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Sliding filament theory
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<p>The sliding filament theory explains the mechanism of <a href="/facts/Muscle_contraction/EbloCYfV">muscle contraction</a> based on muscle proteins that slide past each other to generate movement. According to the sliding filament theory, the <a href="/facts/Myosin/7zGeRkpS">myosin </a> (<a href="/facts/Thick_filament/7zGeRkpS">thick filaments</a>) of <a href="/facts/Skeletal_muscle/en1tVYFN">muscle fibers</a> slide past the <a href="/facts/Actin/Hu3qIUL9">actin</a> (<a href="/facts/Thin_filament/Hu3qIUL9">thin filaments</a>) during muscle contraction, while the two groups of filaments remain at relatively constant length. </p><p>The theory was independently introduced in 1954 by two research teams, one consisting of <a href="/facts/Andrew_Huxley/DzFkDD4W">Andrew Huxley</a> and <a href="/facts/Rolf_Niedergerke/lujVGPQB">Rolf Niedergerke</a> from the <a href="/facts/University_of_Cambridge/0la7aX9o">University of Cambridge</a>, and the other consisting of <a href="/facts/Hugh_Huxley/pgspKoAF">Hugh Huxley</a> and <a href="/facts/Jean_Hanson/aw79pIco">Jean Hanson</a> from the <a href="/facts/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology/Xk49vNA8">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a>. It was originally conceived by Hugh Huxley in 1953. Andrew Huxley and Niedergerke introduced it as a "very attractive" hypothesis. </p><p>Before the 1950s there were several competing theories on muscle contraction, including electrical attraction, protein folding, and protein modification. The novel theory directly introduced a new concept called cross-bridge theory (classically swinging cross-bridge, now mostly referred to as <a href="/facts/Cross-bridge_cycle/EbloCYfV">cross-bridge cycle</a>) which explains the molecular mechanism of sliding filament. Cross-bridge theory states that actin and myosin form a protein complex (classically called <a href="/facts/Myofibril/uGRRhxms">actomyosin</a>) by attachment of myosin head on the actin filament, thereby forming a sort of cross-bridge between the two filaments. The sliding filament theory is a widely accepted explanation of the mechanism that underlies muscle contraction. </p>