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The sarcoplasmic reticulum is a network of the tubules that extend throughout muscle cells, wrapping around (but not in direct contact with) the myofibrils (contractile units of the cell). Cardiac and skeletal muscle cells contain structures called transverse tubules (T-tubules) , which are extensions of the cell membrane that travel into the ...
On either side of the transverse tubules are terminal cisternal enlargements of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (termed endoplasmic reticulum in nonmuscle cells). A transverse tubule surrounded by two SR cisternae are known as a triad, and the contact between these structures is located at the junction of the A and I bands.
Terminal cisternae are discrete regions within the muscle cell. They store calcium (increasing the capacity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum to release calcium) and release it when an action potential courses down the transverse tubules, eliciting muscle contraction. [2]
T-tubules (transverse tubules) are extensions of the cell membrane that penetrate into the center of skeletal and cardiac muscle cells.With membranes that contain large concentrations of ion channels, transporters, and pumps, T-tubules permit rapid transmission of the action potential into the cell, and also play an important role in regulating cellular calcium concentration.
The unusual microscopic anatomy of a muscle cell gave rise to its terminology. The cytoplasm in a muscle cell is termed the sarcoplasm; the smooth endoplasmic reticulum of a muscle cell is termed the sarcoplasmic reticulum; and the cell membrane in a muscle cell is termed the sarcolemma. [9]
A calcium spark is the microscopic release of calcium (Ca 2+) from a store known as the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), located within muscle cells. [1] This release occurs through an ion channel within the membrane of the SR, known as a ryanodine receptor (RyR), which opens upon activation. [2]
Calsequestrin is a calcium-binding protein that acts as a calcium buffer within the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The protein helps hold calcium in the cisterna of the sarcoplasmic reticulum after a muscle contraction, even though the concentration of calcium in the sarcoplasmic reticulum is much higher than in the cytosol. It also helps the ...
Each muscle fiber contains sarcolemma, sarcoplasm, and sarcoplasmic reticulum. The functional unit of a muscle fiber is called a sarcomere. [2] Each muscle cell contains myofibrils composed of actin and myosin myofilaments repeated as a sarcomere. [3] Many nuclei are present in each muscle cell placed at regular intervals beneath the sarcolemma.