle can’t pump Ca2+ out of the cytosol and Ca2+ levels rise
- without ATP, cross-bridge cannot be released and the muscles become “locked in the contracted position”
- begins 2-7 hours after death and can last 1-6 days depending on conditions
muscle tension factors
- tension = force
- determined by the number of pivoting cross-bridges
- dependent on: muscle fibre length and frequency of stimulation
length-tension relationship
- when the thick filaments contact the Z lines, the sarcomere cannot shorten - the myosin heads cannot pivot and tension cannot be produced
- at short resting length, thin filaments extending across the center of the sarcomere interfere with the normal orientation of thick and thin filaments, decreasing tension production
- maximum tension is produced when the zone of overlap is large but the thin filaments do not extend across the sarcomere’s center
- if the sarcomeres are stretched too far, the zone of overlap is reduced or disappears, and cross-bridge interactions are reduced or cannot occur
- when the zone of overlap is reduced to zero, thin and thick filaments cannot interact at all. The muscle fibre cannot produce any active tension, and a contraction cannot occur
muscle twitch
one single stimulation-contraction-relaxation sequence
duration of stimulation-contraction-relaxation sequence
- takes about 40 ms to go through the stimulation-contraction-relaxation sequence
- not the same in all parts of the body, eye muscle is a fast twitch muscle, gastrocnemius is intermediate and soleus is slow twitch
latent period
muscle doesn’t respond right away to stimulation take 2.5 ms, caused by action potential propagation and Ca2+ release into muscle cells
treppe
an increase in peak tension with each successive stimulus delivered shortly after the completion of the relaxation phase of the preceding twitch
wave summation
occurs when successive stimuli arrive before the relaxation phase has been completed, leads to greater force generation with each successive stimulus
incomplete tetanus
occurs if the stimulus frequency increases further, tension production rises to a peak, and the periods of relaxation are very brief