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PubMed1983

Histochemical and morphological muscle-fibre characteristics of the human masseter, the medial pterygoid and the temporal muscles.

An extensive histochemical and quantitative analysis of various portions of the human masseter, the medial pterygoid and the temporal muscles was performed in young adult males with normal intermaxillary relationships and complete dentition. There was marked and locally radical intramuscular variability in the muscle-fibre composition. Each muscle and the subunits of the muscles exhibited a characteristic fibre pattern--both the relative frequency and the diameter of the various fibre types differed significantly between the different portions. The fibre pattern was quantitatively different to that of the human lateral pterygoid muscle and both quantitatively and qualitatively dissimilar to that of the human digastric muscle and that of normal limb and trunk muscles. A large proportion of the fibres were ATPase intermediate fibres and must be regarded as being a part of the normal fibre population of the human mandibular elevator muscles. Type IIA fibres were rare. As muscle-fibre differentiation is considered to be influenced by motoneurone function, it can be assumed that the complex fibre pattern of the jaw-closing muscles is related to the unique function of the human mandibular locomotor system. A functional specialization is suggested providing optimal jaw control. Compared with the lateral pterygoid muscle (with predominantly type I fibres) and the digastric muscle (with predominantly type II fibres), the heterogeneous fibre composition of the jaw-closing muscles probably reflects their more complicated activity pattern and functional requirements. The marked difference between the type I and the type II fibre diameters, type II fibres generally being smaller, might reflect evolutionary changes in the masticatory habits, such as adaptation to refined and soft food. The individual variability in fibre composition suggests various levels of utilization and varying ability to adapt to jaw-muscle hyperactivity, to resist fatigue.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1996

Transient disruption of nerve-muscle interaction shortly after birth permanently alters the development of the rat soleus muscle.

Transient paralysis of the rat soleus muscle shortly after birth leads to a permanent loss of motoneurones as revealed by retrograde labelling. Here we show that this loss of motoneurones is reflected in a reduction in the number of motor units. Soleus muscles in normal adult rats were found to have 27 (+/-0.6 S.E.M., n = 9) motor units. However, in muscles which had been treated with alpha-bungarotoxin (BTX) at birth and 3 days of age, causing paralysis lasting for 6-8 days, only 15(+/-0.6 S.E.M., n = 5) motor units remain. The effects of paralysis on the ability of the adult soleus muscle to develop force was also tested. Following treatment with a single BTX implant at birth, causing paralysis for 2-3 days, soleus muscles develop less tension (73.7% +/- 4.5 S.E.M., n = 8) and weigh less (88.2% +/- 3.8 S.E.M., n = 13) than their unoperated controls. This loss of muscle force is caused by a loss of muscle fibres, which in muscles that had been paralysed at birth was 81.4% (+/-4.1 S.E.M., n = 5) of control. Prolonging the duration of paralysis led to a greater reduction in force production, weight and the number of muscle fibres. Those muscles which had been paralysed at birth also took longer to relax during single twitch contractions. In addition, whereas normal soleus muscles contain around 20% of muscle fibres that do not react with antibodies to slow myosin HC, in soleus muscles paralysed at birth, 100% of the fibres reacted with this antibody. This study shows that disruption of neuromuscular interaction for a brief period after birth leads to a loss of motoneurones and a permanent impairment of muscle function.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Muscle transformation in cardiomyoplasty: the effect of conditioning and mobilisation on perfusion, oxygenation and fatigue resistance in the latissimus dorsi muscle.

