![]() The results suggest that the structure we observe is common to muscles of animals throughout most of the animal kingdom, and they provide a basis for understanding how these filaments are activated in contracting muscle. These results show for the first time, and in atomic detail, how myosin molecules are switched 'off', bringing about relaxation of muscle. Using these approaches we have recently achieved a major breakthrough in defining the 3D configuration of the key energy-transducing molecules, the myosin heads, on the surface of striated muscle myosin filaments (Woodhead et al., 2005). To study dynamic changes in filament structure that occur in active muscle, we have developed methods for capturing transient structural intermediates on the millisecond time scale for observation by EM. Atomic level detail is achieved by computationally 'fitting' atomic structures of filament subunits into the reconstruction. Specimens are observed by negative staining or cryo-electron microscopy, and 3D reconstructions of filaments are computed using helical or single particle methods. To decipher these filament structures in three dimensions at the molecular level, we use high resolution electron microscopy combined with computer image reconstruction. Techniques: high resolution electron microscopy, 3D reconstruction, and atomic fitting These studies are adding to our basic understanding of muscle function, and also providing a structural basis for understanding muscle diseases caused by malfunction in the actin or myosin filaments. ![]() blood vessels), which are specialized to contract slowly and to maintain tension over long periods of time. ![]() We are investigating systems as diverse as the rapidly contracting striated muscles of the skeleton and heart, and the smooth muscles of the internal organs (e.g. By studying the molecular structures of the actin and myosin filaments, whose interaction is responsible for contraction, we can elucidate the molecular mechanism of force generation and the processes responsible for regulating contraction. We use state-of-the-art electron microscopic techniques to understand how muscles contract. Molecular Structure, Dynamics, and Contractile Mechanism of Muscle
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |