Smooth muscle

Smooth muscle does not have the same striated arrangement of actin and myosin
filaments as is found in skeletal muscle.
Instead, there is a large numbers of actin filaments attached to so-called dense
bodies. Some of these bodies are attached to the cell membrane.
Others are dispersed inside the cell. Some of the membrane dense bodies of
adjacent cells are bonded together by intercellular protein bridges.
It is mainly through these bonds that the force of contraction is transmitted from
one cell to the next.

Smooth muscle presents in two major types

1-Unitary smooth muscle
and
2 -multi_unit smooth muscle
There is no big difference between the two types, the only
difference is that in multi_unit smooth muscle, every single
Smooth muscle presents in two major types
1- Unitary smooth muscle

2- multiunit smooth muscle

There is no big difference between the two types, the only difference is that in
multiunit smooth muscle,
every single muscle fiber is innervated by a single nerve fiber which allow it
contracts solely, while in unitary smooth muscle each mass of Smooth muscle
fibers is in a bound with a membrane and innervate with one nerve fiber causing
them to contract together as one unit.
Although there is difference between the two types but, the mechanism of
contraction is roughly the same
Some differences in smooth muscles: -

1- The smooth muscle contraction is prolonged, tonic contraction and may last
for hours or even days. That can be attributed to slow cross-bridge cycle, in
smooth muscle the rapidity of cycling of myosin cross Bridges is much
slower than in skeletal muscles .

The slow onset of contraction of smooth muscle, as well as its prolonged

contraction may result from that the cross bridge heads in smooth muscle
have a far less activity than skeletal muscles, so this will delay the
attachment and detachment of the cross Bridges and also the response to
calcium ions is much slower than in skeletal muscle

2- Energy required to sustain smooth muscle contraction is much less than in

skeletal muscles.

This is believed to result from the slow attachment and detachment cycling
of cross Bridges and because only one molecule of ATP is required for each
cycling regardless the duration.

3- The neuromuscular Junction in smooth muscle differ from skeletal muscle as

there is no "motor end plate”. instead the autonomic nerve fibers that
innervate smooth muscle branch diffusely on the top of the sheet of the
muscle fiber.

the fibers don't contact directly with a smooth muscle fiber but, form diffuse
Junction that secret the transmitter substance and into the membrane of the
smooth muscle

4- Unlike skeletal muscle, smooth muscle is dependent on two sources of

calcium in order to initiate contraction.

These two sources are: a-calcium sequestered in the S.R. of the smooth
muscle cell. b-extracellular calcium that can enter the smooth muscle cell via
calcium channels on the membrane of the smooth muscle cell.
 5- Another important difference between smooth and skeletal muscles is the
proteins used. In skeletal muscles there was actin,myosin and the three types
of troponin that form a complex that cover the binding site and prevent
contraction,
so the mechanism of contraction will differ here as a result of the absence of
the troponin complex that is replaced with calmodulin protein.

The contraction will occur in the following steps: -

1-the Ca+2 will bind to the calmodulin forming calcium- calmodulin complex

2-this complex will activate an enzyme called myosin light chain kinase (MLCK)

3-this enzyme will transmute the inactive myosin that is present in the muscle
fiber to active by phosphorylation.

4-the contraction ends when the calcium concentration falls down and the myosin
phosphatase enzyme splits the phosphate from the myosin light chain

** the myosin phosphatase is always working to dephosphorylates the myosin even

through the contraction process so, the real reason to the cessation of contraction
is the falling in the calcium concentration.
So, if the calcium concentration is what initiate action potential and cause the
contraction and relaxation to occur so what makes the calcium to increase or
decrease?
Well, there is many stimulating factors can cause the calcium to flow to the
cytoplasm of the muscle fiber such as nervous stimulation, hormonal stimulation,
stretching of the fiber and changing in the chemical environment of the fiber,
and the removal of calcium ion is achieved by calcium pump that pumps calcium
ions out of the smooth muscle fibers back to the extracellular fluids or and to
Sarcoplasmic reticulum

*The mechanism of
contraction in smooth muscle

The effect of some electrolytes on the smooth muscle

contraction

1- calcium is essential for excitation-contraction coupling and may have an

effect on ATP

2- Magnesium usually depresses the exaltation contraction coupling but, in

some cases, it has a positive influence on contraction. It doesn't seem to be
essential for contraction.

3- The action of potassium is strikingly ambivalent. if it increases in the

environment of this cell this will result in depolarization whereas
 intracellular potassium is essential for the normal reversible contractile
process.

4- Na is not essential for the contraction-relaxation cycle, but in the intact

system it has an important controlling influence on membrane excitability
and on excitation- contraction coupling.
References
1- TEXTBOOK of Medical Physiology 11th edition by
Arthur C. Guyton, M.D & John E. Hall, Ph.D.

2- article in Electrolytes and smooth muscle contraction

DAVID F BOHR Pharmacological Reviews 16 (1),
85-111, 1964.

3- Vander's human physiology 13th edition by Eric P.

Widmaier &Hershel Raff & Kevin T. Strang