BACKGROUND: In the clinical application of transformed skeletal muscle to cardiac assistance there is evidence that the latissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) wrap can undergo atrophy, which would prevent it from providing a sustained functional improvement. Possible causes are ischaemia and degeneration related to the conditioning process. We studied the nutritional and structural changes occurring under different stimulation regimes with the aim of improving the conditioning protocol. METHODS: Microelectrodes were used to measure regional perfusion and oxygenation in the rabbit LDM during mobilisation and subsequent repeated contraction. Group A muscles (n = 10) were conditioned for 6 weeks at 10 Hz, Group B muscles (n = 10) for 2 weeks at 2.5 Hz. Each muscle was then mobilised and tested in a hydraulic apparatus which recorded the pressure generated in a closed circuit. RESULTS: Muscles of Group A and Group B demonstrated transformation of fibre type, with a predominance of type I (62 +/- 4%) fibres in Group A and type IIa (68 +/- 9%) fibres in Group B. There was no evidence of muscle degeneration. After 10 min of fatigue testing the pressure produced was 53 +/- 5% of initial values in Group A and 51 +/- 8% in Group B, compared to 8 +/- 1% in the control group (P < 0.001). Maximum rate of relaxation was faster in Group B than in Group A (46 +/- 3% vs. 36 +/- 3% of control muscle, P < 0.05). Mobilisation resulted in a decrease in the distal perfusion of the control muscles (P < 0.05) and PO2 decreased by 8.7 +/- 1.7 mmHg during a fatigue test, which resulted in rapid loss of contractile function to 46 +/- 1% of the initial value within 1 min. In both Groups A and B the perfusion of all regions of the muscles both before and after mobilisation was greater than that of controls. During the same fatigue test, the PO2 of the distal regions was maintained and the contractile function fell more slowly to between 70 and 80% of initial values within 1 min. CONCLUSION: We showed that ischaemia in the distal region of the control LDM could result from mobilisation and repeated contraction. Muscle transformation improved perfusion and prevented a fall in tissue PO2 during a sustained series of contractions. Muscles that were conditioned at 2.5 Hz shared the improved perfusion of the fully transformed muscle, but had faster relaxation characteristics. Short periods of in situ conditioning prior to mobilisation may help to avoid ischaemic changes in distal parts of the LDM while achieving fatigue resistance in the grafted muscle at an earlier postoperative stage.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Structure, distribution and innervation of muscle spindles in avian fast and slow skeletal muscle.

Muscle spindles in 2 synergistic avian skeletal muscles, the anterior (ALD) and posterior (PLD) latissimus dorsi, were studied by light and electron microscopy to determine whether morphological or quantitative differences existed between these sensory receptors. Differences were found in the density, distribution and location of muscle spindles in the 2 muscles. They also differed with respect to the morphology of their capsules and intracapsular components. The slow ALD possessed muscle spindles which were evenly distributed throughout the muscle, whereas in the fast PLD they were mainly concentrated around the single nerve entry point into the muscle. The muscle spindle index (number of spindles per gram wet muscle weight) in the ALD was more than double that of its fast-twitch PLD counterpart (130.5+/-2.0 vs 55.4+/-2.0 respectively, n = 6). The number of intrafusal fibres per spindle ranged from 1 to 8 in the ALD and 2 to 9 in the PLD, and their diameters varied from 5.0 to 16.0 microm and 4.5 to 18.5 microm, respectively. Large diameter intrafusal fibres were more frequently encountered in spindles of the PLD. Unique to the ALD was the presence of monofibre muscle spindles (12.7% of total spindles observed in ALD) which contained a solitary intrafusal fibre. In muscle spindles of both the ALD and PLD, sensory nerve endings terminated in a spiral fashion on the intrafusal fibres in their equatorial regions. Motor innervation was restricted to either juxtaequatorial or polar regions of the intrafusal fibres. Outer capsule components were extensive in polar and juxtaequatorial regions of ALD spindles, whereas inner capsule cells of PLD spindles were more numerous in juxtaequatorial and equatorial regions. Overall, muscle spindles of the PLD exhibited greater complexity with respect to the number of intrafusal fibres per spindle, range of intrafusal fibre diameters and development of their inner capsules. It is postulated that the differences in muscle spindle density and structure observed in this study reflect the function of the muscles in which they reside.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Eccentric muscle damage transiently decreases rat skeletal muscle GLUT-4 protein.

