Skeletal muscle Flashcards
What are the properties of skeletal muscle?
- Cross striations2. Voluntary control3. Individual muscle fibers NOT connected by gap junctions / electrical synapses
What are the properties of cardiac muscle?
- Cross striations2. Can be modified by ANS but beats independently via pacemaker cells3. Gap junctions / electrical synapses are part of intercalated discs between cardiac cells
What are the properties of smooth muscle?
- Lack cross striations2. Unitary - functionally syncytial and contains pacemaker cells3. Multiunit - stimulated to contract by NTs
What constitutes a muscle fiber?
- Myofibrils2. Sarcoplasm
What is a myofibril?
Cylindrical structure made up of an end to end chain of repeating units - sarcomeres
What is a sarcomere?
- Functional unit of muscle 2. Contain thick and thin filaments (myofilaments)
What are the features of the sarcoplasm?
Contains mitochondria, nuclei, and other cellular constituents including an extensive ER (SR)
What is the sarcolemma?
Cell membrane of muscle fiber made up of plasma membrane and outer coat
What makes up the outer coat of the sarcolemma?
- Thin layer of material that contains many thing collagen fibers2. At the end this layer fuses with tendon fiber
What is the Z disc?
- Where one end of actin filaments attach2. Attach myofibrils to each other all the way across muscle fiber
What is titin?
- Large proteins that acts as a framework to hold myosin and actin filaments in place2. One end is attached to Z disc and the other to myosin thick filaments 3. Acts as a spring that can change its length as the sarcomere contracts and relaxes
What are the properties of the sarcotubular system?
- Made up of T tubule sysem and SR2. Transmits APs generated near end plate3. SR stores calcium, releases it into myscle cytosol in response to AP and resequesters it to end contraction4. Triad of sarcoplasmic cisterns on either side of a central T tubule
What is the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex?
Dystrophin - forms a rod that connects thin actin filament to a transmembrane protein
What makes up the troponin complex?
- TnI - affinity to actin2. TnT - affinity to tropoyosin3. TnC - affinity for calcium ions
What is the role of calcium in muscle contraction?
- When Ca binds to TnC is causes tropomyosin to move, exposing active site on actin where myosin can bind2. When Ca is pumped back into SR tropomyosin can move back to cover active site on actin 3. ATP must be present to detach myosin heads from actin active sites