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Biology Unit 5 Topic 7: Run for your life

Describe the structure of a muscle fibre and explain the


structural and physiological differences between fast and slow
twitch muscle fibres.
Each muscle is a bundle of many muscle cells
called fibres. Skeletal muscles contain many
myofibrils which are made up of proteins
(myofilaments) actin (thin filaments) and myosin
(thick filaments). The cell surface membrane of a
muscle cell is known as the sarcolemma. The
sarcoplasmic reticulum is a specialised
endoplasmic reticulum which can store and
release calcium ions which are required for
muscle contraction. The cytoplasm inside a
muscle cell is called the sarcoplasm. The specialised synapse between neurones and
muscle cells is called the neuromuscular junction.

There are two types of muscle fibres slow twitch and fast twitch fibres.
Slow twitch
Theyre specialised for slower,
sustained contraction and can cope
with long periods of exercise e.g. longdistance running
Contain many mitochondria ATP for
muscle contraction comes from aerobic
respiration (electron transport chain)
They contain lots of myoglobin to store
oxygen and lots of capillaries to supply
oxygen. This gives the muscle a dark
colour as myoglobin is a dark red
pigment
Theyre fatigue resistant
Low glycogen content
Low levels of creatine phosphate

Fast twitch
Theyre specialised for rapid, intense
contractions in shorts bursts e.g.
sprinting
Few mitochondria ATP comes from
anaerobic respiration glycolysis
It contains little myoglobin and few
capillaries therefore the muscle has a
light colour
They fatigue quickly
High glycogen content
High levels of creatine phosphate

Test your understanding:


1) What is a muscle fibre made up of?
2) What is the difference between two myofibrils actin and myosin?
3) What does the sarcoplasmic reticulum store?
4) Whats the name of the synapse between neurones and muscle cells?
5) Whats the difference between skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscles?
6) Why are slow twitch muscle fibres dark in colour?
7) What are fast twitch muscle fibres specialised for?
8) Which type of muscle fibre requires more oxygen?
Explain the contraction of skeletal muscle in terms of the
sliding filament theory, including the role of actin, myosin,
troponin, tropomyosin, calcium ions (Ca2+), ATP and ATPase.
The sliding filament theory of
muscle contraction
The functional unit of a muscle fibre
is called the sarcomere. When the
muscle contracts, the thin actin
filaments move between the thick
myosin filaments, shortening the
length of the sarcomere and
therefore shortening the length of
muscle.

1) Acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter substance, is released into the synapse, diffuses


across and attaches to specific receptors on the sarcolemma (the outer membrane of
the muscle fibre).
2) The muscle sarcolemma is depolarised.
3) Depolarisation spreads along the fibre.
4) This causes calcium to be released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum into the
sarcoplasm.
5) Calcium attaches to troponin which moves tropomyosin, thus uncovering the
myosin binding sites on the actin filaments.
6) ATP attached to the myosin heads cause them to flex and attach to the actin in
the overlapping areas.
7) ATP is hydrolysed to ADP + P using ATPase. The energy released causes the
heads to alter their angle to their tails. This pulls the actin filament past the myosin
filament.

8) The cross-bridges detach and reattach, this time further along the actin
filament.
Test your understanding
1)
2)
3)
4)

What is the role of calcium ions in muscle contraction?


What is acetylcholine and what is its role in muscle contraction?
What is the name of the enzyme involved in hydrolysis of ATP?
What's tropomyosin?

Recall the way in which muscles, tendons, the skeleton and


ligaments interact to enable movement, including antagonistic
muscle pairs, extensors and flexors.
Bones can only move in relation to one another at joints. There are many different
types of joints which allow different degrees of movement. The joints move due to
the force of muscles acting on them.
Ligaments are made of elastic connective tissue and they hold bones together to
restrict the amount of movement possible at a joint thus preventing dislocation.
Muscles are attached to bones by tendons which are made of collagen fibres non
elastic fibrous tissue which anchors muscles to bones. When a muscle contracts, the
tendon and its attached bone are pulled towards the contracting muscle.
Skeletal muscles are those attached to bones and they are arranged in antagonistic
pairs. This means that there are pairs of muscles which pull in opposite directions as
one set causes the joint to move one way, the other set causes it to return. An
example is the elbow joint which is controlled by the biceps and the triceps muscle.
The biceps is a flexor which contracts to flex, or bend a joint whereas triceps in the
arm is an extensor which contracts to extend, or straighten a joint.