The effects of concentric and muscle-damaging eccentric contractions on muscle glucose transporter GLUT-4 content were studied in rat muscles. Rats were anesthetized, the calf muscles on one side were stimulated electrically for concentric or eccentric contractions, and bilateral calf muscles were obtained in the postexercise period. Inflammatory and phagocytic cells accumulated in the eccentric white and red gastrocnemius muscles, whereas there were only discrete changes in the eccentric soleus. Glycogen was depleted to the same extent in the white and red gastrocnemius muscles after both types of stimulation, and it remained decreased > 2 days in eccentric muscles. The total GLUT-4 protein content was decreased in the eccentric white and red gastrocnemius muscles 1 and 2 days after the eccentric stimulation, whereas the maximal activity of glycogen synthase was unaffected at these time points. In conclusion, our one-legged stimulation model caused eccentric muscle damage in the white and red gastrocnemius, whereas only minor damage was observed in the soleus muscle. In damaged muscle, muscle glycogen and GLUT-4 protein content were decreased for > 2 days. These findings may suggest (but do not prove) that decreased muscle GLUT-4 protein is involved in the delayed glycogen resynthesis after eccentric exercise.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Aging affects different human muscles in various ways. An image analysis of the histomorphometric characteristics of fiber types in human masseter and vastus lateralis muscles from young adults and the very old.

This study is an attempt to objectively evaluate age-related changes in human muscles by use of histomorphometric methods. Aging in humans induces dramatic transformations in the skeletal muscles but little is known as to whether or not the aging processes per se may affect all muscles equally. In this study aging of two human muscles with different functions, origin and nerve supply is compared. Sections were cut from masseter and vastus lateralis muscles obtained from young adults aged 18-24 years and from the very old aged 90-102 years. Muscle fiber types were classified with the traditional myofibrillar ATPase staining. Various histomorphometric parameters of the different fiber types in human masseter and vastus lateralis muscle sections were obtained by image analyses to evaluate the age-related changes in the muscle fibers. The following variables were calculated: the number of each fiber type per photographed area; the area of each fiber and two indicators for the shape of the muscle fibers. In the aging muscles there was no relative preferential loss of a fiber type. High numbers of intermediate ATPase-stained fibers (IM fibers) were found in some old vastus muscles but were only sporadic in young vastus muscles. However, there was no change in the percentage distribution of intermediate ATPase-stained fibers when young and very old human masseter muscles were compared. Incubation of the sections with antimyosin antibodies showed that the IM fibers in old masseter and old vastus contained different myosin heavy chains. Thus ATPase activity and anti-myosin staining displayed a somewhat different pattern of fiber type distribution. The main changes in the shape and area indicated that type I fibers in the masseter became more circular while in the vastus they decreased significantly in size. The type II fibers in the vastus became very small and deviated significantly from circularity whereas the type II fibers in the masseter only exhibited a decrease in the size of the fibers. Histomorphometric measurements show that aging affects different human muscles in various ways.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1994

Sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump in cardiac and slow twitch skeletal muscle but not fast twitch skeletal muscle undergoes phosphorylation by endogenous and exogenous Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase. Characterization of optimal conditions for calcium pump phosphorylation.

