cardiac muscle structures Flashcards
(30 cards)
contractile cells of the heart
myocytes
The largest cell population by number is
endothelial cells, followed by cardiac fibroblasts
predominant components of the ECM are:
Fibrillar collagen type I and III
disruptions in the ECM occur with
disease and cardiac remodeling
Cardiac muscles are:
- striated
- not under direct neural control (unlike skeletal which are)
- shorter, narrower
- richer in mitochondria
- one nucleus
- Ca2+ binds to troponin, which regulates actomyosin interaction
ATPase activity of myosin is
slower in cardiac than skeletal but faster than smooth muscle
in cardiac muscle, Ca2+ binds to
troponin, which regulates actomyosin interaction
Cardiac muscle cells are connected with each other through
intercalated discs
coupling between cardiac muscle cells is
both mechanical and electrical
intercalated discs
- Coincide with the Z discs; contain desmosomes and gap junctions
- Desmosomes provide adhesion and assure that the force generated in one cell passes to the other (connects to ECM)
- Gap junctions provide low resistance pathways for electrical current
Myofibrils and mitochondria occupy about
85% of the heart cell volume (the rest contains sarcolemma, T-tubules, SR, intercalated disks, gap junctions, etc)
thick filament
composed of hundreds of long, contractile myosin molecules arranged in a staggered side by side complex
thin filament
composed of hundreds of long, contractile myosin molecules arranged in a staggered side by side complex
saracomere
unit of contractile activity composed mainly of actin and myosin and extending from Z line to Z line in a myofibril
myofibril
end to end arrays of identical sarcomeres
myofiber
a single, multinucleated muscle cell containsing all the usual cell organelles plus many myofibrils
muscle
organized array of muscle fibers
a cardiac muscle cell is made up of
sarcomeres
sarcomere is defined as
z line to z line
the a band is
thick filaments
the I band is
thin filament extensions from the Z line
major contractile protein
- myosin
2. actin
Myosin
- Composed of two heavy chains and four light chains (RLC, ELC) with a mass of about 480,000 daltons.
- Developmental regulation of isoforms (and with disease).
- HC isoform determines ATPase activity (a vs b)
Actin is
- Similar to skeletal muscle myosin
2. Binds tropomyosin and troponin