Calcium is important in skeletal muscle contraction because it :-a)bin...
The skeletal muscle contraction is caused by calcium ions. These calcium ions bind to the protein complex troponin in order to remove the masking of active site on actin. This results in the exposure of the active-binding sites on the actin for myosin. Once exposed, myosin binds to the actin and Pi is released from the ATP molecule which is bound to myosin. Upon this, myosin comes back to a lower energy state.
Calcium is important in skeletal muscle contraction because it :-a)bin...
Importance of Calcium in Skeletal Muscle Contraction:
Binding to Troponin:
- Calcium binds to troponin on the actin filaments, causing a conformational change in the troponin-tropomyosin complex.
- This conformational change removes the masking of active sites on actin, allowing myosin to bind to actin and initiate muscle contraction.
Activating Myosin ATPase:
- The binding of calcium to troponin also triggers the release of calcium ions from the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
- The released calcium ions bind to the myosin ATPase enzyme, activating it.
- Activated myosin ATPase hydrolyzes ATP to provide energy for the movement of myosin heads along actin filaments during muscle contraction.
Detaching Myosin Head:
- As myosin heads bind to actin filaments and undergo the power stroke, ATP is hydrolyzed to ADP and inorganic phosphate.
- The presence of calcium helps in detaching the myosin head from the actin filament after the power stroke, allowing for relaxation of the muscle fiber.
Therefore, calcium plays a crucial role in skeletal muscle contraction by facilitating the binding of myosin to actin, activating the myosin ATPase for energy production, and aiding in the detachment of myosin heads from actin filaments to regulate muscle contraction and relaxation.