Biography and career. Satterfield was born Louis Edward in Shaw, Mississippi, a city in Bolivar and Sunflower counties, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region, on April 3, 1937.
Excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) is the process whereby an action potential triggers a myocyte to contract.When a myocyte is depolarized by an action potential, calcium ions enter the cell during phase 2 of the action potential through L-type calcium channels located on the sarcolemma.hen calcium binds to the TN-C, this induces a conformational change in the regulatory complex such that troponin-I (TN-I) exposes a site on the actin molecule that is able to bind to the myosin ATPase located on the myosin head.
We have seen that calcium ions regulate whether or not contraction can occur. Thus, what is needed is a way to link muscle excitation (the depolarization of the action potential) to Ca ++ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum.This link is known as excitation-contraction coupling.The T-tubules are essential structures for excitation-contraction coupling. T-tubules are tube-shaped invaginations of the sarcolemma (skeletal muscle plasma membrane) that penetrate throughout the muscle fiber (red in Figure 16-73A).his conformational change is transmitted to the foot of the SR Ca ++ channel, causing it to open, and allowing Ca ++ release. Note that this direct mechanical interaction between the T-tubule voltage sensor and the SR Ca ++ channel is specific for excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal muscle.