scholarly journals Thin-filament length correlates with fiber type in human skeletal muscle

2012 ◽  
Vol 302 (3) ◽  
pp. C555-C565 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Gokhin ◽  
Nancy E. Kim ◽  
Sarah A. Lewis ◽  
Heinz R. Hoenecke ◽  
Darryl D. D'Lima ◽  
...  

Force production in skeletal muscle is proportional to the amount of overlap between the thin and thick filaments, which, in turn, depends on their lengths. Both thin- and thick-filament lengths are precisely regulated and uniform within a myofibril. While thick-filament lengths are essentially constant across muscles and species (∼1.65 μm), thin-filament lengths are highly variable both across species and across muscles of a single species. Here, we used a high-resolution immunofluorescence and image analysis technique (distributed deconvolution) to directly test the hypothesis that thin-filament lengths vary across human muscles. Using deltoid and pectoralis major muscle biopsies, we identified thin-filament lengths that ranged from 1.19 ± 0.08 to 1.37 ± 0.04 μm, based on tropomodulin localization with respect to the Z-line. Tropomodulin localized from 0.28 to 0.47 μm further from the Z-line than the NH2-terminus of nebulin in the various biopsies, indicating that human thin filaments have nebulin-free, pointed-end extensions that comprise up to 34% of total thin-filament length. Furthermore, thin-filament length was negatively correlated with the percentage of type 2X myosin heavy chain within the biopsy and shorter in type 2X myosin heavy chain-positive fibers, establishing the existence of a relationship between thin-filament lengths and fiber types in human muscle. Together, these data challenge the widely held assumption that human thin-filament lengths are constant. Our results also have broad relevance to musculoskeletal modeling, surgical reattachment of muscles, and orthopedic rehabilitation.

1993 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 911-915 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Adams ◽  
B. M. Hather ◽  
K. M. Baldwin ◽  
G. A. Dudley

We recently reported that 19 wk of heavy resistance training caused a decrease in the percentage of type IIb and an increase in the percentage of type IIa fibers as determined by qualitative histochemical analyses of myofibrillar adenosinetriphosphatase activity of biopsies of musculus vastus lateralis (Hather et al. Acta Physiol. Scand. 143: 177–185, 1991). These data were interpreted to suggest that resistance training had caused transformation among the fast-twitch fiber subtypes. To more clearly establish the influence of resistance training on muscle fiber composition, biopsies from the original study were analyzed biochemically for myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition by use of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and histochemically for fiber types by use of myofibrillar adenosinetriphosphatase activity. The results show that after training (n = 13), IIb MHC composition decreased (P < 0.05) from 19 +/- 4 to 7 +/- 1%. IIa MHC, in contrast, increased (P < 0.05) from 48 +/- 3 to 60 +/- 2%. These responses were essentially mirrored by alterations in fiber type distribution. The percentage of type IIb fibers decreased (P < 0.05) from 18 +/- 3 to 1 +/- 1%, whereas the percentage of type IIa fibers increased from 46 +/- 4 to 60 +/- 3% (P < 0.05). Neither I MHC composition nor type I fiber percentage changed with training. The control group (n = 4) showed no changes in MHC composition or fiber type distribution. These results suggest that heavy resistance training alters MHC composition in human skeletal muscle, presumably reflecting a change in genetic expression.


2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (3) ◽  
pp. C637-C645 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Allen ◽  
Brooke C. Harrison ◽  
Carol Sartorius ◽  
William C. Byrnes ◽  
Leslie A. Leinwand

The fast skeletal IIb gene is the source of most myosin heavy chain (MyHC) in adult mouse skeletal muscle. We have examined the effects of a null mutation in the IIb MyHC gene on the growth and morphology of mouse skeletal muscle. Loss in muscle mass of several head and hindlimb muscles correlated with amounts of IIb MyHC expressed in that muscle in wild types. Decreased mass was accompanied by decreases in mean fiber number, and immunological and ultrastructural studies revealed fiber pathology. However, mean cross-sectional area was increased in all fiber types, suggesting compensatory hypertrophy. Loss of muscle and body mass was not attributable to impaired chewing, and decreased food intake as a softer diet did not prevent the decrease in body mass. Thus loss of the major MyHC isoform produces fiber loss and fiber pathology reminiscent of muscle disease.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2232
Author(s):  
Valentina Pallottini ◽  
Mayra Colardo ◽  
Claudia Tonini ◽  
Noemi Martella ◽  
Georgios Strimpakos ◽  
...  

