The muscle undergoes various chemical changes during contraction, they are as follows:
1. A nerve impulse arrives at the motor nerve. The neurotransmitter – acetylcholine is released at the neuromuscular junction (N-M junction or motor endplate) enters into the sarcomere.
2. This leads to inflow of Na+ inside the sarcomere and generates an action potential in the muscle fibre.
3. The action potential passes down the T tubules and activates calcium channels in the T tubular membrane. Activation of calcium channel allows calcium ions to pass into the sarcoplasm. These Ca++ ions binds to the specific sites on troponin of actin filaments and a conformational change occurs in the troponin – tropomyosin complex, thereby removing the masking of active sites for myosin on the actin filament.
4. In the myosin head, the enzyme ATPase gets activated in the presence of Ca++ and converts ATP into ADP and inorganic phosphate.
5. This energy from ATP hydrolysis is utilized by myosin bridges or myosin heads to bind with active sites of actin and form actomyosin complex pulling the actin filaments towards the centre of sarcomere. The myosin heads are now tilted backwards and pull the attached actin filament inwardly towards them. The actin filament slides over mysosin and contraction occurs.
6. Also, the ADP needs to be converted back to ATP immediately as they required for muscular contraction, This is achieved in the muscles by the presence of another high energy compound, creatine phosphate.
7. ADP combines with creatine phosphate to produce ATP and creatinine due to which the supply of ATP for muscle contraction is restored but the level of creatine phosphate keeps decreasing and the level of creatinine keeps on increasing.
8. The creatinine formed needs to be reconverted to creatine phosphate. This is done by ATP produced during oxidation of glycogen through glycolysis.