Test your understanding:


1) What are joints?
2) What are ligaments, what are they made of and what is their function?
3) What are tendons, what are they made of and what is their function?
4) What are skeletal muscles?
5) What is meant by the term antagonistic muscle pairs?
6) Whats the difference between flex-ors and extensors?

Describe the overall reaction of aerobic respiration as splitting of the respiratory


substrate (eg glucose) to release carbon dioxide as a waste product and reuniting
of hydrogen with atmospheric oxygen with the release of a large amount of energy.

Describe how to investigate rate of respiration practically.

Rate of aerobic respiration can be determined using a respirometer by measuring


the rate of oxygen absorbed by small organisms. Any carbon dioxide produced is
absorbed by potassium hydroxide solution, so that any oxygen absorbed by the
organisms results in the fluid in the manometer tube moving towards the organisms.
The tube on the right hand side compensates for any changes in pressure or
temperature within the apparatus.
Test your understanding
1)

What's the name of the equipment used to measure rate of respiration?

2)
by?

Why does carbon dioxide have to be absorbed and what can in be absorbed

Recall how phosphorylation of ADP requires energy and how hydrolysis of ATP
provides an accessible supply of energy for biological processes.

Energy is required to add a third phosphate bond to ADP to create ATP. When this
bond is broken by hydrolysis, the energy released can be used in energy requiring
processes taking place within the cell such as active transport.
Test your understanding
1)

What does ATP consist of?

2)
What process can be used to break down ATP to produce ADP and inorganic
phosphate?
3)

What is ATP used for?

Describe the roles of glycolysis in aerobic and anaerobic respiration, including the
phosphorylation of hexoses, the production of ATP, reduced co-enzyme and
pyruvate acid (details of intermediate stages and compounds are not required).
Explain the fate of lactate after a period of anaerobic respiration in animals.
Glycolysis produces two molecules of pyruvate, two molecules of reduced NAD and a
net gain of two molecules of ATP from one molecule of glucose. It takes place within
the cytoplasm of cells.

Anaerobic respiration

Glycolysis does not require oxygen. However, for glycolysis to continue, a constant
supply of NAD is required. In aerobic respiration, the NAD is produced by the
electron transport chain. The reduced NAD must be oxidised to NAD. During
anaerobic respiration, NAD must come from elsewhere. In animals, pyruvate from
glycolysis is reduced to give lactate, NAD is formed and can keep glycolysis going.

Anaerobic respiration allows animals to make a small amount of ATP, it is an


inefficient process but it is rapid and can supply muscles with ATP when oxygen is
not being delivered quickly enough to cells.
The product of anaerobic respiration, lactate, forms lactic acid in solution which
lowers the pH. This can inhibit enzymes and, if allowed to build up, it can cause
muscle cramp. Once aerobic respiration resumes most lactate is converted back to
pyruvate. It is oxidised via the Krebs cycle into carbon dioxide and water. The extra
oxygen required for this process is called the oxygen debt.
Test your understanding
1)
What is glycolysis? What are the products of glycolysis and where does it
occur?
2) Where does NAD come from in anaerobic respiration?
3)

What happens to pyruvate in anaerobic respiration?

4)

What is the oxygen debt?

Describe the role of the Krebs cycle in the complete oxidation of glucose and
formation of carbon dioxide (CO2), ATP, reduced NAD and reduced FAD
(names of other compounds are not required) and that respiration is a manystepped process with each step controlled and catalysed by a specific intracellular
enzyme.

In the first stage of aerobic respiration, pyruvate is oxidised into carbon dioxide and
hydrogen (accepted by coenzymes NAD and FAD). This takes place in the matrix of
the mitochondria and involves the Krebs Cycle.
The link reaction

