Onset of rigor mortis is earlier in red muscle than in white muscle

2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 240-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kobayashi ◽  
T. Takatori ◽  
M. Nakajima ◽  
K. Sakurada ◽  
K. Hatanaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
1963 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Buttkus

The superficial red muscle of lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) was shown to exhibit unique properties of post-mortem contraction and tension development. In comparison with white muscle, rigor contraction and isometric rigor tension in red muscle were about three times as great. The rate of contraction of the red muscle was dependent on temperature and also on the oxygen concentration in the surrounding atmosphere. The elastic modulus of the red muscle of trout and lingcod increased with increasing post-mortem time. Following the onset of rigor mortis a gradual increase in elasticity was observed. The maximum effects of contraction, tension and elasticity coincided with the onset of rigor mortis and each could therefore be used as a measure of this phenomenon. It was concluded from these experiments that stiffening of a fish with the onset of rigor mortis is not due to contraction or tension development of the muscles, but rather to their changing mechanical properties. A convenient measure of the changing mechanical properties in the muscle was the elastic modulus.Morphological differences between the very active, myoglobin rich, red muscle and the white muscle of lingcod were demonstrated by means of electron micrographs. The high glycogen content in the area of sarcoplasm of the red muscle, as indicated in electron micrographs, was confirmed by chemical analysis. Red muscle in rested fish was shown to contain from 1 to 3 times more glycogen than white muscle.


1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 736-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. Hochachka ◽  
M. Guppy ◽  
H. E. Guderley ◽  
K. B. Storey ◽  
W. C. Hulbert

To delineate what modifications in muscle metabolic biochemistry correlate with transition to air breathing in fishes, the myotomal muscles of aruana, an obligate water breather, and Arapaima, a related obligate air breather, were compared using electron microscopy and enzyme methods. White muscle in both species maintained a rather similar ultrastructure, characterized by large-diameter fibers, very few mitochondria, and few capillaries. However, aruana white muscle displayed nearly fivefold higher levels of pyruvate kinase, threefold higher levels of muscle-type lactate dehydrogenase, and a fourfold higher ratio of fructose diphosphatase –phosphofructokinase activity; at the same time, enzymes in aerobic metabolism occurred at about one-half the levels in Arapaima. Red muscle was never found in the myotomal mass of aruana, but in Arapaima, red muscle was present and seemed fueled by glycogen, lipid droplets never being observed. From these and other data, it was concluded that in myotomal muscle two processes correlate with the transition to air breathing in Amazon osteoglossids: firstly, an emphasis in oxidative metabolism, and secondly, a retention of red muscle. However, compared with more active water-breathing species, Arapaima sustains an overall dampening of enzyme activities in its myotomal muscle, which because of the large myotome mass explains why its overall metabolic rate is relatively low. By keeping the oxidative capacity of its myotomal muscle low, Arapaima automatically conserves O2 either for a longer time or for other more O2-requiring organs in the body, a perfectly understandable strategy for an air-breathing, diving fish, comparable with that observed in other diving vertebrates. A similar comparison was also made of two erythrinid fishes, one that skimmed the O2-rich surface layers of water and one that obtained three quarters of its O2 from water, one quarter from air. Ultrastructural and enzyme data led to the unexpected conclusion that the surface skimmer sustained a higher oxidative capacity in its myotomal muscles than did the facultative air breather.


1972 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 551-567
Author(s):  
T. YAMAMOTO

1. Electrical and mechanical properties of the red muscle (M. levator pinnae pectoralis) and white muscle (M. levator pinnae lateralis abdominis) in the silver carp (Carassius auratus Linné) were investigated by using caffeine and thymol. 2. A complete tetanus could be produced in the red muscle. But in the white muscle no tetanus was produced and there was a gradual decrease in tension during continuous stimulation, even at a frequency of 1 c/s or less. 3. Caffeine (0.5-1 mM) and thymol (0.25-0.5 mM) potentiated the twitch tension in both muscles without an increase in the resting tension; they produced a contracture in both muscles when the concentration was increased further. 4. The falling phase of the active state of contraction was nearly the same in both muscles and was prolonged by caffeine (0.5 mmM) and by thymol (0.25 mM). 5. The resting membrane potential of the red muscle was scarcely affected by caffeine (0.5-5 mM), whereas in the white muscles a depolarization of 10 mV was observed with caffeine of more than 2 mM. The resting potential of both muscles was little changed by o.25 mm thymol. However, at a concentration of more than 0.5mM thymol depolarized the membrane in both muscles to the same extent. 6. In caffeine (2-3 mM) solution the mean specific membrane resistance was reduced from 8.8 kΩ cm2 to 6.0 kΩ cm2 in the red muscle, and from 5.0 kΩ cm2 to 2.7 kΩ cm2 in the white muscle. In thymol (0.5-1 mM) solution it was reduced from 11.2 kΩcm2 to 6.5 kΩ cm2 in the red muscle, and from 5.4kΩ cm2 to 3.1 kΩ) cm2 in the white muscle. The specific membrane capacitance, calculated from the time constant and the membrane resistance, remained more or less the same in both muscles after a treatment with these agents. 7. Electrical properties of the muscles and the effects of caffeine and thymol on mechanical responses suggest that there are no fundamental differences between red and white muscles except for the excitation-contraction coupling. A lack of summation of twitch, a successive decline of twitch, and inability to produce potassium contracture in the white muscle may be due to the fact that the Ca-releasing mechanism is easily inactivated by depolarization of the membrane.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (2) ◽  
pp. R278-R283 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Brooks ◽  
K. B. Storey

