Muscle Biophysics

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Striated Muscles: From Molecules to Cells

   • Dilson E. Rassier

   Pages 1-6

3. Contractile Performance of Striated Muscle

   • K. A. P. Edman

   Pages 7-40

4. Energy Economy in the Actomyosin Interaction: Lessons from Simple Models

   • Steven L. Lehman

   Pages 41-55

5. A Strain-Dependency of Myosin Off-Rate Must Be Sensitive to Frequency to Predict the B-Process of Sinusoidal Analysis

   • Bradley M. Palmer

   Pages 57-75

6. Electron Microscopic Visualization of the Cross-Bridge Movement Coupled with ATP Hydrolysis in Muscle Thick Filaments in Aqueous Solution, Reminiscences and Future Prospects

   • Haruo Sugi

   Pages 77-103

7. Role of Titin in Skeletal Muscle Function and Disease

   • Coen A. C. Ottenheijm, Henk Granzier

   Pages 105-122

8. Contractile Characteristics of Sarcomeres Arranged in Series or Mechanically Isolated from Myofibrils

   • Dilson E. Rassier, Ivan Pavlov

   Pages 123-140

9. The Force–Length Relationship of Mechanically Isolated Sarcomeres

   • W. Herzog, V. Joumaa, T. R. Leonard

   Pages 141-161

10. Extraction and Replacement of the Tropomyosin–Troponin Complex in Isolated Myofibrils

    • Beatrice Scellini, Nicoletta Piroddi, Corrado Poggesi, Chiara Tesi

    Pages 163-174

11. Stretch and Shortening of Skeletal Muscles Activated Along the Ascending Limb of the Force–Length Relation

    • Dilson E. Rassier, Clara Pun

    Pages 175-189

12. Cross-Bridge Properties in Single Intact Frog Fibers Studied by Fast Stretches

    • Barbara Colombini, Marta Nocella, Giulia Benelli, Giovanni Cecchi, M. Angela Bagni

    Pages 191-205

13. Crossbridge and Non-crossbridge Contributions to Force in Shortening and Lengthening Muscle

    • K. W. Ranatunga, H. Roots, G. J. Pinniger, G. W. Offer

    Pages 207-221

14. Short-Range Mechanical Properties of Skeletal and Cardiac Muscles

    • Kenneth S. Campbell

    Pages 223-246

15. Crossbridge Mechanism(s) Examined by Temperature Perturbation Studies on Muscle

    • K. W. Ranatunga, M. E. Coupland

    Pages 247-266

16. Efficiency of Cross-Bridges and Mitochondria in Mouse Cardiac Muscle

    • C. J. Barclay, C. Widén

    Pages 267-278

17. Mechanisms of Skeletal Muscle Weakness

    • Håkan Westerblad, Nicolas Place, Takashi Yamada

    Pages 279-296

18. Stretch-Induced Membrane Damage in Muscle: Comparison of Wild-Type and mdx Mice

    • David G. Allen, Bao-ting Zhang, Nicholas P. Whitehead

    Pages 297-313

19. Cellular and Whole Muscle Studies of Activity Dependent Potentiation

    • Brian R. MacIntosh

    Pages 315-342

20. Back Matter

    Pages 343-353

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Muscle contraction has been the focus of scientific investigation for more than two centuries, and major discoveries have changed the field over the years. Early in the twentieth century, Fenn (1924, 1923) showed that the total energy liberated during a contraction (heat + work) was increased when the muscle was allowed to shorten and perform work. The result implied that chemical reactions during contractions were load-dependent. The observation underlying the “Fenn effect” was taken to a greater extent when Hill (1938) published a pivotal study showing in details the relation between heat production and the amount of muscle shortening, providing investigators with the force-velocity relation for skeletal muscles. Subsequently, two papers paved the way for the current paradigm in the field of muscle contraction. Huxley and Niedergerke (1954), and Huxley and Hanson (1954) showed that the width of the A-bands did not change during muscle stretch or activation. Contraction, previously believed to be caused by shortening of muscle filaments, was associated with sliding of the thick and thin filaments. These studies were followed by the classic paper by Huxley (1957), in which he conceptualized for the first time the cross-bridge theory; filament sliding was driven by the cyclical interactions of myosin heads (cross-bridges) with actin. The original cross-bridge theory has been revised over the years but the basic features have remained mostly intact. It now influences studies performed with molecular motors responsible for tasks as diverse as muscle contraction, cell division and vesicle transport.

• ATP
• Herz
• biophysics
• cells
• mechanics
• physiology
• skeletal muscle
• temperature

From the reviews:

“This text is ideally suited for muscle neurophysiologists interested in doing lab research aimed to study the strength of contraction of the actinmyosin units of skeletal and cardiac myofilaments. … This text is ideal for neurophysiologists and mycologists who have any interest in recordings. I also recommend it for those who work with muscle spindles … .” (Joseph J. Grenier, Amazon.com, December, 2013)

• McGill University, Montreal, Canada

  Dilson E. Rassier