We have demonstrated recently that in cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), a membrane-associated Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase) phosphorylates and activates the Ca(2+)-pumping ATPase (Ca(2+)-ATPase) in addition to phosphorylating the previously characterized substrates, phospholamban, and Ca2+ release channel (ryanodine receptor) (Xu, A., Hawkins, C., and Narayanan, N. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 8394-8397). The present study shows that a CaM kinase regulatory system capable of modulating SR Ca2+ pump activity through direct phosphorylation of the Ca(2+)-ATPase is functional in slow twitch but not fast twitch skeletal muscle. Incubation of SR vesicles isolated from rabbit slow twitch (soleus) and fast twitch (adductor magnus) skeletal muscles in the presence of Ca2+ and calmodulin resulted in phosphorylation of the Ca(2+)-ATPase in slow twitch muscle SR but not in fast twitch muscle SR. Exogenous CaM kinase II, which stimulated phosphorylation of the cardiac and slow twitch muscle SR Ca(2+)-ATPase, failed to phosphorylate fast twitch muscle SR Ca(2+)-ATPase. These observations demonstrate that CaM kinase-catalyzed phosphorylation of the Ca2+ pump is isoform-specific since heart and slow twitch muscle express the same Ca(2+)-ATPase isoform (SERCA2a), which is distinct from that of fast twitch muscle (SERCA1). As in the case of cardiac SR Ca(2+)-ATPase, phosphorylation of the slow twitch muscle SR Ca(2+)-ATPase (occurring at a serine residue) resulted in a 2-fold increase in catalytic activity of the enzyme without alteration in its Ca2+ sensitivity. In addition, Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent prephosphorylation of slow twitch muscle SR resulted in a greater than 2-fold increase in its Ca2+ transport activity. In both cardiac and slow twitch muscle SR, phosphorylation of the Ca(2+)-ATPase by the endogenous CaM kinase occurred rapidly (maximum within 2 min at 37 degrees C), had similar pH optimum (8.5-9.0), temperature optimum (30 degrees C), and calmodulin concentration-dependence (k0.5 50-60 nM). cAMP-dependent protein kinase did not phosphorylate the Ca(2+)-ATPase appreciably in either cardiac or slow twitch muscle SR. These findings suggest a muscle-specific role for the membrane-associated CaM kinase in the modulation of Ca2+ uptake and release functions of the SR. In cardiac and slow twitch muscle, phosphorylation of the SR Ca(2+)-ATPase by CaM kinase might provide a novel mechanism for the modulation of the enzymatic and Ca2+ transport functions of this enzyme.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

In vivo gene electrotransfer into skeletal muscle: effects of plasmid DNA on the occurrence and extent of muscle damage.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the mechanisms underlying gene electrotransfer muscle damage can help to design more effective gene electrotransfer strategies for physiological and therapeutical applications. The present study investigates the factors involved in gene electrotransfer associated muscle damage. METHODS: Histochemical analyses were used to determine the extent of transfection efficiency and muscle damage in the Tibialis anterior muscles of Sprague-Dawley male rats after gene electrotransfer. RESULTS: Five days after gene electrotransfer, features of muscle degeneration and regeneration were consistently observed, thus limiting the extent of transfection efficiency. Signs of muscle degeneration/regeneration were no longer evident 21 days after gene electrotransfer except for the presence of central myonuclei. Neither the application of electrical pulses per se nor the extracellular presence of plasmid DNA per se contributed significantly to muscle damage (2.9 +/- 1.0 and 2.1 +/- 0.7% of the whole muscle cross-sectional area, respectively). Gene electrotransfer of a plasmid DNA, which does not support gene expression, increased significantly muscle damage (8.7 +/- 1.2%). When plasmid DNA expression was permitted (gene electrotransfer of pCMV-beta-galactosidase), muscle damage was further increased to 19.7 +/- 4.5%. Optimization of cumulated pulse duration and current intensity dramatically reduced gene electrotransfer associated muscle damage. Finally, mathematical modeling of gene electrotransfer associated muscle damage as a function of the number of electrons delivered to the tissue indicated that pulse length critically determined the extent of muscle damage. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that neither the extracellular presence of plasmid DNA per se nor the application of electric pulses per se contributes significantly to muscle damage. Gene electrotransfer associated muscle damage mainly arises from the intracellular presence and expression of plasmid DNA.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Activation of human arm muscles during flexion/extension and supination/pronation tasks: a theory on muscle coordination.

Generally the number of muscles acting across a joint exceeds the number of degrees of freedom available to the joint. This redundancy raises a problem regarding the ratio in which these muscles are activated during a particular motor task. In this paper we present a theory to explain the activation patterns of muscles used during voluntary and reflex induced contractions. The basic assumptions underlying the theory are that 1) coordination of muscles is based on synergistic muscle activities, 2) the synergisms involved satisfy certain transformations of muscle spindle signals to muscle activation signals and 3) muscle spindle output is proportional to the ratio of muscle stretch and muscle length in lengthening muscles, and is zero in shortening muscles. The theory is used to predict the recruitment threshold of motor units in six arm muscles during voluntary isometric contractions. All theoretical predictions are in reasonable agreement with the experimentally observed behavior of a large population of motor units within each muscle. However, within a single muscle sometimes motor-unit populations have been found to have different types of recruitment behavior. This deviating behavior is discussed in the light of the theory presented here.