The glycolytic enzymes glycogen phosphorylase, phosphofructokinase (PFK), and pyruvate kinase (PK) were assessed in liver, heart, red muscle, and white muscle of aerobic and 5-h anoxic turtles (Pseudemys scripta) for changes in total activity and kinetic parameters. Anoxia induced statistically significant changes in these glycolytic enzymes in each of the four organs assayed. Compared with normoxic controls, anoxic liver showed a 3.3-fold increase in glycogen phosphorylase activity, a 1.5-fold increase in the PFK I50 value for citrate (concentration that inhibits initial activity by 50%), a 1.5-fold increase in the PFK Michaelis constant (Km) value for fructose 6-phosphate (P), and an increased maximal activity of PK. Anoxic heart muscle showed a 2.6-fold decrease in glycogen phosphorylase activity and, for PFK, a 1.7-fold decrease in the Km value for ATP and a twofold increase in the I50 value for citrate. In anoxic white muscle, PFK showed a fivefold lower Km value for fructose-6-P and a threefold lower activator concentration producing half-maximal activation (A50) for potassium phosphate than the aerobic enzyme form. Changes in anoxic white muscle PK included a twofold increase in the Km value for ADP and a 1.7-fold decrease in the I50 value for alanine. In red muscle, anoxia affected only the Km value for ATP, which was 50% higher than the value for the aerobic enzyme form. Fructose 2,6-diphosphate (P2) levels also decreased in heart muscle and increased in red and white muscle during anoxia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (4) ◽  
pp. R835-R843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donato A. Rivas ◽  
Sarah J. Lessard ◽  
Misato Saito ◽  
Anna M. Friedhuber ◽  
Lauren G. Koch ◽  
...  

Chronic metabolic diseases develop from the complex interaction of environmental and genetic factors, although the extent to which each contributes to these disorders is unknown. Here, we test the hypothesis that artificial selection for low intrinsic aerobic running capacity is associated with reduced skeletal muscle metabolism and impaired metabolic health. Rat models for low- (LCR) and high- (HCR) intrinsic running capacity were derived from genetically heterogeneous N:NIH stock for 20 generations. Artificial selection produced a 530% difference in running capacity between LCR/HCR, which was associated with significant functional differences in glucose and lipid handling by skeletal muscle, as assessed by hindlimb perfusion. LCR had reduced rates of skeletal muscle glucose uptake (∼30%; P = 0.04), glucose oxidation (∼50%; P = 0.04), and lipid oxidation (∼40%; P = 0.02). Artificial selection for low aerobic capacity was also linked with reduced molecular signaling, decreased muscle glycogen, and triglyceride storage, and a lower mitochondrial content in skeletal muscle, with the most profound changes to these parameters evident in white rather than red muscle. We show that a low intrinsic aerobic running capacity confers reduced insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle and is associated with impaired markers of metabolic health compared with high intrinsic running capacity. Furthermore, selection for high running capacity, in the absence of exercise training, endows increased skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity and oxidative capacity in specifically white muscle rather than red muscle. These data provide evidence that differences in white muscle may have a role in the divergent aerobic capacity observed in this generation of LCR/HCR.


1993 ◽  
Vol 181 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. H. Yang ◽  
G. N. Somero

