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A sarcomere (Greek σάρξ sarx "flesh", μέρος meros "part") is the smallest functional unit of striated muscle tissue. [1] It is the repeating unit between two Z-lines. Skeletal muscles are composed of tubular muscle cells (called muscle fibers or myofibers) which are formed during embryonic myogenesis .
during contraction, actin filaments move into the A bands and the H zone is filled up reducing its stretch, the I bands shorten, the Z line comes in contact with the A bands; and the possible driving force of contraction is the actin-myosin linkages which depend on ATP hydrolysis by the myosin.
During muscle contraction, the heads of the myosin filaments attach to oppositely oriented thin filaments, actin, and pull them past one another. The action of myosin attachment and actin movement results in sarcomere shortening. Muscle contraction consists of the simultaneous shortening of multiple sarcomeres. [6]
Depiction of smooth muscle contraction. Muscle contraction is the activation of tension-generating sites within muscle cells. [1] [2] In physiology, muscle contraction does not necessarily mean muscle shortening because muscle tension can be produced without changes in muscle length, such as when holding something heavy in the same position. [1]
The sarcomere then shortens which causes the muscle to contract. [3] In the skeletal muscles connected to tendons that pull on bones, the mysia fuses to the periosteum that coats the bone. Contraction of the muscle will transfer to the mysia, then the tendon and the periosteum before causing the bone to move.
When a sarcomere contracts, the Z lines move closer together, and the I band becomes smaller. The A band stays the same width. At full contraction, the thin and thick filaments overlap. Contraction in more detail. Contraction is achieved by the muscle's structural unit, the muscle fiber, and by its functional unit, the motor unit. [4]
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 action of myosin along the actin filaments causes the shortening and lengthening of the sarcomere; responsible for muscle contraction and relaxation, respectively. Motor proteins are the driving force behind most active transport of proteins and vesicles in the cytoplasm.