Muscle Contraction

Mechanism
Milka Rahman | Sr. Biology Instructor | Mastermind

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Introduction
• Muscles cause movement by contracting.
• The energy for the movement comes from ATP molecules that are attached to the
myosin heads.
• Each myosin head is an ATPase.

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 ACTIN – MYOSIN INTERACTION

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 Myosin Filaments Have
Globular Heads and Binding Sites
1) Myosin filaments have globular heads that
are hinged, so they can move back and forth.
2) Each myosin head has a binding site for actin
and a binding site for ATP.
3) Actin filaments have binding sites for
myosin heads, called actin-myosin binding
sites.
4) Another protein called tropomyosin is found
between actin filaments.
It helps myofilaments move past each other.

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 Binding Sites in Resting Muscles are Blocked by
Tropomyosin

• 1) In a resting (unstimulated) muscle the actin-myosin binding site is

blocked by tropomyosin.
• 2) So myofilaments can't slide past each other because the myosin
heads can't bind to the actin-myosin binding site on the actin filaments.

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 Muscle Contraction is Triggered by an
Influx of Calcium Ions
• When an action potential from a motor neurone stimulates a
muscle cell.
• It depolarizes the sarcolemma.
• Depolarisation spreads down the t-tubules to the sarcoplasmic
reticulum.
• This causes the sarcoplasmic reticulum to release stored calcium
ions into the sarcoplasm.
• Calcium ions bind to the troponin attached to tropomyosin.
• Causing their shape to change.
• This pull the attached tropomyosin out of the actin – myosin
binding site on the actin filament.
• This exposes the binding site ready for action.
• The exposed binding site allows the myosin globular head to
bind.
• The bond formed when a myosin head binds to the actin filament.
• This bond is called an actin – myosin cross bridge/ actomyosin bridge.

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 Muscle Contraction is Triggered by an
Influx of Calcium Ions
• Calcium ions also activate the enzyme ATP hydrolase
• ATP hydrolase hydrolyses (breaks down) ATP into ADP
+ Pi
• To provide the energy needed for muscle contraction.
• The energy released from ATP causes the myosin head
to bend
• Which pulls the actin filament along in a kind of
rowing action.
• Another ATP molecule provides the energy to break
the actin-myosin cross bridge
• So the myosin head detaches from the actin filament
after it's moved.

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 Muscle Contraction is Triggered by an
Influx of Calcium Ions
• The myosin head then reattaches to a different
binding site further along the actin filament.
• A new actin-myosin cross bridge is formed
• The cycle is repeated (attach, move, detach,
reattach to new binding site)
• Many cross bridges form and break very rapidly
• Pulling the actin filament along — which shortens
the sarcomere
• Causing the muscle to contract
• The cycle will continue as long as calcium ions are
present.

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The diagram shows the actin
and myosin unit before
contraction starts.
The myosin heads have ADP
and Pi bound closely to
them.

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 SUMMARY
• When a muscle contracts
• Calcium ions are released from stores in the SR and bind to troponin.
• This stimulates troponin molecules to change shape
• The troponin and tropomyosin proteins move to a different position on the thin
filaments
• So exposing parts of the actin molecules which act as binding sites for myosin
• The myosin heads bind with these sites
• Forming cross-bridges between the two types of filament
• Next, the myosin heads tilt
• This pulling the actin filaments along towards the centre of the sarcomere.
• The heads then hydrolyse ATP molecules
• which provide enough energy to force the heads to let go of the actin.

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 SUMMARY
• The heads tip back to their previous positions
• Bind again to the exposed sites on the actin.
• The thin filaments have moved as a result of the previous power stroke
• So myosin heads now bind to actin further along the thin filaments
closer to the Z disc.
• They tilt again, pulling the actin filaments even further along
• Then hydrolyse more ATP molecules so that they can let go again.
• This goes on and on, so long as the troponin and tropomyosin
molecules are not blocking
• The binding sites and so long as the muscle has a supply of ATP.

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 The sequence of events that follows the arrival of an impulse at a motor end plate.

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 Stimulating muscle to contract
• Skeletal muscle contracts when it receives an impulse from a neurone.
• An impulse moves along the axon of a motor neurone
• Then arrives at the presynaptic membrane
• A neurotransmitter, generally acetylcholine, diffuses across the neuromuscular
junction
• binds to receptor proteins on the postsynaptic membrane – which is the
sarcolemma (the cell surface membrane of the muscle fibre).
• The binding of acetylcholine stimulates the ion channels to open
• so that sodium ions enter to depolarise the membrane
• This generates an action potential in the sarcolemma.

