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The darker bands within skeletal muscle, known as anisotropic bands (A bands), encompass both thick and thin filaments and constitute the central region of the sarcomere, extending across the H-zone. Collectively, the A bands and the I bands create the distinctive striped appearance of skeletal muscle tissue. [ 3 ]
An A-band contains the entire length of a single thick filament. The anisotropic band contains both thick and thin filaments. Within the A-band is a paler region called the H-zone (from the German "heller", brighter). Named for their lighter appearance under a polarization microscope. H-band is the zone of the thick filaments that has no actin.
The names of the various sub-regions of the sarcomere are based on their relatively lighter or darker appearance when viewed through the light microscope. Each sarcomere is delimited by two very dark colored bands called Z-discs or Z-lines (from the German zwischen meaning between). These Z-discs are dense protein discs that do not easily allow ...
The protein complex composed of actin and myosin, contractile proteins, is sometimes referred to as actomyosin.In striated skeletal and cardiac muscle, the actin and myosin filaments each have a specific and constant length in the order of a few micrometers, far less than the length of the elongated muscle cell (up to several centimeters in some skeletal muscle cells). [5]
The actin microfilament is composed of three bands and one disk. The A band is the part of the actin that will bind to the myosin during muscle contraction. The I band is the part of the actin that is not bound to the myosin, but it will still move during muscle contraction.
In mammals, triads are typically located at the A-I junction; [1] that is, the junction between the A and I bands of the sarcomere, which is the smallest unit of a muscle fiber. Triads form the anatomical basis of excitation-contraction coupling , whereby a stimulus excites the muscle and causes it to contract.
In striations of muscle bands, myosin forms the dark filaments that make up the A band. Thin filaments of actin are the light filaments that make up the I band. The smallest contractile unit in the fiber is called the sarcomere which is a repeating unit within two Z bands.
In addition to sarcomere activity, it has been shown that myomesin also plays a role in the assembly of the sarcomere. In order for myomesin to be implemented into the sarcomere, myosin and titin must be present, indicating that myomesin is the last component to be added during assembly of the lattice.