Myocyte

A myocyte is a specialized contractile cell found in animal muscle tissue. There are three principal types: skeletal muscle cells (long, striated, multinucleated, responsible for voluntary movement), cardiac muscle cells (short, branched, striated, single nucleus, responsible for heart contractions), and smooth muscle cells (spindle-shaped, non-striated, single nucleus, responsible for involuntary contractions in organs and vessels). Myocytes generate force and movement via excitation-contraction coupling, using contractile proteins (actin and myosin) assembled into sarcomeres (striated muscle) or a less-ordered cytoskeletal arrangement (smooth muscle). While components within myocytes (such as receptors or enzymes) can be drug targets, the myocyte as a whole is not a molecular target.

Other names

muscle cellmuscle fibercardiomyocytesmooth muscle cell