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myosin
(redirected from Thick filament)

   Also found in: Medical, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
myosin (mī`əsĭn), one of the two major protein protein, any of the group of highly complex organic compounds found in all living cells and comprising the most abundant class of all biological molecules. Protein comprises approximately 50% of cellular dry weight.
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 constituents responsible for contraction of muscle. In muscle cells myosin is arranged in long filaments called thick filaments that lie parallel to the microfilaments of actin actin, a protein abundantly present in many cells, especially muscle cells, that significantly contributes to the cell's structure and motility. Actin can very quickly assemble into long polymer rods called microfilaments.
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. In muscle contraction, filaments of actin alternately chemically link and unlink with those of myosin in a creeping or sliding action. The energy for this reaction is supplied by adenosine triphosphate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) (ədĕn`əsēn trī'fŏs`fāt)
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. Myosin and actin also function in the motility of diverse non-muscle cells. In slime molds slime mold or slime fungus, a heterotrophic organism once regarded as a fungus but later classified with the Protista . In a recent system of classification based on analysis of nucleic acid (genetic material) sequences, slime molds have been
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, for example, although present in much smaller quantities and forming shorter filaments, the interaction of the two proteins is employed to change cell shape and permit some movements.
myosin [′mī·ə·sən]
(biochemistry)
A muscle protein, comprising up to 50% of the total muscle proteins; combines with actin to form actomycin.


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In the muscle fiber in which thin and thick filament were mixed, the thin filament was approximately 10 nm in diameter, whereas that of the thick filament was 80 nm.
4) In the presence of ATP, the myosin head binds to actin and pulls the thin filament along the thick filament, allowing the sarcomere to shorten.
Again, this was a direct result of thick filament structure.
 
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