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 Stimulating muscle to contract
• Impulses pass along the sarcolemma and along the T-tubules towards the centre of the muscle fibre.
• The membranes of the sarcoplasmic reticulum are very close to the T-tubules.
• The arrival of the impulses causes calcium ion channels in the membranes to open.
• Calcium ions diffuse out, down a very steep concentration gradient, into the sarcoplasm
• sarcoplasm surrounding the myofibrils
• The calcium ions bind with the troponin molecules that are part of the thin filaments.
• This changes the shape of the troponin molecules
• which causes the troponin and tropomyosin to move away
• expose the binding sites for the myosin heads
• The myosin heads attach to the binding sites on the thin filaments and form crossbridges
• When there is no longer any stimulation from the motor neurone
• there are no impulses conducted along the T-tubules.
• Released from stimulation, the calcium ion channels in the SR close the calcium pumps
• move calcium ions back into stores in the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
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Stimulating muscle to contract
• As calcium ions leave their binding sites on troponin
• tropomyosin moves back to cover the myosin-binding sites on the thin filaments.
• When there are no cross-bridges between thick and thin filaments, the muscle is in a relaxed
state.
• There is nothing to hold the filaments together
• so any pulling force applied to the muscle will lengthen the sarcomeres
• So that they are ready to contract (and shorten) again.
• Each skeletal muscle in the body has an antagonist – a muscle that restores sarcomeres to their
original lengths when it contracts.
• For example, the triceps is the antagonist of the biceps.

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Providing ATP for muscle contraction

• A contracting muscle uses a lot of ATP.

• The very small quantity of ATP in the muscle fibres in a resting muscle
is used up rapidly once the muscle starts to contract.
• More ATP is produced by respiration –aerobic respiration inside the
mitochondria
• when that cannot supply ATP fast enough, also by lactic fermentation
in the sarcoplasm release energy

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Providing ATP for muscle contraction
• Muscles also have another source of ATP,
• Produced from a substance called creatine phosphate.
• They keep stores of this substance in their sarcoplasm.
• It is their immediate source of energy once they have used the small quantity of ATP in the
sarcoplasm.
• A phosphate group can quickly and easily be removed from each creatine phosphate molecule
and combined with ADP to produce more ATP:
• creatine phosphate + ADP → creatine + ATP
• Later, when the demand for energy has slowed down or stopped
• ATP molecules produced by respiration can be used to ‘recharge’ the creatine:
• creatine + ATP → creatine phosphate + ADP
• In the meantime, however, if energy is still being demanded by the muscles and there is no ATP
spare to regenerate the creatine phosphate, the creatine is converted to creatinine and excreted
in urine

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 ATP and Phosphocreatine Provide the Energy for
Muscle Contraction

1) Aerobic respiration
• Most ATP is generated via oxidative phosphorylation in the cell's
mitochondria.
• Aerobic respiration only works when there's oxygen so it's good
for long periods of low-intensity exercise.

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 ATP and Phosphocreatine Provide the Energy for
Muscle Contraction

2) Anaerobic respiration
• ATP is made rapidly by glycolysis.
• The end product of glycolysis is pyruvate, which is converted to
lactate by lactate fermentation.
• Lactate can quickly build up in the muscles and cause muscle
fatigue.
• Anaerobic respiration is good for short periods of hard exercise,
e.g. a 400 m sprint.

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 ATP and Phosphocreatine Provide the Energy for
Muscle Contraction

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Two types of skeletal muscle fiber in mammals give
different levels of performance.
Slow twitch muscle fiber
• Adapted for steady action over a period of time
• They contract relatively slowly
• Maintain body posture during long period of activity
• Have a rich blood supply
• Lot of mitochondria, and plenty of myoglobin
• These adaptations mean that – they can maintain their activity without needing
to respire anaerobically for any length of time
• Rich blood supply – means high level of myoglobin – mean deep red color
• Need glucose as fuel
• Supplied by big network of blood vessels
• So that they can produce ATP for as long as oxygen is available
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Two types of skeletal muscle fiber in mammals give different
levels of performance.
Fast twitch muscle fiber
• Contract very rapidly
• Rapid brief activity
• Often function anaerobically – without oxygen – using glycolysis
• Often fatigue quickly
• Supplied with fewer blood vessels compared to slow twitch
• Low levels of myoglobin for storing oxygen
• Small number of mitochondria
• The reason why looks much pale in color
• Contain rich glycogen stores
• Which can be converted for both aerobic and anaerobic respiration
• Also contain relatively high levels of creatine phosphate
• Which can be used to form ATP and ADP
• These adaptations mean many more myofibrils are packed intro fast twitch fibers than slow twitch fibers
• Because little space taken up with mitochondria
• They can’t produce high levels of ATP over a long period of time
• Capable of very fast, powerful, contractions for a brief period

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