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NROSCI/BIOSCI 1070 MSNBIO 2070 Human Physiology September 3, 2014 Muscle 2 September 3, 2014 Muscle 2 Slide 2 Act I: Smooth Muscle Slide 3 Types of Smooth Muscle Multi-unit Smooth Muscle: This type of smooth muscle is in some ways analogous to skeletal muscle. Individual muscle fibers contract independently, and the contraction is mainly controlled by neural inputs. Examples: smooth muscle that affects pupillary size and muscles that produce piloerection. Unitary Smooth Muscle (Syncytial or Visceral Smooth Muscle): In unitary smooth muscle, individual fibers are mechanically linked together in a sheet. Furthermore, gap junctions provide electrotonic coupling between adjacent fibers to assure that they contract as a unit. Unitary smooth muscle is the more common type, and is present in the walls of most visceral organs. Slide 4 Smooth Muscle vs. Skeletal Muscle Contraction Like skeletal muscle, smooth muscle contraction is accomplished through myosin-actin interactions. Smooth muscle lacks troponin. Instead, smooth muscle contraction is activated when calcium ions bind with a regulatory protein called calmodulin. Once calmodulin binds to calcium, it can join with and activate a phosphorylating enzyme, myosin kinase. In turn, myosin kinase phosphorylates a subunit of the myosin head, which is necessary to permit the interaction with actin. Once phosphorylated, myosin will interact with actin indefinitely until another enzyme, myosin phosphatase, severs the phosphate from the myosin head. Slide 5 Smooth Muscle vs. Skeletal Muscle Contraction Another difference is that the myosin heads remain in contact with actin for a relatively long period of time in smooth muscle. Furthermore, smooth muscle myosin ATPase activity is very low, so the cross bridges cycle slowly. As a result of these differences, smooth muscle contraction is much slower than skeletal muscle contraction, and relaxation also occurs slower. Because of the prolonged interactions between actin and myosin, sustained contraction requires less energy than in skeletal muscle. In addition, the force of muscle contraction is very strong. Slide 6 Smooth Muscle Latch Mechanism ROnce smooth muscle is fully contracted, very little energy is required to sustain the contraction. RThis is called the latch mechanism. RIt has been postulated that the latch mechanism is related to a deactivation of both myosin kinase and myosin phosphatase during prolonged contractions, so that myosin remains bound to actin without expenditure of energy. RThe process by which these enzymes are turned off is not fully appreciated. ROnce smooth muscle is fully contracted, very little energy is required to sustain the contraction. RThis is called the latch mechanism. RIt has been postulated that the latch mechanism is related to a deactivation of both myosin kinase and myosin phosphatase during prolonged contractions, so that myosin remains bound to actin without expenditure of energy. RThe process by which these enzymes are turned off is not fully appreciated. Slide 7 Mechanisms regulating Ca ++ entry into smooth muscle cells Major ligands are Norepinephrine from sympathetic nervous system and Acetylcholine from parasympathetic nervous system. Acetylcholine or Norepinephrine binding can either increase or decrease Ca ++ entry, depending on the muscle A large variety of hormones can also produce an increase or decrease in Ca ++ entry at channels Voltage-gated channels can be opened by either a depolarization from an adjacent cell (via gap junctions), or from a depolarization mediated through ligand-gated Na + and K + channels ------------------------------------------- ! Second messengers can affect voltage- or ligand- gated channels, thereby altering Ca ++ entry, and may also alter the efficacy of the ATPase removing Ca ++ from the cell Slide 8 Summary: Smooth vs Skeletal Muscle Slide 9 Act II: Cardiac Muscle Slide 10 How Cardiac Muscle Compares with Other Types Cardiac muscle, like skeletal muscle, is striated. Furthermore, both types of muscle are similar in that contraction is initiated when Ca ++ binds to troponin. The sliding of cardiac and skeletal muscle actin and myosin filaments is also similar, and the rate limiting step is the breakdown of ATP by myosin ATPase. In other respects, the contraction process is similar to that of smooth muscle. Both cardiac and smooth muscle cells are joined electrically by gap junctions, and physically (in the case of