M line
The region of a sarcomere that shortens during contraction is the H zone. The H zone is located in the center of the sarcomere and contains only thick filaments. When a muscle contracts, the thick and thin filaments slide past each other, causing the H zone to shorten.
The sarcomere itself will become shorter.The sarcomere will shorten.
During muscle contraction the actin heads pull the sarcomere closed
Actin
The A band of a sarcomere would not change size during a muscle contraction. It is the region of the sarcomere that contains the thick filaments (myosin) and remains constant in length as the filaments slide past each other during contraction. In contrast, the I band and H zone do change size as the muscle contracts.
During muscle contraction, the thin filaments (actin) are pulled towards the center of the sarcomere, which causes the Z-lines to move closer together. This process is facilitated by the interaction between actin and myosin filaments during the sliding filament mechanism of muscle contraction.
The thick filaments (made of myosin) do not change length during shortening of the sarcomere. They slide past the thin filaments (made of actin) to generate muscle contraction.
During contraction, the H zone and I band shorten while the A band remains the same length. The A band is the dark band in the sarcomere that contains the thick filaments, the I band is the light band composed of thin filaments, and the H zone is the area in the center of the sarcomere where only thick filaments are present.
The myosin myofilament pulls on the actin myofilament during muscle contraction. This interaction, known as the sliding filament theory, results in the shortening of the sarcomere and muscle contraction.
The H zone of a sarcomere contains no actin filaments, only myosin filaments. It is located in the center of the A band and gets shorter during muscle contraction.
A sarcomere is the basic contractile unit of muscle fibers, composed of interdigitating thick (myosin) and thin (actin) filaments. During muscle contraction, the myosin heads bind to actin filaments, forming cross-bridges that pull the actin toward the center of the sarcomere, a process powered by ATP hydrolysis. This shortening of the sarcomere results in muscle contraction. The coordinated action of many sarcomeres in sequence allows for overall muscle movement.
Calcium ions are responsible for causing the shortening of the sarcomere. During muscle contraction, an action potential triggers the release of calcium ions from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which in turn allows the myosin and actin filaments to slide past each other, causing the sarcomere to shorten.