Arm↗
PubMed1983

Isoenzyme studies of whole muscle grafts and movement of muscle precursor cells.

Isoenzymes of glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI: E.C. 5.3.1.9) were used as markers to determine the origin of cells which give rise to new muscle formed in allografts of whole intact muscle. GPI isoenzymes were also employed to see whether host precursor cells, which have been shown to contribute to muscle formation in grafts of minced muscle, can be derived from muscle lying adjacent to grafts. Excellent muscle regeneration was found in allografts of extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle examined after 58 days: 12 of 16 grafts contained 80% or more new muscle. Isoenzyme analysis showed that most, and in 2 instances all, new muscle was derived from implanted donor cells; however, there was strong evidence that in 5 grafts some, or all, new muscle must have resulted from host cells moving into the graft. Although hybrid isoenzyme was not detected this was attributed to factors associated with host tolerance which appear to interfere with fusion between host and donor myoblasts. Isografts of minced muscle were placed next to whole EDL muscle allografts to see if cells from allografts moved into adjacent regenerating tissue. Unfortunately, muscle regeneration in minced isografts was poor; only 3 contained 50% or more new muscle and most contained large amounts of fibrous connective tissue. Only a single isoenzyme band was detected in 11 isografts, but in five instances, the presence of a second band showed that cells from EDL allografts were also present. As no hybrid isoenzyme was detected, it is not known whether these cells which had moved into the regenerating minced grafts were muscle precursors, fibroblasts or some other cell types.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Muscle precursor cells invade and repopulate freeze-killed muscles.

A problem with the use of muscle grafting as a therapeutic procedure is to produce a graft functionally adequate to replace a muscle of complex architecture, such as a sphincter muscle. We thought it might be possible to use dead cadaver muscles, repopulated by the patient's own muscle precursor cells (mpc), to reconstruct muscles whose anatomy would be imposed by the framework of dead muscle and whose genetic constitution would be determined by the mpc. Here we show, in the mouse, that an extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle, killed by repeated freezing and thawing, repopulated with mpc and grafted into a nu/nu or tolerant AKR host mouse, is capable of supporting muscle formation. By using the allotypic isoenzyme forms of glucose-6-phosphate isomerase as markers, we have shown that the newly regenerated muscle in such grafts is derived mainly from the implanted mpc, but also to some extent from the host mouse's own mpc. By 50-70 days after grafting, new muscle fibres were found to constitute up to 70% of the graft. Many fibres had assumed diameters in the normal range for mouse muscle, often having peripherally placed nuclei. These findings raise the possibility of the therapeutic use of such grafts. To our surprise, dead EDL muscle grafts into which no mpc had been implanted were also the site of good muscle regeneration. New-formed muscle in these grafts was shown to be derived entirely from mpc which must have migrated into the graft from the host. Investigation of the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon should further our knowledge of factors which regulate the proliferation and movement of dormant mpc in adult animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Muscle development in the grasshopper embryo. I. Muscles, nerves, and apodemes in the metathoracic leg.