cardiac muscle cells, by the interdigitation of membranes at sites called intercalated disks). In some ways, however, cardiac muscle differs completely from both smooth and striated muscle. Special cells in cardiac muscle are autorhythmic, in that they spontaneously generate action potentials without input from other sources. These so-called pacemaker cells set the rate of the heartbeat. Because of the existence of these specialized cells, the heart can contract in isolation, when removed from all neural and hormonal influences. Slide 11 Structure of Cardiac Myocytes The intercalated disks hold the cardiac muscle cells into a latticework that maximizes pressure inside the heart chambers when the muscle cells contract. Slide 12 Structure of Cardiac Myocytes Cardiac muscle cells also contain an abundance of a protein called titin, which has springlike properties and plays a key role in generating tension within the cells during contraction. Slide 13 Mechanism of cardiac muscle contraction Ryanodine Receptor Ca ++ -induced Ca ++ release Indirect active transport Slide 14 Cardiac Action Potential 44 Phase 4 is the resting membrane potential, which is ~-90 mV in a cardiac muscle cell. -90 mV + 50 mV 0 200-300 msec Phase 0 is a period of rapid depolarization, which results from the opening of fast Na+ channels. 1 During Phase 1, the fast sodium channels inactivate, and the cardiac transient outward potassium current (I TO ) is initiated. 2 During Phase 2, I TO discontinues and L-type Ca ++ channels open. The resulting Ca ++ entry produces the Ca ++ -induced calcium release. Slow delayed rectifier K + channels are also open so that there is no change in membrane polarity (inward and outward + charges balance). During Phase 3, the Ca ++ channels inactivate, and two additional types of K + channels open to repolarize the membrane. 3 Slide 15 Cytoplasm loaded with Ca 2+ fluorescent indicator Na/Ca exchanger TnC K + channel Na + channel ATPase Ca 2+ Na+Na+ K+K+ K+K+ Na + Contractile filaments Ca 2+ Ca 2+ channel Na + pump T-tubule PLB Ryanodine receptor Extracellular space Cytoplasm Na + Cardiac Action Potential Casq CSQ CSQ\ Ca 2+ Na + Ca 2+ Na + Ca 2+ Cytosolic [Ca 2+ ] Sarcoplasmic reticulum Slide courtesy of Bjorn Knollmann, MD, PhD Vanderbilt University Slide 16 What is the importance of the long duration of the cardiac action potential? Slide 17 Why Does Venous Return to the Heart Affect Cardiac Output? Unlike skeletal muscle, resting cardiac muscle is shortened well below its optimal length. As a result, cardiac muscle cells have a tendency to contract very weakly. When blood fills a heart chamber, however, the cardiac muscle is stretched and brought closer to its optimal length. As a result, the tension of contraction increases. This principle is the fundamental basis for the Frank-Starling Law of the Heart. This law states that as the volume of blood returning to a heart chamber increases (thereby stretching myocardial cells in that chamber to a more efficient resting length), then the force produced by contraction (and thus stroke volume) also increases. As a result, the heart will always pump out as much blood as is returned. Slide 18 Why Does Venous Return to the Heart Affect Cardiac Output? In addition to mechanically affecting contraction strength by altering the relationship between the contractile proteins actin and myosin in cardiac muscle cells, stretch of a ventricle affects the sensitivity of the calcium-binding protein troponin for calcium. This heightened sensitivity increases the rate of cross- bridge attachment and detachment, and the amount of tension developed by the muscle fiber. Slide 19 Note: The Frank-Starling Effect Has a Cost: ATP! The Frank-Starling effect facilitates cross-bridge cycling in cardiac muscle cells Each cross bridge cycle requires ATP Thus, the Frank-Starling effect results in more ATP use by cardiac muscle cells, along with stronger contraction Although the Frank-Starling effect is very practical to stabilize cardiac output, it is hazardous in patients with reduced coronary blood flow, who cannot deliver enough oxygen to cardiac muscle cells to generate large quantities of ATP Slide 20 Action Potential Generation by Autorhythmic Cells Cardiac autorhythmic cells do not have a stable resting potential. This is mainly due to the fact they have I f (f=funny) channels that open spontaneously when the membrane is polarized to -60 mV. The I f channels allow both Na + and K + ions to flux, but at negative membrane