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synthesize creatine phosphate (KRE ¯-a-te¯n), an energy-rich molecule that is found in muscle fibers (Figure 10.11a). The enzyme creatine kinase (CK) catalyzes the transfer of one of the high-energy phosphate groups from ATP to creatine, forming creatine phosphate and ADP. Creatine is a small, amino acid–like molecule that is synthesized in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas and then transported to muscle fibers. Creatine phosphate is three to six times more plentiful than ATP in the sarcoplasm of a relaxed muscle fiber. When contraction begins and the ADP level starts to rise, CK catalyzes the transfer of a high-energy phosphate group from creatine phosphate back to ADP. This direct phosphorylation reaction quickly generates new ATP molecules. Since the formation of ATP from creatine phosphate occurs very rapidly, creatine phosphate is the first source of energy when muscle contraction begins. The other energygenerating mechanisms in a muscle fiber (the pathways of anaerobic glycolysis and aerobic respiration) take a relatively longer period of time to produce ATP compared to creatine phosphate. Together, stores of creatine phosphate and ATP provide enough energy for muscles to contract maximally for about 15 seconds.
Creatine is both synthesized in the body and derived from foods such as milk, red meat, and some fish. Adults need to synthesize and ingest a total of about 2 grams of creatine daily to make up for the urinary loss of creatinine, the breakdown product of creatine. Some studies have demonstrated improved performance from creatine supplementation during explosive movements, such as sprinting. Other studies, however, have failed to find a performance-enhancing effect of creatine supplementation. Moreover, ingesting extra creatine decreases the body’s own synthesis of creatine, and it is not known whether natural synthesis recovers after long-term creatine supplementation. In addition, creatine supplementation can cause dehydration and may cause kidney dysfunction. Further research is needed to determine both the long-term safety and the value of creatine supplementation. • CLINICAL CONNECTION | Creatine Supplementation
Anaerobic Glycolysis When muscle activity continues and the supply of creatine phosphate within the muscle fiber is depleted, glucose is catabolized to generate ATP. Glucose passes easily from the blood into contracting muscle fibers via facilitated diffusion, and it is also produced by the breakdown of glycogen within muscle fibers (Figure  10.11b). Then, a series of reactions known as glycolysis quickly breaks down each glucose molecule into two molecules of pyruvic acid. Glycolysis occurs in the cytosol and produces a net gain of two molecules of ATP. Because glycolysis does not require oxygen, it can occur whether oxygen is present (aerobic conditions) or absent (anaerobic conditions). Ordinarily, the pyruvic acid formed by glycolysis in the cytosol enters mitochondria, where it undergoes a series of oxygen-requiring reactions called aerobic respiration (described next) that produce a large amount of ATP. During heavy exercise, however, not enough oxygen is available to skeletal muscle fibers. Under these anaerobic conditions, the pyruvic acid generated from glycolysis is converted to lactic acid. The entire process by which the breakdown
CHAPTER 10
10.5 CONTROL OF MUSCLE TENSION 311
• Describe how frequency of stimulation affects muscle tension, and how muscle tone is produced. • Distinguish between isotonic and isometric contractions. A single nerve impulse in a somatic motor neuron elicits a single muscle action potential in all skeletal muscle fibers with which it forms synapses. Action potentials always have the same size in a given neuron or muscle fiber. In contrast, the force of muscle fiber contraction does vary; a muscle fiber is capable of producing a much greater force than the one that results from a single action potential. The total force or tension that a single muscle fiber can produce depends mainly on the rate at which nerve impulses arrive at the neuromuscular junction. The number of impulses per second is the frequency of stimulation. Maximum tension is also affected by the amount of stretch before contraction (see Figure 10.8) and by nutrient and oxygen availability. The total tension a whole muscle can produce depends on the number of muscle fibers that are contracting in unison.
Motor Units Even though each skeletal muscle fiber has only a single neuromuscular junction, the axon of a somatic motor neuron branches out and forms neuromuscular junctions with many different muscle fibers. A motor unit consists of a somatic motor neuron plus all of the skeletal muscle fibers it stimulates (Figure 10.12). A single somatic motor neuron makes contact with an average of 150 skeletal muscle fibers, and all of the muscle fibers in one motor unit contract in unison. Typically, the muscle fibers of a motor unit are dispersed throughout a muscle rather than clustered together. Whole muscles that control precise movements consist of many small motor units. For instance, muscles of the larynx (voice box) that control voice production have as few as two or three muscle fibers per motor unit, and muscles controlling eye movements may have 10 to 20 muscle fibers per motor
inadequate release of calcium ions from the SR, resulting in a decline of Ca2 concentration in the sarcoplasm. Depletion of creatine phosphate also is associated with fatigue, but surprisingly, the ATP levels in fatigued muscle often are not much lower than those in resting muscle. Other factors that contribute to muscle fatigue include insufficient oxygen, depletion of glycogen and other nutrients, buildup of lactic acid and ADP, and failure of action potentials in the motor neuron to release enough acetylcholine.
Oxygen Consumption after Exercise During prolonged periods of muscle contraction, increases in breathing rate and blood flow enhance oxygen delivery to muscle tissue. After muscle contraction has stopped, heavy breathing continues for a while, and oxygen consumption remains above the resting level. Depending on the intensity of the exercise, the recovery period may be just a few minutes, or it may last as long as several hours. The term oxygen debt has been used to refer to the added oxygen, over and above the resting oxygen consumption, that is taken into the body after exercise. This extra oxygen is used to “pay back” or restore metabolic conditions to the resting level in three ways: (1) to convert lactic acid back into glycogen stores in the liver, (2) to resynthesize creatine phosphate and ATP in muscle fibers, and (3) to replace the oxygen removed from myoglobin. The metabolic changes that occur during exercise can account for only some of the extra oxygen used after exercise. Only a small amount of glycogen resynthesis occurs from lactic acid. Instead, most glycogen is made much later from dietary carbohydrates. Much of the lactic acid that remains after exercise is converted back to pyruvic acid and used for ATP production via aerobic respiration in the heart, liver, kidneys, and skeletal muscle. Oxygen use after exercise also is boosted by ongoing changes. First, the elevated body temperature after strenuous exercise increases the rate of chemical reactions