The effects of feeding and fasting were examined on the deep-living short-spine thornyhead (Sebastolobus alascanus) and the confamilial shallow-living spotted scorpionfish (Scorpaena guttata) to determine whether the low metabolic rate of the deeper-living species was in part a consequence of food deprivation in its habitat. Laboratory acclimation for periods of 90–115 days under either ad libitum feeding or complete fasting did not lead to similar rates of respiration in individuals of the two species held under identical conditions. Respiration of fish fed ad libitum was 52 % (S. guttata) or 68 % (S. alascanus) higher than for fasted fish of the same species. Furthermore, the metabolic rates of freshly collected specimens of S. alascanus resembled those of laboratory-fasted fish. In white skeletal muscle, both total protein concentration and the activities of four enzymes of ATP metabolism, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and pyruvate kinase (PK) of glycolysis, malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and citrate synthase (CS, a citric acid cycle indicator), were lower in S. alascanus than in S. guttata. Within a species, protein concentration and activities of the four enzymes in white muscle, but not in brain, were higher in fed than in starved fish, although these differences were greater in S. alascanus than in S. guttata. During fasting, LDH and PK activity in white muscle of S. alascanus decreased much more than MDH and CS activity; decreases in enzyme activities in red muscle were smaller than those in white muscle. Activities of enzymes in white skeletal muscle of field-collected S. alascanus generally resembled those of the fasted specimens. In contrast, red muscle of field- collected S. alascanus, compared with that of either fed or starved laboratory-held specimens, had a highly glycolytic poise (high LDH and PK activities relative to MDH and CS activities), which may suggest that muscle enzyme activities in the field-collected fish reflect adaptation to the low oxygen level in its adult habitat, the oxygen minimum layer. The strong correlations found between tissue biochemical properties and respiration rate allow us to develop a predictive index for metabolic rate from simple biochemical analyses, e.g. white muscle protein content or CS activity. We conclude that the low metabolic rate of S. alascanus is due to at least four depth-related factors: reduced abundance of food, low temperature, low ambient oxygen concentration and darkness, which may select for reduced locomotory activity.


1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (10) ◽  
pp. 1909-1915 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Krishna Murthy ◽  
P. Reddanna ◽  
M. Bhaskar ◽  
S. Govindappa

Freshwater fish, Tilapia mossambica (Peters), were subjected to acute exposure and acclimation to sublethal acid water (pH 4.0), and the muscle metabolism was investigated. Differential patterns of carbohydrate metabolism were witnessed in the red and white muscles in response to both acute exposure and acclimation. The glycogen content of red muscle was elevated whereas that of white muscle was depleted on acute exposure. But on acclimation, both the muscles had elevated glycogen content. The red muscle seems to mobilize carbohydrates into both hexose mono- and di-phosphate pathways, but white muscle does so only into the hexose monophosphate pathway on acclimation. In general, both the muscles exhibited suppressed glycolysis and elevated oxidative phase leading to elevated glycogen level. The muscle metabolism was oriented towards conservation of carbohydrates and lesser production of organic acids on acclimation, as a possible metabolic adaptive mechanism of the fish, enabling them to counteract the imposed acid stress.


1982 ◽  
Vol 243 (3) ◽  
pp. H491-H497
Author(s):  
P. F. McDonagh ◽  
R. W. Gore

In a comparative skeletal muscle study Folkow and Halicka (Microvasc. Res. 1: 1-14, 1968) reported that the capillary filtration coefficient (CFC) of postural (red) muscle was two times the CFC of locomotor (white) muscle. It was concluded that the twofold difference in CFC was due solely to a difference in the perfused capillary surface areas (Sf) of red vs. white muscle. However, CFC is the product of capillary hydraulic conductivity (LP) and Sf. Hence their conclusion assumed that the average LP of red muscle capillaries is exactly equal to the average LP of white muscle capillaries. The following study was undertaken to test the validity of this assumption. The microocclusion procedures and analytical model described by Lee et al. (Circ. Res. 28: 358-370, 1971) and Gore [Am. J. Physiol. 242 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 11): H268-H287, 1982] were used to determine LP. Independent measurements of LP were recorded from single capillaries in red, anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) and white, posterior latissimus dorsi (PLD) muscles of chickens anesthetized with L.A. Thesia. We found that the mean capillary hydraulic conductivity in postural muscle [(LP)ALD = 0.20 +/- 0.06 (SE) micrometers . s-1 . cmH2O-1 (n = 11)] was significantly different from the mean capillary hydraulic conductivity in locomotor muscle [(LP)PLD = 0.061 +/- 0.01 micrometers . s-1 . cmH2O-1 (n = 14)] (P less than 0.05). These results provide direct evidence that observed differences in red vs. white muscle CFC's may not be due solely to different perfused capillary surface areas but may also be due to differences in capillary hydraulic conductivity.


1970 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1131-1139 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Dyer ◽  
D. F. Hiltz ◽  
R. G. Ackman ◽  
J. Hingley ◽  
G. L. Fletcher

Cod rapidly assimilated elemental phosphorus from a seawater environment into their tissues. In a 16-hr exposure to a concentration of 20–80 ppb (parts per billion), phosphorus was concentrated a thousandfold in the liver (even more at lower exposure levels), from 10 to 25 times in white muscle, and about 50–100 times in red muscle. This distribution is roughly in proportion to lipid content. Distribution of the absorbed phosphorus is uniform throughout the white muscle of the fillet, thus facilitating sampling.


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