Muscle and Muscle Contraction
The functional unit of muscle is the sarcomere.
Muscle Proteins Actin – a globular protein polymerized to form a double-stranded coil Tropomyosin is positioned in the groove of the actin Myosin heavy chains form double coiled strands with a bipolar head Myosin light chains associate with the heavy chains and regulate activity Troponin – a cluster of globular proteins associates with the tropomyosin
Sliding Filament Theory When muscle contracts, sarcomeres shorten as the filaments slide over one another, but the actin and the myosin do not shorten