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. This calcium triggers a subsequent release of calcium that is stored in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) through calcium-release channels ("ryanodine receptors"). Calcium released by the SR increases the intracellular calcium concentration from about 10-7 to 10-5 M. The free calcium binds to troponin-C (TN-C) that is part of the regulatory complex attached to the thin filaments. When 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. This binding results in ATP hydrolysis that supplies energy for a conformational change to occur in the actin-myosin complex. The result of these changes is a movement ("ratcheting") between the myosin heads and the actin, such that the actin and myosin filaments slide past each other thereby shortening the sarcomere length. Ratcheting cycles occur as long as the cytosolic calcium remains elevated. At the end of phase 2, calcium entry into the cell slows and calcium is sequestered by the SR by an ATP-dependent calcium pump (SERCA, sarco-endoplasmic reticulum calcium-ATPase), thus lowering the cytosolic calcium concentration and removing calcium from the TN-C. To a quantitatively smaller extent, cytosolic calcium is transported out of the cell by the sodium-calcium-exchange pump. The reduced intracellular calcium induces a conformational change in the troponin complex leading, once again, to TN-I inhibition of the actin binding site. At the end of the cycle, a new ATP binds to the myosin head, displacing the ADP, and the initial sarcomere length is restored.