SMOOTH MUSCLE
Dr. Ayisha Qureshi
MBBS, MPhil
Assistant Professor
STRUCTURE OF SMOOTH
MUSCLE
STRUCTURE OF SMOOTH
MUSCLE
Shape of muscle fiber: - spindle shaped
- 1-5 m in diameter
- 20-500 m in length
A single nucleus present in the central thick portion.
Sarcolemma (cell membrane).
Cytoplasm appears homogenous without striations.
Fewer mitochondria as compared to the skeletal
muscle.
Metabolism mostly glycolytic.
Actin, Myosin & Tropomyosin but NO Troponin
STRUCTURE OF SMOOTH
MUSCLE
Dense bodies present attached to the cell membranes
OR dispersed throughout the cell
Dense bodies serve the same purpose as the Z-discs
Attached to the dense bodies are numerous numbers of
Actin filaments
Interspersed between the actin filaments are Myosin
filaments ( their diameter twice as much as actin
filaments)
Usually, 5-10 times as many actin filaments as Myosin
filaments
STRUCTURE OF SMOOTH
MUSCLE
SIDEPOLAR CROSS-BRIDGES:
Myosin filaments have sidepolar cross-bridges
Bridges on one side hinge in one direction & on the other side in
the opposite direction
Allows myosin to pull an actin filament in one direction while
simultaneously pulling it in the other direction on the other side
Allow smooth muscle to contract 80% as compared to only 30 %
in the skeletal muscle
(force of contraction in skeletal muscle is limited because of the
presence of the z-disc, against which the thick filament will
abutt against and cannot move any further)
Calcium Pump: pumps Ca back into the SR if present for
relaxation to take place. But it is very slow so that duration of
cont. is longer.
STRUCTURE OF SMOOTH
MUSCLE
Neuromuscular Junction:
Does not occur in smooth m. Instead the autonomic
nerves make diffuse junctions that secrete NT
into the matrix coating of smooth m. a few
micrometers away from the muscle fiber
Also the axons supplying them do not have terminal
buttons but varicosities on their terminal axons
that contain the vesicles containing the NT
Neurotransmitter:
Apart from Ach, norepinephrine can also be released
Instead of synaptic clefts, smooth muscles have
contact junctions
CLASSIFICATION OF SMOOTH
MUSCLES
1.
2.
3.
4.
UNITARY/ SINGLE
UNIT/SYNCYTIAL/VISCE
RAL
Muscles of visceral
organs .e.g. GIT, uterus,
ureters & some of the
smaller blood vessels.
Form a sheet or bundles of
tissue.
Cell membranes show gap
junctions that allows AP to
pass rapidly from cell to
cell.
AP spreads rapidly
throughout the sheet of
cells cells contract as
a single unit.
MULTI-UNIT
1. Iris & Ciliary body of the
eye, large arteries,
Piloerector muscles
2. Showing discrete, individual
smooth muscle fibers.
3. Smooth muscle cells not
electrically linked. Each
muscle fiber innervated by
a single nerve ending. NT
itself can spread and lead to
an AP.
4. Selective activation of each
muscle fiber that can then
contract independently of
each other.
PROPERTIES OF SMOOTH
MUSCLES:
1. SINGLE
MUSCLE
TWITCH
Single muscle contraction
(muscle twitch)
develops more slowly
& relaxes even more
slowly----Thus, longer
sustained contraction
without fatigue!
Advantage: This ability
allows the walls of the
organs to maintain
tension with a
continued load .e.g.
urinary bladder filled
with urine
A TYPICAL SMOOTH
MUSCLE HAS A TOTAL
CONTRACTION TIME
OF 1-3 SECONDS
(about 30 times as
long as single skeletal
muscle contraction)
2. ACTION POTENTIAL
In the normal resting state, the membrane
potential is about -50 to -60 mv.
The AP of visceral smooth muscle is of 2
types:
1. Typical spike potentials: (similar to
skeletal muscles) -mostly seen in the unitary
smooth muscles
2. AP with Plateaus: Starts like a typical
spike potential but repolarization delayed for
several hundred to as many as 1000 msec
----accounts for the prolonged contraction
that occurs in certain organs
2. ACTION POTENTIAL
SLOW WAVE POTENTIALS:
Without an external stimulus membrane potential is often
associated with a basic slow wave rhythm. This is itself not
an AP but a local property of the smooth muscle fibers.
CAUSE:
1. Waxing & waning of the pumping of Na ions
2. Conductance of the ion channels increase & decrease
rhythmically
IMPORTANCE:
When the peak of the slow wave reaches about -35 mv,
threshold is reached and an AP develops & leads to a
contraction.
Thus, at peak of the slow waves an AP can occur. These slow
waves are called as Pacemaker waves.
Action Potential
Slow wave potentials
Pacemaker potentials
3. ROLE OF CALCIUM
Poorly developed SR
Presence of caveolae- Small invaginations abut the SR
which release Ca when AP reaches it.
Thus, smooth muscle contraction is highly
dependent on Extracellular Calcium conc.
Point to Note:
So the main source of Calcium ions in smooth
muscle is to greater extent ECF and to a lesser
extent SR as compared to the skeletal muscles
where greatest source of Calcium is SR.
Calcium plays the main role in the prolonged
contraction process.
SMOOTH MUSCLE
CONTRACTION:
When unitary (visceral)
smooth m. is stretched,
spontaneous AP is usually
generated, because:
1. Normal slow potentials
caused by stretch
2. Overall in memb.
Negativity caused by stretch
SMOOTH MUSCLE CONTRACTION SEQUENCE
OF EVENTS:
Binding of Ach to the receptors
Increased Influx of Ca into the cell from the following sources:
1.
ECF thru Ca channels
2.
Ca released from SR
3. Stretch-activated Ca channels when memb. Deformed
4. Chemical-gated Ca channels by NT & hormones
Ca binds to Calmodulin
Ca-Calmodulin activates the enzyme: Myosin light chain kinase
MLCK or simply Myosin kinase
Phosphorylation of myosin, using energy & Pi from ATP
Increased ATPase activity & binding of myosin to actin
Contraction of smooth muscle
SMOOTH MUSCLE RELAXATION
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS:
Dephosphorylation of Myosin by myosin phosphatase/
MLCP
Decreases its ATP activity
Ca removed from cytoplasm using Ca-Na antiport protein &
Ca-ATPase
Calmodulin releases Ca & uncomplexes from MK
MK is phosphorylated by Protein kinase, inactivating it
Relaxation OR sustained contraction
Latch system
It is a state in which the dephosphrylated
myosin remains attached to actin for
prolonged period of time. This produces
sustained contraction without
consuming ATP & thus enables the
smooth muscle to sustain long-term
maintenance of tone without fatigue.
E.g. urinary bladder full of urine.