Much is known about the development of nerve pathways in the metathoracic limb bud of the grasshopper embryo. In this series of three papers, we report on the development of muscles in the same embryonic appendage. In a fourth paper (E. E. Ball, R. K. Ho, and C. S. Goodman, 1985, J. Neurosci, in press) we examine the development of specific neuromuscular connections for one of these muscles (coxal muscle 133a). In this first paper, we present an overview of the development of muscles, nerves, and apodemes (tendons). We previously reported on a class of large mesodermal cells, called muscle pioneers (MPs), that arises early in development and appears to act as a scaffold for developing muscles and guidance cue for motoneuron growth cones (R. K. Ho, E. E. Ball, and C. S. Goodman, 1983, Nature (London) 301, 66-69). We have used the I-5 monoclonal antibody (which specifically labels the MPs as well as the nerve pathways), HRP immunocytochemistry, and Normarski optics to visualize muscle, nerve, and apodeme development in the embryonic metathoracic limb bud from 27.5% (before the appearance of the MPs) to 55% (after the muscles have attained their basic adult pattern). Cell fusions, cell migration, and cell death all appear to play important roles in the development of MPs. The patterns of muscle development vary greatly, ranging from (i) single MPs for simple muscles (which in the adult have only one bundle of muscle fibers, e.g., coxal muscle 133a), to (ii) arrays of MPs for complex muscles [which in the adult have many bundles of muscle fibers each with separate sites of insertion, e.g., the extensor tibiae (ETi) and flexor tibiae (FlTi) muscles in the femur].

Animals↗
PubMed1980

An immune histochemical and enzymic characterization of the muscle fibres in myotomal muscle of the teleost Brachydanio rerio, Hamilton-Buchanan.

The myotomal muscles of teleosts have a complex internal structure. For a better understanding of the functional anatomy of these muscles we analysed the myofibrillar properties of the myotomal muscle fibres in a small teleost: Brachydanio rerio, the zebrafish. By immune histochemical techniques we discerned 4 types of muscle fibres: red lateral fibres, red muscle rim (RMR) fibres, intermediate fibres and white fibres, each with a distinct type of heavy chain myosin. In addition we discerned 2 populations of muscle fibres in which the myofibrils contain mixtures of white and intermediate heavy chain myosin. The immune histochemical classification correlates well with an enzyme histochemical classification of the muscle fibres. In order to find out whether the immune and enzyme histochemical differences correlate with differences in dynamic properties of the muscle fibres, we analysed the ATP-ase activity of glycerinated muscle fibres. 3 of the 5 muscle fibre types which are discriminated by immune histochemical methods could thus be analysed. Differences in histochemical reactions coincide with differences in ATP-ase activities of the glycerinated muscle fibres. 2 classes of muscle fibres were homogeneous as to the ATP-ase activity of their muscle fibres. The 3rd class, the white fibres, could be divided in 2 populations with slightly different ATP-ase activities. The results indicate that the myotomal muscle fibre population is much more heterogeneous than has been considered thusfar. This heterogeneity may allow an almost continuous range of contraction speeds in the myotomal muscle.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed2002

Consequences of deltoid muscle elongation on deltoid muscle performance: a computerised study.

BACKGROUND: The deltoid muscle plays an important role in normal shoulder function. Knowledge of the position of the glenohumeral rotational centre and of the deltoid muscle length is essential to understand optimal placement of a total shoulder prosthesis. OBJECTIVE: This study is designed to analyse the effect of deltoid muscle elongation on shoulder joint function. DESIGN: A three-dimensional model of the glenohumeral joint with deltoid muscle analysis in the scapular plane. METHODS: A geometrical three-dimensional ball-and-socket model of the shoulder joint was developed. From dry bones, the position of the origins and insertions of the three parts of the deltoid muscle relative to the calculated centre of rotation of the humeral head was defined. The position and the direction of the muscle force working lines relative to this humeral centre were calculated using former measurements and CT-data of the deltoid. Muscle length-tension data were applied to obtain angle-force relationships. The model was used to calculate the angle-force relationships, the moment arm and the moment of the deltoid muscle components for successive arm elevation angles in the scapular plane. These data were compared to those of a theoretical situation assuming a 10% elongation of the muscle. RESULTS: Muscle angle-force curves show a more favourable slope after moderate (10%) deltoid muscle elongation. Elongating the muscle by changing the distance between the humeral rotation point and the deltoid insertion along the humeral axis does not affect moment arms. The moments of the deltoid muscle forces themselves, however, seem more adapted to elevation in the scapular plane. The deltoid maximal moment exceeds the arm-weight moment by about 40% instead of being approximately equal, and that the maximum is situated around 100 degrees of elevation. CONCLUSIONS: From a biomechanical point of view, stretching the deltoid muscle by 10% seems to result in a significantly more favourable position in case of shoulder elevation at 90 degrees of abduction in the scapular plane in a centred glenohumeral joint. RELEVANCE: This model suggests that a 10% elongation of the deltoid muscle, the most important shoulder abductor, improves its ability to elevate the arm. If properly implemented, this observation can be very important in the treatment and early rehabilitation of rotator-cuff-insufficient shoulders treated by a specific total shoulder replacement design.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Flight-muscle polymorphism in the cricket Gryllus firmus: muscle characteristics and their influence on the evolution of flightlessness.