Each pyruvate molecule coming from glycolusis in the cell's cytoplasm enters the
matrix of the mitochondrion. It is converted from pyruate(3C) to an acetyl(2C)
group. This involves the loss of carbon dioxide (decarboxylation) and hydrogen
(dehydrogenation) generating reduced NAD. The acetyl group is carried by
coenzyme A as acetyl coenzyme A.
The Krebs Cycle
The Krebs cycle occurs in the matrix of the mitochondria. The main purpose of the
cycle is to supply a continuous flow of hydrogen (and therefore electrons) to the
electron transport chain for use in the synthesis of ATP by oxidative phosphorylation.
Each molecule of the 2-carbon acetyl coenzyme A from the link reaction is used to
generate three molecules of reduced NAD, one molecule of reduced FAD, two
molecules of carbon dioxide, one molecule of ATP by substrate level phosphorylation
from the energy released by reorganising chemical bonds, one molecule of a 4
carbon compound, which is regenerated to accept an acetyl group and start the
cycle again. For each molecule of glucose entering glycolysis, two acetyl groups are
formed, so the Krebs cycle will turn twice.

Test your understanding


1)

What is produced in the link reaction? Where does it take place?

2)

What's produced during the Krebs cycle?

3)

Where does the Krebs cycle take place?

Describe the synthesis of ATP by oxidative phosphorylation associated with the


electron transport chain in mitochondria, including the role of chemiosmosis and
ATPase.

ATP is synthesised in aerobic respiration by electron transport chain in the inner


membrane of the mitochondria (cristae).
1)
Reduced co-enzyme carries H+ and electrons to electron transport chain on
inner mitochondrial membrane.
2)
Electrons pass from one electron carrier to the next in a series of redox
reactions, the carrier is reduced when it receives the electrons and oxidised when it
passes them on.
3)
Protons move across the mitochondrial membrane creating high H+
concentrations in the intermembrane space.
4)
H+ diffuse back into the mitochondrial matrix down the electrochemical
gradient
5)

H+ diffusion allows ATPase to catalyse ATP synthesised

6)
Electrons and H+ ions recombine to form hydrogen atoms which then
combine with oxygen to create water. If the supply of oxygen stops, the electron
transport chain and ATP synthesis also stop.
The overall reaction of aerobic respiration can be summarised as the splitting and
oxidation of a respiratory substrate e.g. glucose to release carbon dioxide as a waste

product, followed by the reuniting of hydrogen with oxygen to release a large


amount of energy in the form of ATP.
Test your understanding
1) What's the name of the process use to generate ATP? Where does this process
take place?
2) How is ATP generated? What's the role of ATPase?
Understand that cardiac muscle is myogenic and describe the normal electrical
activity of the heart, including the roles of the sinoatrial node (SAN), the
atrioventricular node (AVN) and the bundle of His, and how the use of
electrocardiograms (ECGs) can aid the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD)
and other heart conditions.
Explain how variations in ventilation and cardiac output enable rapid delivery of
oxygen to tissues and the removal of carbon dioxide from them, including how the
heart rate and ventilation rate are controlled and the roles of the cardiovascular
control centre and the ventilation centre.
Describe how to investigate the effects of exercise on tidal volume and breathing
rate using data from spirometer traces.
Explain the principle of negative feedback in maintaining systems within narrow
limits.
Negative feedback is a process which helps to keep the internal environment
constant. A change in the internal environment will trigger a response that
counteracts the change, for example a rise in temperature causes a response that
will lower body temperature. In order for negative feedback to occur, there must be
a norm value or set point such as 37.5 for core body temperature.

Discuss the concept of homeostasis and its importance in maintaining the body in a
state of dynamic equilibrium during exercise, including the role of the
hypothalamus and the mechanisms of thermoregulation.
Homeostasis is the maintenance of a stable internal environment within a narrow
limit, of the optimum conditions needed by cells so they can function properly. A
homeostatic system therefore requires:
1) Receptors to detect change away from the norm value (stimulus)

2) A control mechanism that can respond to the information. The control mechanism
uses the nervous system or hormones to switch effectors on and off
3) Effectors to bring about the response, usually to counteract the effect or initial
change). Muscles and glands are effectors.
There are several things that need to be regulated:
* The body's temperature. If temperature were allowed to rise out of control, protein
and therefore enzyme, structure would be affected, perhaps with disastrous results.
* The amount of water within the body. The levels of water can affect metabolism
and osmosis. Again this can have serious consequences.
* The amount of glucose in the body. This level can also affect osmosis and
obviously the rate of respiration as well.
* The amount of nitrogenous waste in the body. Nitrogenous waste can become
toxic in the body. It is important that this level does not get too high.
Homeostasis and exercise
The control of core body temperature through negative feedback is called
thermoregulation. Thermoreceptors in the skin detect changes in temperature. In
addition thermoreceptors in the hypothalamus can detect changes in the core blood
temperature. If a rise in temperature is detected above the norm value, the heat
loss centre in the hypothalamus will stimulate effectors to increase heat loss from
the body usually through the skin.

