scholarly journals The Role of Sodium Current in the Radial Spread of Contraction in Frog Muscle Fibers

1970 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 703-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. L. Costantin

The membrane potential of isolated muscle fibers was controlled with a two-electrode voltage clamp, and the radial extent of contraction elicited by depolarizing pulses of increasing magnitude was observed microscopically. Depolarizations of the fiber surface only 1–2 mv greater than the contraction threshold produced shortening throughout the entire cross-section of the muscle fiber. The radial spread of contraction was less effective in fibers exposed to tetrodotoxin or to a bathing medium with a greatly reduced sodium concentration. The results provide evidence that depolarization of a muscle fiber produces an increase in sodium conductance in the T tubule membrane and that the resultant sodium current contributes to the spread of depolarization along the T system.

2012 ◽  
Vol 303 (10) ◽  
pp. R1090-R1099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nima Alamdari ◽  
Gianluca Toraldo ◽  
Zaira Aversa ◽  
Ira Smith ◽  
Estibaliz Castillero ◽  
...  

Sepsis is associated with impaired muscle function but the role of glucocorticoids in sepsis-induced muscle weakness is not known. We tested the role of glucocorticoids in sepsis-induced muscle weakness by treating septic rats with the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU38486. In addition, normal rats were treated with dexamethasone to further examine the role of glucocorticoids in the regulation of muscle strength. Sepsis was induced in rats by cecal ligation and puncture, and muscle force generation (peak twitch and tetanic tension) was determined in lower extremity muscles. In other experiments, absolute and specific force as well as stiffness (reflecting the function of actomyosin cross bridges) were determined in isolated skinned muscle fibers from control and septic rats. Sepsis and treatment with dexamethasone resulted in reduced maximal twitch and tetanic force in intact isolated extensor digitorum longus muscles. The absolute and specific maximal force in isolated muscle fibers was reduced during sepsis together with decreased fiber stiffness. These effects of sepsis were blunted (but not abolished) by RU38486. The results suggest that muscle weakness during sepsis is at least in part regulated by glucocorticoids and reflects loss of contractility at the cellular (individual muscle fiber) level. In addition, the results suggest that reduced function of the cross bridges between actin and myosin (documented as reduced muscle fiber stiffness) may be involved in sepsis-induced muscle weakness. An increased understanding of mechanisms involved in loss of muscle strength will be important for the development of new treatment strategies in patients with this debilitating consequence of sepsis.


1972 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 360-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Eisenberg ◽  
P. C. Vaughan ◽  
J. N. Howell

A model is developed to predict the changes in total capacitance (i.e. total charge stored divided by surface membrane potential) of the tubular system of muscle fibers. The tubular system is represented as a punctated disc and the area of membrane across which current flows is represented as a punctated annulus, the capacitance of the muscle fiber being proportional to this area. The area can be determined from a distributed model of the tubular system, in which the only resistance to radial current flow is presumed to be in the lumen of the tubules. Calculations are made of the variation of capacitance expected as the conductivity of the bathing solution is varied. These calculations include the effects of fixed charge in the tubular lumen and the effects of changes in the shape and volume of the tubular system in solutions of low conductivity. The calculated results fail to fit comparable experimental data, although they do qualitatively account for the known variation of the radial spread of contraction with conductivity of the bathing medium. It is pointed out that the existence of a significant "access resistance" at the mouth of the tubules might explain the discrepancy between theory and experiment.


1998 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 994-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin M. Krause ◽  
Joanne Pearce ◽  
C. K. Govind

Krause, Kristin M., Joanne Pearce, and C. K. Govina. Regeneration of phasic motor axons on a crayfish tonic muscle: neuron specifies synapses. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 994–997, 1998. Motor neurons are matched to their target muscles, often forming separate phasic and tonic systems as in the abdomen of crayfish where they are used for rapid escape and slow postural movements, respectively. To assess the role of motor neuron and muscle fiber in forming synapses we attempted a mismatch experiment by allotransplanting a phasic nerve attached to its ganglion to a denervated tonic muscle. Regenerating motor axons sprouted 10–30 branches (typical of phasic motor neurons, as tonic ones sprout far fewer branches) to reinnervate muscle fibers and form synapses that produced large excitatory postsynaptic potentials (typical of phasic motor neurons, as tonic synapses give small potentials). Therefore motor neurons, not muscle fibers, appear to specify one of the major properties of regenerating neuromuscular synapses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huilin Cheng ◽  
Sumin Song ◽  
Gap-Don Kim

