Intracellular calcium movements during excitation-contraction coupling in mammalian slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers

Abstract

In skeletal muscle fibers, action potentials elicit contractions by releasing calcium ions (Ca 2+) from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Experiments on individual mouse muscle fibers micro-injected with a rapidly responding fluorescent Ca 2+ indicator dye reveal that the amount of Ca 2+ released is three- to fourfold larger in fast-twitch fibers than in slow-twitch fibers, and the proportion of the released Ca 2+ that binds to troponin to activate contraction is substantially smaller. © 2012 Baylor and Hollingworth.