Smooth Muscle
Unstriated muscle associated with visera.
(Compare to skeletal muscle)
• Controlled by autonomic nervous system,
hormones and paracrines.
• actin/myosin structure allows sustained
contraction in different directions
• role of calcium in contraction
Smooth Muscle
• Found in walls of hollow organs and tubes,
where its contraction will change the shape
of an organ
• Generates force to move material through
the lumen of an organ
• Smooth muscle is controlled by hormones
and paracrines, as well as autonomic
nervous system neurotransmitters
Visceral Smooth Muscle
Contractile fibers are arranged in oblique bundles
rather than in parallel sarcomeres
Smooth muscle lacks troponin
Long actin filaments attach to Dense Bodies
Smooth Muscle:
• Slower in developing tension
• Sustain contractions for extended periods
without fatigue
• Allows the walls of organs to maintain
tension with a continued load
Myosin of Smooth Muscle
• Different isoform than that found in skeletal
muscle
• Smooth muscle myosin ATPase activity is
much slower, contraction is longer
• Myosin light chain in the myosin head
regulates contraction and relaxation
Anatomy (cont.)
• Relatively little sarcoplasmic reticulum
• Lacks T-tubules
• Chemically linked to the cell membrane,
rather than mechanically linked
• Ca +2 storage is supplemented by caveolae ,
small vesicles that cluster close to the cell
membrane. Voltage/ligand gated Ca +2
channels
Response of Smooth Muscle to
Stimuli
• Neurotransmitters and hormones acting on
smooth muscle can INHIBIT contraction as
well as stimulated it.
• Ca+2 influx through sarcolemma voltage
gated Ca+2 channels is the signal for SR
Ca+2 release
• Ca +2 storage is supplemented by caveolae ,
small vesicles that cluster close to the cell
membrane.
Smooth muscle contraction
Fig 12-26b
Fig 12-27a
Fig 12-27b
Beta Blockers
Calcium channel blockers