Flight muscles of the cricket Gryllus firmus are polymorphic, existing as pink or white phenotypes. White muscles are smaller in size, have reduced number and size of muscle fibers, and have reduced in vitro enzyme activities and respiration rates relative to pink muscles of newly molted, fully winged adults. G. firmus is also polymorphic for wing length. All newly molted long-winged adults exhibited the pink-muscle phenotype, while most newly molted short-winged adults exhibited the white-muscle phenotype, which resulted from arrested muscle growth. As long-winged adults aged, fully grown pink muscle was transformed into white muscle via histolysis. The substantially higher respiration rate of pink muscle likely contributes to the elevated whole-organism respiration rate of long-winged females, which has been documented previously and which is thought to divert nutrients from egg production. Histolyzed white flight muscle from long-winged crickets also exhibited significantly elevated respiration rate and enzyme activities compared with underdeveloped white muscle from short-winged adults, although these differences were not as great as those between pink and white muscles. Fecundity was much more elevated in females with white verus pink flight muscles than it was in females with short versus long wings. The fitness gain resulting from flightlessness has typically been estimated in previous studies by comparing enhanced egg production of short-winged and long-winged females, without considering the influence of flight-muscle variation. Our results suggest that the magnitude of this fitness gain has been substantially underestimated.

Aging↗
PubMed2002

Adeno-associated virus-mediated vascular endothelial growth factor gene therapy in skeletal muscle before transplantation promotes revascularization of regenerating muscle.

Successful clinical transplantation of whole skeletal muscles can be limited by impaired muscle revascularization and regeneration. The aim of this study was to enhance the revascularization (and hence speed of regeneration) of transplanted whole muscles by transducing muscles with the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene before transplantation, using a recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV). The rAAV encoding VEGF and green fluorescent protein (GFP) (rAAV.VEGF.GFP) was injected into the tibialis anterior muscles of adult BALB/c mice. One month after injection whole muscle autotransplantation was performed. Muscles were sampled 7 days after autografting. GFP expression was examined as an indicator of persistent transgene expression after grafting, and immunohistochemistry was used to identify VEGF, blood vessels, and newly formed myotubes. After grafting, GFP expression persisted only in a few surviving myofibers in the periphery of rAAV.VEGF.GFP-pretreated muscles, although abundant VEGF expression was seen in myogenic cells in all grafted muscles. Quantitative analysis demonstrated that, although only small numbers of rAAV.VEGF.GFP-transduced myofibers were present, whole muscle grafts preinjected with rAAV.VEGF.GFP were significantly more vascular than saline-injected and uninjected control muscle grafts. Furthermore, rAAV.VEGF.GFP-injected whole muscle transplants were further advanced in terms of regeneration (myotube formation) compared with the uninjected control muscle transplants. This study clearly shows that rAAV-mediated VEGF expression persists only in myofibers that survive the necrosis induced by muscle transplantation; however, this amount of VEGF results in significantly increased revascularization and regeneration of whole muscle transplants.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Increase in polyneuronal innervation in frog muscle after muscle injury.