Despite its undisputable role in the homeostatic regulation of the nervous system, the nerve growth factor (NGF) also governs the relevant cellular processes in other tissues and organs. In this study, we aimed at assessing the expression and the putative involvement of NGF signaling in skeletal muscle physiology. To reach this objective, we employed satellite cell-derived myoblasts as an in vitro culture model. In vivo experiments were performed on Tibialis anterior from wild-type mice and an mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Targets of interest were mainly assessed by means of morphological, Western blot and qRT-PCR analysis. The results show that proNGF is involved in myogenic differentiation. Importantly, the proNGF/p75NTR pathway orchestrates a slow-to-fast fiber type transition by counteracting the expression of slow myosin heavy chain and that of oxidative markers. Concurrently, proNGF/p75NTR activation facilitates the induction of fast myosin heavy chain and of fast/glycolytic markers. Furthermore, we also provided evidence that the oxidative metabolism is impaired in mdx mice, and that these alterations are paralleled by a prominent buildup of proNGF and p75NTR. These findings underline that the proNGF/p75NTR pathway may play a crucial role in fiber type determination and suggest its prospective modulation as an innovative therapeutic approach to counteract muscle disorders.


1999 ◽  
Vol 144 (5) ◽  
pp. 989-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Kronert ◽  
Angel Acebes ◽  
Alberto Ferrús ◽  
Sanford I. Bernstein

We show that specific mutations in the head of the thick filament molecule myosin heavy chain prevent a degenerative muscle syndrome resulting from the hdp2 mutation in the thin filament protein troponin I. One mutation deletes eight residues from the actin binding loop of myosin, while a second affects a residue at the base of this loop. Two other mutations affect amino acids near the site of nucleotide entry and exit in the motor domain. We document the degree of phenotypic rescue each suppressor permits and show that other point mutations in myosin, as well as null mutations, fail to suppress the hdp2 phenotype. We discuss mechanisms by which the hdp2 phenotypes are suppressed and conclude that the specific residues we identified in myosin are important in regulating thick and thin filament interactions. This in vivo approach to dissecting the contractile cycle defines novel molecular processes that may be difficult to uncover by biochemical and structural analysis. Our study illustrates how expression of genetic defects are dependent upon genetic background, and therefore could have implications for understanding gene interactions in human disease.


1990 ◽  
Vol 259 (3) ◽  
pp. C507-C514 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Jiang ◽  
R. R. Roy ◽  
V. R. Edgerton

The metabolic plasticity of single fibers in adult cat medial gastrocnemius (MG) 6 mo after complete spinal cord transection (Sp) at T12-T13 was studied. Some Sp cats were trained to weight support (Sp-WS) 30 min/day beginning 1 mo posttransection. Cross-sectional area, succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (GPD), and myofibrillar adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) activities were determined in fibers identified in frozen serial sections. Fibers were categorized as light or dark based on myosin ATPase staining, alkaline preincubation. The percentage of dark ATPase fibers was higher in Sp and Sp-WS (approximately 85%) than in control (approximately 60%). All dark ATPase fibers reacted positively to a fast myosin heavy chain monoclonal antibody. In both spinal groups, a higher percentage of dark ATPase fibers reacted to both fast and slow myosin heavy chain antibodies than in controls. Neither Sp nor Sp-WS cats showed fiber atrophy. Compared with control, SDH activity was decreased in both fiber types of Sp cats. Daily weight-support training ameliorated this adaptation. There were no differences among the three groups in mean GPD and ATPase activities for either fiber type. There was a slight tendency, however, for spinal cats to have higher GPD and ATPase activities (independent of type) than control, probably reflecting the larger proportion of dark ATPase fibers in these cats. These observations indicate that 6 mo after spinalization in adult cats, some of the fibers of a fast muscle became "faster" and developed oxidative and glycolytic enzyme profiles that normally are exhibited in fast fatigable motor units.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2009 ◽  
Vol 297 (4) ◽  
pp. R1037-R1048 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clay E. Pandorf ◽  
Weihua H. Jiang ◽  
Anqi X. Qin ◽  
Paul W. Bodell ◽  
Kenneth M. Baldwin ◽  
...  

