Skeletal Muscle And AP Flashcards
What makes up a motor unit
A motor neurone attached to its muscle and all the muscle fibres that it stimulates
What do muscle fibres (cells) have
Mitochondria and many nuclei
They are formed by myofibrils
Explain the structure of myofibrils
Repeating units called sarcomere which have 2 filaments myosin and actin.
Explain all the zones and bands in a sarcomere
A band - all the filaments
M line - middle of the sarcomere filaments
I band - only thin actin
Z line - end of sarcomere
H zone - only thick myosin
What happens to muscle / sarcomere when contracted
The z lines become closer together due to muscle shortening
I and H zone shorten due to filaments sliding over
A band stays the same (filaments don’t shorten)
What is the purpose of m line
It holds thick myosin filaments together
Name the 3 components of actin
Actin tropomyosin and Troponin
What are actin molecules called when G actin forms long coils into helix (2 actin chains)
F actin - filamentous actin
Where does myosin bind to on actin
On g actin molecules
Explain the 3 subunits of troponin - called a trimer
T and I bind to actin and tropomyosin which prevents myosin binding at rest
C is where calcium binds and uncovers myosin binding site = contraction
What is summation in muscle
When the muscle has no time to relax after ap so the next ap is stronger = stronger twitch
What is recruitment
When additional motor units are fired due to a big stimulus which causes greater muscle contraction
Explain where the ap from the EPP hits first and explain structure around myofibrils / muscle fibres
The ap hits at the t tubules in the sarcolemma (cytoplasm)
The t tubules then allow the ap to reach the terminal cisternae (end of tubules) where the sarcoplasmic reticulum is
This causes ca2+ release from leak channels
What causes the release of Ca2+ from the SR in the terminal cisternae
A triad released from the t tubules which contacts to terminal cisternae and causes ca to be released
Explain the steps of excitation contraction coupling (sliding theory)
At rest the myosin sites are blocked by tropomyosin and actin bound to troponin
When ca2 released from SR reaches muscle it binds to troponin which allows myosin to bind to g actin = CROSS BRIDGE FORMED
Myosin becomes in a high energy state due to atp hydrolysis in its head. This causes heads to rotate and pulls actin = POWERSTROKE
ATP then binds again to the head which allows removal of the actin myosin bond (cross bridge)
The myosin later becomes into high energy state when ATP is hydrolysed and the cycle starts again