Above or below certain temperatures homeostasis fails e.g. because the


hypothalamus may be damaged. Instead, positive feedback may occur resulting in a
high temperature continuing to rise or a low temperature falling still further. This can
result in hypothermia or hyperthermia and may lead to death.
Explain how medical technology, including the use of keyhole surgery and
prostheses, is enabling those with injuries and disabilities to participate in sports,
eg cruciate ligaments repair using keyhole surgery and knee joint replacement using
prosthetics.
The development of keyhole surgery using fibre optics has made it possible for
surgeons to repair damaged joints such as torn cruciate ligaments in the knee with
precision and minimal damage. This is because only a small incision is needed so
there is less bleeding and damage to the join, and recovery is much quicker.
A prosthesis is an artificial body part designed to regain some degree of normal
function or appearance. The design of prostheses has improved significantly and
many disabled athletes are now able to compete at a very high level e.g. with
dynamic response feet that can literally provide them with a spring in the step.
Damaged joins such as knee joints can now be repaired with small prosthetic
implants to replace the damaged ends of bones, freeing the patient from a life of
pain and restoring full mobility.
Analyse and interpret data on possible disadvantages of exercising too much (wear
and tear on joints, suppression of the immune system) and exercising too little
(increased risk of obesity, coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes), recognising
correlation and causal relationships.

There are many benefits to regular moderate exercise.


The effects of a lack of exercise over a prolonged period of time include:

reduced physical endurance, lung capacity, stroke volume and maximum


heart rate

increased resting heart rate, blood pressure and storage of fat in the body

increased risk of coronary heart disease, type II diabetes, some cancers,


weight gain and obesity

impaired immune response due to lack of natural killer cells

increased levels of LDL and reduced levels of HDL

reduced bone density, therefore increased risk of osteoporosis

Overtraining can lead to immune suppression and increased wear and tear on joints.
For instance, damage to cartilage in synovial joins can lead to inflammation and
form arithritis. Ligaments can also be damaged. Bursae (fluid filled sac) that cushion
parts of the join can become inflamed and tender. It can also result in chronic
fatigue and poor athetic performance. Moreover, there is also some evidence of
correlation between intense exercise and the risk of infections such as colds and sore
throats. This could be caused by an increased exposure to pathogens or a
suppression. For example, frequent release of hormones such as adrenaline may
cause an inflammatory response which could suppress the immune system.
Outline two ethical positions relating to whether the use of performance-enhancing
substances by athletes is acceptable.
Ethical frameworks include:
rights and duties, maximising the amount of good in the world, making decisions for
yourself, leading a virtuous life.
For example, doping in sport could be considered not acceptable because athletes
have a right to fair competition, but could equally be considered acceptable because
athletes have the right to exercise autonomy, for example choose to achieve their
best performance, and also have a duty to any sponsor they may have.
Ethical absolutists see things very clear cut, they would take one of two positions
e.g. it is never acceptable for athletes to use performance enhancing substances or
it is always acceptable for athletes to use any substance available to them to
compete more effectively, even if there are associated risks to their health.
Ethical relativists would realise that people and circumstances may be different e.g.
it is wrong for athletes to use performance enhancing substance, but there may be
some cases and circumstances where it is acceptable.

Explain how genes can be switched on and off by DNA transcription factors
including hormones.
Some drugs such as anabolic steroids are closely related to natural steroid
hormones. They can pass directly through cell membranes and be carried into the
nucleus bound to a receptor molecule. These hormone/receptor complexes act as
transcription factors, they bind to the promoter region of a gene allowing RNA
polymerase to start transcription. As a result more protein synthesis takes place in
the cells. For example, testosterone increases protein synthesis in muscle cells,
increasing the size and strength of muscle tissue.
Genes are switched on by successful formation and attachment of the transcription
initiation complex to the promoter region allowing RNA polymerase to start
transcription.
Genes remain switched off by failure of the transcription initiation complex to form
and attach to the promoter region. This is due to the absence of protein transcription
factors or the action of repressor molecules.

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