The proportion of polyneuronal innervation was evaluated electrophysiologically in curare-blocked frog cutaneous pectoris muscles after local injury to the muscle fibres on one side. Focal polyneuronal innervation was revealed by recording end-plate potentials evoked by a gradual increase in the stimulus intensity applied to the motor nerve. An increase in the proportion of focally polyneuronally innervated muscle fibres appeared in the injured muscle 3-5 days after injury. The difference between the values obtained 3-5 days and 7-9 days (31 and 38%, respectively) and the control value (18%) was highly significant. A similar increase in the proportion of pluri-innervated muscle fibres was observed in the contralateral muscle, but after a longer period. The different components of complex end-plate potentials (e.p.p.s) usually had similar latencies and rise times in control and experimental muscles. This may indicate that the axons had similar conduction velocities and that synapses were located close to each other. A repeated muscle fibre section 24 h after the initial injury resulted in an enhanced polyneuronal innervation (52%) 7-9 days after the first section. The experiments were repeated on partially blocked muscles in order to detect small e.p.p.s with an amplitude similar to that of spontaneous miniature end-plate potentials (m.e.p.p.s). The proportion of polyneuronally innervated fibres estimated by this technique in control muscles approximated 40%. Polyneuronal innervation was also found to be significantly increased in cut muscles 7-9 days after muscle injury and a week later in contralateral muscles. Combined silver and cholinesterase staining was used to detect morphologically polyneuronal innervation. The comparison of morphological and electrophysiological data indicated that the increase in polyneuronal innervation after muscle injury is likely due to nerve sprouting and formation of new synapses. The results suggest that the signal for nerve sprouting originates from the damaged muscle cell and that it is transferred transneuronally to the contralateral side.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1989

Beta-adrenergic receptor distribution among muscle fiber types and resistance arterioles of white, red, and intermediate skeletal muscle.

The pathophysiological effects of congestive heart failure and physiological effects of exercise training on skeletal muscle may be mediated in part by modulation of beta-adrenergic receptor density. To shed light on the physiological role of skeletal muscle beta-receptors, their density and distribution were characterized in muscle fibers and resistance arterioles of whole tissue slices of three rat hindquarter muscles differing markedly in fiber type composition and capacities for oxidative metabolism and vasodilatation. Binding isotherms and quantitative light microscopic autoradiographic localization of receptors were performed by incubating tissue slices in selected concentrations of [125I]cyanopindolol with and without 10(-5) M l-propranolol. Muscle fiber types were delineated in adjacent sections by histochemical staining of myofibrillar ATPase activity at pH 4.5-4.55. The total tissue content of receptors (Bmax) was nearly threefold greater in the soleus, a muscle consisting almost entirely of slow-twitch (type I) fibers than in superficial white vastus lateralis, a muscle composed of greater than 95% fast-twitch (type IIb) fibers. Bmax was intermediate in gastrocnemius, a mixed fiber muscle (all differences p less than 0.01). Receptor affinity for radioligand was higher in the white vastus than in the mixed fiber and slow-twitch muscles (Kd = 3.5 +/- 0.4 pM for white vastus versus 6.8 +/- 0.8 and 6.4 +/- 1.1 pM in gastrocnemius and soleus, respectively; both p less than 0.01 versus white vastus). Disparities in Bmax among muscles were due entirely to differences in receptor densities of skeletal muscle cells as shown autoradiographically. Furthermore, variations in Bmax of the three skeletal muscles were directly related to percentage of type I fibers (r = 0.99; p less than 0.001), which had a beta-receptor density that was approximately 4.5-fold greater than in superficially located type IIb fibers, 3.2-fold greater than in intermediate depth type IIb fibers, and 2.0-fold greater than in type IIa fibers. In contrast, grain densities of resistance arterioles were similar regardless of surrounding skeletal muscle fiber type composition. However, resistance arterioles were 2.5- and 6.1-fold more numerous in the slow-twitch soleus than in the gastrocnemius and superficial white vastus, respectively (all differences p less than 0.01). We conclude that beta-receptor density of rat hindquarter skeletal muscles is directly proportional to percentage of slow-twitch fibers, while receptor affinity for antagonist is higher in fast-twitch than in slow-twitch or mixed fiber muscles.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