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A sarcomere is a microscopic segment repeating in a myofibril. The sarcomere fundamentally consists of two main myofilaments: thick filaments called myosin and thin filaments called actin. These filaments interact by sliding past each other in response to stimulus. In addition to myosin and actin, several other proteins, such as tropomyosin, troponin, titin, nebulin, myomesin, α-actinin, and dystrophin, play crucial roles in regulating, structuring, and functioning of the sarcomere.
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Actin and myosin are contractile proteins that form the sarcomere found in skeletal muscle tissues for regulating muscle contraction. Actin, a globular contractile protein, interacts with myosin for muscle contraction. The skeletal tissue appears striped or striated under a microscope due to the repeated arrangement of contractile proteins actin and myosin along the length of myofibrils. Dark A bands and light I bands repeat along myofibrils, and the alignment of myofibrils in the cell causes...
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Skeletal muscle cells, also called muscle fibers, are distinctly elongated, multi-nucleated, slender biological units. They are packed with specialized structures designed to facilitate their primary function, which is contraction.
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In Vitro Model of Physiological and Pathological Blood Flow with Application to Investigations of Vascular Cell Remodeling
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Fluid flow in the sarcomere.

Sage A Malingen1, Kaitlyn Hood2, Eric Lauga3

  • 1Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States.

Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics
|May 24, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Fluid flow within muscle sarcomeres has minimal impact on filament sliding, according to a new finite element model. This study reveals that viscous drag forces are small compared to motor protein forces, suggesting low energetic costs.

Keywords:
Fluid flowSarcomereViscous shearing

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Area of Science:

  • Muscle physiology
  • Biophysics
  • Computational biology

Background:

  • Muscle contraction relies on a complex lattice of molecular machinery within sarcomeres.
  • The mechanical effects of fluid shearing in this lattice are poorly understood.
  • Previous analytical models of sarcomere fluid dynamics could not capture intricate complexities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To computationally analyze fluid flow within the sarcomere.
  • To contrast finite element modeling results with analytical fluid flow models.
  • To quantify the mechanical impact of fluid shearing on muscle contraction.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a finite element model of the sarcomere.
  • Estimation of the explicit fluid flow field within the sarcomeric lattice.
  • Comparison of computational fluid dynamics with analytical models.

Main Results:

  • Viscous drag forces on sliding filaments are significantly smaller than forces generated by myosin motors.
  • The energetic cost associated with fluid flow and viscous shearing is likely minimal.
  • A steep velocity gradient in fluid flow exists between sliding filaments, with peak radial velocity near filament tips.

Conclusions:

  • Fluid shearing plays a minor role in the mechanics of muscle contraction compared to molecular motor forces.
  • The energetic burden of fluid dynamics within the sarcomere is likely negligible.
  • This is the first computational analysis of fluid flow in the highly structured sarcomere environment.