Calcium is important in skeletal muscle contraction because it:
binds to troponin to remove the masking of active sites on actin for myosin.
activates the myosin ATPase by binding to it.
detaches the myosin head from the actin filament.
prevents the formation of bonds between the myosin cross bridges and the actin filament.
According to the mechanism of muscle contraction described in the text, the release of calcium ions into the sarcoplasm leads to the binding of calcium with a subunit of troponin on the actin filaments. This action unmasks the active sites for myosin, allowing myosin heads to bind to actin and form cross-bridges to initiate contraction .
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