Muscle Contraction Flashcards
Contraction model
-occurs due to shortening within the muscles
Actin and myosin
-contractile molecules that inhibit the process of shortening
Sliding filament model
Actin and myosin slide or move across each other forming a more compact unit
Cell structure
- cellular level
- sub cellular level
- molecular level
Cellular level
Cell structures:
- cell membrane: sarcolemma
- cell nuclei: many present, just under the membrane
- cell shape: long, threadlike, referred to as a fiber
Sub cellular level
- there are many specialized organelles present
- sarcoplasmic reticulum and myofibrils
Sub cellular level
Sarcoplasmic reticulum
- Specialized endoplasmic reticulum
- stores calcium needed for contraction
Sub cellular level
Myofibrils
- cylinder shaped organelles passing through cell length
- composed of myofilaments
Molecular level
-large molecular structures are present in the myofibrils that are responsible for the contraction process: actin and myosin
Molecular level
Actin myofilaments
- thin filaments composed of 3 parts: actin protein molecules, tropomyosin, troponin
- anchored or attached to Z lines (disks)
Molecular level
Myosin myofilaments
-thick filaments composed of long rods with globular heads
Molecular level
Sarcomere
- structural unit of myofibrils
- composed of overlapping myosin and actin myofilaments inside Z-lines
- many per myofibril; forming the contraction unit
- contains everything from z-disk to z-disk
Events of contraction
nerve stimulus, calcium release, calcium action
Events of contraction
nerve stimulus
-nerve impulse (action potential) passes along the muscle cell membrane to the sarcoplasmic reticulum
Events of contration
calcium release
-calcium is released from storage and diffuses into the cytoplasm and myofibrils
Events of contraction
calcium action
- calcium binds to the troponin molecule on actin myofilaments
- exposes the active sites, allowing interaction between actin and myosin
Actin-myosin interaction a
- linkages or crossbridges are formed between actin and myosin
- the myosin head moves and pulls on the actin
Actin-myosin interaction b
- the myosin head releases from one site on actin, resets and pulls on the actin at another site
- the process is repeated many times very rapidly, moving actin across the myosin
- this requires many atp molecules
Actin-myosin interaction c
- myosin “walking” down actin causes shortening of the sarcomere units
- as each sarcomere contracts, a myofibril shortens
Actin-myosin interaction d
-contraction ofthe myofibrils causes shortening of a whole muscle cell