voltages inward Na + influx exceeds K + efflux. As a result, the membrane slowly depolarizes. Slide 21 Action Potential Generation by Autorhythmic Cells The depolarization causes a few voltage-gated Ca ++ channels to open, and this depolarization eventually promotes more Ca ++ channels to open, producing a full-blown action potential. The Ca ++ channels then close, repolarization begins due to opening of K + channels, the membrane returns to a negative potential, and the process begins again. Slide 22 How does the Parasympathetic Nervous System Affect Cardiac Contraction? Release of ACH from vagal efferents acts to slow heart rate. The transmitter binds to muscarinic receptors on autorhythmic cells that influence both K + and Ca ++ channels. Potassium permeability increases, so the membrane potential becomes more negative after each action potential. At the same time, Ca ++ permeability decreases. Thus, it takes more time for the cell to reach threshold for generating the Ca ++ -mediated action potential. Slide 23 How does the Sympathetic Nervous System Affect Cardiac Contraction? The binding of epinephrine or norepinephrine to -receptors on autorhythmic cells results in the activation of a second messen- ger system (c-AMP), whose effect is to cause phosphorylation of I f and Ca ++ channels. The net result is that cation entry speeds up, which decreases the time required for the voltage-gated Ca ++ channels to become activated during each action potential cycle. As a result, the time between action potentials decreases. Slide 24 How does the Sympathetic Nervous System Affect Cardiac Contraction? Typical myocardial cells are also affected by binding to - receptors, which induces the production of cAMP. The phosphorylation of voltage-gated Ca ++ channels increases the likelihood that they will open. In addition, phosphorylation of a regulatory protein, phospholamban, enhances Ca ++ ATPase activity in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, so that more Ca ++ is sequestered in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, and thus more Ca ++ can be released when the myocardial cell reaches threshold. As a result, the actin filaments slide further along myosin, and contraction tension is increased. Phospholamban Acts Here Makes This More Efficient Slide 25 Other Effects of the Sympathetic Nervous System on Myocardial Cells The Ca2+ channels on the myocardial cell membrane open faster. The Ca2+ channels in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (ryanodine receptors) open faster. Cross bridge cycling occurs faster. Net Effect: Myocardial contraction is faster and more intense; the myocardial action potential is shortened in duration. Slide 26 The Staircase Effect (Bowditch effect; Treppe; Frequency-dependent inotropy) Increases in heart rate cause an automatic increase in the tension generated by contracting myocardial cells, even when all neural and hormonal influences are eliminated. This phenomenon is called the Bowditch effect after the physiologist (Henry Bowditch) that discovered it. Slide 27 The Staircase Effect (Bowditch effect; Treppe; Frequency-dependent inotropy) Most think the Bowditch effect is due to the impaired ability to remove Ca++ from the sarcoplasm. Although most of the Ca++ is transported into the sarcoplasmic reticulum via the Ca++-ATPase, some is removed at the cell surface by indirect active transport. When contraction rates are high, the Na+/K+ ATPase is overwhelmed, and levels of Na+ climb in the cell near the plasma membrane. Thus, there is less driving force for indirect active transport, so intracellular Ca++ levels increase. This additional Ca++ facilitates the contraction once an action potential occurs. 3 Na + per Ca 2+ Slide 28 Heart Rate & Cardiac Action Potential Duration When heart rate increases, there is an automatic shortening of the cardiac action potential (mainly the plateau phase). This is due to the intracellular Ca 2+ accumulation at higher heart rates, which affects the L-type Ca 2+ channels. These channels inactivate quicker, which shortens the plateau phase. Slide 29 Heart Rate & Cardiac Action Potential Duration High heart rates induced by the sympathetic nervous system diminish the protective value of the long duration cardiac action potential (which becomes shorter than the period of contraction). Other safety mechanisms are also needed to minimize the possibility of sustained myocardial contraction (as we will see in a subsequent lecture). 1 sec 0.5 sec