The role of calcineurin (Cn) in skeletal muscle fiber-type expression has been a subject of great interest because of reports indicating that it controls the slow muscle phenotype. To delineate the role of Cn in phenotype remodeling, particularly its role in driving expression of the type I myosin heavy chain (MHC) gene, we used a novel strategy whereby a profound transition from fast to slow fiber type is induced and examined in the absence and presence of cyclosporin A (CsA), a Cn inhibitor. To induce the fast-to-slow transition, we first subjected rats to 7 days of hindlimb suspension (HS) + thyroid hormone [triiodothyronine (T3)] to suppress nearly all expression of type I MHC mRNA in the soleus muscle. HS + T3 was then withdrawn, and rats resumed normal ambulation and thyroid state, during which vehicle or CsA (30 mg·kg−1·day−1) was administered for 7 or 14 days. The findings demonstrate that, despite significant inhibition of Cn, pre-mRNA, mRNA, and protein abundance of type I MHC increased markedly during reloading relative to HS + T3 ( P < 0.05). Type I MHC expression was, however, attenuated by CsA compared with vehicle treatment. In addition, type IIa and IIx MHC pre-mRNA, mRNA, and relative protein levels were increased in Cn-treated compared with vehicle-treated rats. These findings indicate that Cn has a modulatory role in MHC transcription, rather than a role as a primary regulator of slow MHC gene expression.


2009 ◽  
Vol 297 (1) ◽  
pp. C6-C16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clay E. Pandorf ◽  
Fadia Haddad ◽  
Carola Wright ◽  
Paul W. Bodell ◽  
Kenneth M. Baldwin

Recent advances in chromatin biology have enhanced our understanding of gene regulation. It is now widely appreciated that gene regulation is dependent upon post-translational modifications to the histones which package genes in the nucleus of cells. Active genes are known to be associated with acetylation of histones (H3ac) and trimethylation of lysine 4 in histone H3 (H3K4me3). Using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), we examined histone modifications at the myosin heavy chain (MHC) genes expressed in fast vs. slow fiber-type skeletal muscle, and in a model of muscle unloading, which results in a shift to fast MHC gene expression in slow muscles. Both H3ac and H3K4me3 varied directly with the transcriptional activity of the MHC genes in fast fiber-type plantaris and slow fiber-type soleus. During MHC transitions with muscle unloading, histone H3 at the type I MHC becomes de-acetylated in correspondence with down-regulation of that gene, while upregulation of the fast type IIx and IIb MHCs occurs in conjunction with enhanced H3ac in those MHCs. Enrichment of H3K4me3 is also increased at the type IIx and IIb MHCs when these genes are induced with muscle unloading. Downregulation of IIa MHC, however, was not associated with corresponding loss of H3ac or H3K4me3. These observations demonstrate the feasibility of using the ChIP assay to understand the native chromatin environment in adult skeletal muscle, and also suggest that the transcriptional state of types I, IIx and IIb MHC genes are sensitive to histone modifications both in different muscle fiber-types and in response to altered loading states.


2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (6) ◽  
pp. C1725-C1732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleg Andruchov ◽  
Olena Andruchova ◽  
Yishu Wang ◽  
Stefan Galler

Stretch activation kinetics were investigated in skinned mouse skeletal muscle fibers of known myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform content to assess kinetic properties of different myosin heads while generating force. The time to peak of stretch-induced delayed force increase ( t3) was strongly correlated with MHC isoforms [ t3 given in ms for fiber types containing specified isoforms; means ± SD with n in parentheses: MHCI 680 ± 108 ( 13 ), MHCIIa 110.5 ± 10.7 ( 23 ), MHCIIx(d) 46.2 ± 5.2 ( 20 ), MHCIIb 23.5 ± 3.3 (76)]. This strong correlation suggests different kinetics of force generation of different MHC isoforms in the following order:MHCIIb > MHCIIx(d) > MHCIIa ≫ MHCI. For rat, rabbit, and human skeletal muscles the same type of correlation was found previously. The kinetics decreases slightly with increasing body mass. Available amino acid sequences were aligned to quantify the structural variability of MHC isoforms of different animal species. The variation in t3 showed a correlation with the structural variability of specific actin-binding loops (so-called loop 2 and loop 3) of myosin heads ( r = 0.74). This suggests that alterations of amino acids in these loops contribute to the different kinetics of myosin heads of various MHC isoforms.


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