AbstractTo evaluate the relationship between muscle fiber characteristics and the quality of frozen/thawed pork meat, four different muscles, M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL), M. psoas major (PM), M. semimembranosus (SM), and M. semitendinosus (ST), were analyzed from twenty carcasses. Meat color values (lightness, redness, yellowness, chroma, and hue) changed due to freezing/thawing in LTL, which showed larger IIAX, IIX, and IIXB fibers than found in SM (P < 0.05). SM and ST showed a significant decrease in purge loss and an increase in shear force caused by freezing/thawing (P < 0.05). Compared with LTL, SM contains more type IIXB muscle fibers and ST had larger muscle fibers I and IIA (P < 0.05). PM was the most stable of all muscles, since only its yellowness and chroma were affected by freezing/thawing (P < 0.05). These results suggest that pork muscle fiber characteristics of individual cuts must be considered to avoid quality deterioration during frozen storage.


1971 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
William K. Ovalle

An ultrastructural comparison of the two types of intrafusal muscle fibers in muscle spindles of the rat was undertaken. Discrete myofibrils with abundant interfibrillar sarcoplasm and organelles characterize the nuclear chain muscle fiber, while a continuous myofibril-like bundle with sparse interfibrillar sarcoplasm distinguishes the nuclear bag muscle fiber. Nuclear chain fibers possess well-defined and typical M bands in the center of each sarcomere, while nuclear bag fibers contain ill-defined M bands composed of two parallel thin densities in the center of the pseudo-H zone of each sarcomere. Mitochondria of nuclear chain fibers are larger and more numerous than they are in nuclear bag fibers. Mitochondria of chain fibers, in addition, often contain conspicuous dense granules, and they are frequently intimately related to elements of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Striking differences are noted in the organization and degree of development of the sarcotubular system. Nuclear bag fibers contain a poorly developed SR and T system with only occasional junctional couplings (dyads and triads). Nuclear chain fibers, in contrast, possess an unusually well-developed SR and T system and a variety of multiple junctional couplings (dyads, triads, quatrads, pentads, septads). Greatly dilated SR cisternae are common features of nuclear chain fibers, often forming intimate associations with T tubules, mitochondria, and the sarcolemma. Such dilatations of the SR were not encountered in nuclear bag fibers. The functional significance of these structural findings is discussed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunihiro Sakuma ◽  
Akihiko Yamaguchi

This paper summarizes the various effects of neurotrophins in skeletal muscle and how these proteins act as potential regulators of the maintenance, function, and regeneration of skeletal muscle fibers. Increasing evidence suggests that this family of neurotrophic factors influence not only the survival and function of innervating motoneurons but also the development and differentiation of myoblasts and muscle fibers. Muscle contractions (e.g., exercise) produce BDNF mRNA and protein in skeletal muscle, and the BDNF seems to play a role in enhancing glucose metabolism and may act for myokine to improve various brain disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's disease and major depression). In adults with neuromuscular disorders, variations in neurotrophin expression are found, and the role of neurotrophins under such conditions is beginning to be elucidated. This paper provides a basis for a better understanding of the role of these factors under such pathological conditions and for treatment of human neuromuscular disease.


Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Gilda ◽  
Joon-Hyuk Ko ◽  
Aviv-Yvonne Elfassy ◽  
Nadav Tropp ◽  
Anna Parnis ◽  
...  

The size and shape of skeletal muscle fibers are affected by various physiological and pathological conditions, such as muscle atrophy, hypertrophy, regeneration, and dystrophies. Hence, muscle fiber cross-sectional area (CSA) is an important determinant of muscle health and plasticity. We adapted the Imaris software to automatically segment muscle fibers based on fluorescent labeling of the plasma membrane, and measure muscle fiber CSA. Analysis of muscle cross sections by the Imaris semi-automated and manual approaches demonstrated a similar decrease in CSA of atrophying muscles from fasted mice compared with fed controls. In addition, we previously demonstrated that downregulation of the Ca2+-specific protease calpain-1 attenuates muscle atrophy. Accordingly, both the Imaris semi-automated and manual approaches showed a similar increase in CSA of fibers expressing calpain-1 shRNA compared with adjacent non-transfected fibers in the same muscle cross section. Although both approaches seem valid for measurements of muscle fiber size, the manual marking method is less preferable because it is highly time-consuming, subjective, and limits the number of cells that can be analyzed. The Imaris semi-automated approach is user-friendly, requires little training or optimization, and can be used to efficiently and accurately mark thousands of fibers in a short period of time. As a novel addition to the commonly used statistics, we also describe statistical tests that quantify the strength of an effect on fiber size, enabling detection of significant differences between skewed distributions that would otherwise not be detected using typical methods.


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