Document Detail


Contraction in the smooth muscle cell.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  10616047     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
This paper advances the hypothesis that the rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton that takes place during contraction in the SMC is a mechanical reflection of the spatiotemporal pattern of the cell's polarized stimulus. In that sense the cell is responding more like a motile non-muscle cell than like a skeletal muscle cell. The paper reviews how diffusion patterns are generated and modified and suggests how the patterns are detected by the cell and transduced into cytoskeletal movement. Evidence is presented suggesting the actin cytoskeleton is composed of conical-shaped myofibrils (contractile units) measuring half a cell in length and containing filament-free spaces at their centres filled with cell inclusions. It is argued that the SMC contracts by involving variable combinations of the myofibrils in sequence and that the cell takes advantage of that fact to translocate various contractile elements between the myofibrils during contraction, thus economizing on its needs for those elements. Among the elements translocated are thought to be myosin, SR and mitochondria.
Authors:
T P Crotty
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Medical hypotheses     Volume:  53     ISSN:  0306-9877     ISO Abbreviation:  Med. Hypotheses     Publication Date:  1999 Nov 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2000-01-20     Completed Date:  2000-01-20     Revised Date:  2000-12-18    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7505668     Medline TA:  Med Hypotheses     Country:  ENGLAND    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  432-46     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, University College Cork, Republic of Ireland.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Actins / physiology
Cytoskeleton / physiology
Models, Biological
Muscle, Smooth / cytology*
Receptors, Cell Surface / physiology
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Actins; 0/Receptors, Cell Surface

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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