Development of homogeneous fast and slow motor units in the neonatal mouse soleus muscle

Development ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 723-732
Author(s):  
T. Fladby ◽  
J.K. Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Lucifer Yellow ◽  
Fiber Type ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
Synapse Elimination ◽  
Glycogen Depletion ◽  
Subsequent Period ◽  
Type Composition

We studied the fiber type composition and contractile properties of mouse soleus motor units at 2 days, 5 days and 2 weeks of age. We used Lucifer Yellow injection to mark muscle fibers belonging to the same motor unit in the two youngest age groups, and the traditional method of glycogen depletion in the oldest. The age groups were chosen because 2 days is at the end of muscle fiber production; 5 days is at the start of synapse elimination in the muscle and 2 weeks is at the end. Muscle fibers were classified as fast (F) or slow (S) on the basis of their myosin heavy chain (MHC) content, as determined by different monoclonal antibodies. Motor units are already dominated by either F- or S-fibers at 2 days, suggesting an early preferential innervation of the two types of fibers. A substantial part of the remaining refinement of the innervation takes place during the next 3 days, while the total number of terminals in the muscle remains constant. This is most easily explained by an exchange of aberrant for correct synapses during this period. A smaller part of the refinement of the innervation occurs during the subsequent period of synapse elimination.

Cross-reinnervated motor units in cat muscle. I. Flexor digitorum longus muscle units reinnervated by soleus motoneurons

1985 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 818-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. Dum ◽  
M. J. O'Donovan ◽  
J. Toop ◽  
R. E. Burke
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Muscle Fiber Types ◽  
Type I ◽  
Fiber Types ◽  
Glycogen Depletion ◽  
Flexor Digitorum Longus ◽  
Wet Weight ◽  
Flexor Digitorum ◽  
Individual Motor

The properties of flexor digitorum longus (FDL) muscles and of individual motor units were studied in cats 30-50 wk after self-reinnervation by FDL motoneurons (FDL----FDL) or cross-reinnervation by soleus (SOL) motoneurons (SOL----FDL). Individual motor units were functionally isolated by intracellular recording and stimulation of identified SOL alpha-motoneurons. Glycogen-depletion methods permitted histochemical study of muscle fibers belonging to physiologically characterized muscle units. The observations were compared with data from normal cat FDL muscles and motor units (27). Intentionally self-reinnervated FDL muscles (FDL----FDL; n = 5) were normal in size and wet weight. FDL----FDL motor units could be classified into the same physiological categories found in normal FDL [types: fast contracting, fatigable (FF), fast contracting, fatigue resistant (FR), and slow (S); n = 24], with approximately the same proportions as normal. The histochemical muscle fiber types associated with these categories were also qualitatively normal although there was evidence of marked distortion of the normal histochemical mosaic. These data confirm other studies of self-reinnervation and suggest that self-reinnervation can produce complete interconversion of muscle fiber types. Cross-reinnervation of FDL muscle by SOL motoneurons (SOL----FDL; n = 12) produced muscles that were smaller (about half the normal wet weight) and more red than normal. SOL----FDL muscle contracted more slowly than normal or FDL----FDL muscles and had much higher proportions of histochemical type I muscle fibers. In those SOL----FDL muscles, in which little or no unwanted self-reinnervation could be demonstrated, greater than 95% of the muscle fibers were type I. Forty-one individual motor units in SOL----FDL muscles were isolated by intracellular penetration in functionally identified SOL alpha-motoneurons. Their muscle units were all type S by physiological criteria (absence of "sag" in unfused tetani and marked resistance to fatigue). SOL----FDL muscle units had contraction times and fatigue properties that were essentially identical to those of type S units in the normal FDL. All of the seven units, successfully studied by glycogen depletion, exhibited histochemical type I fibers. SOL motoneurons that innervated FDL muscle units had slightly shorter afterhyperpolarization durations than normal SOL cells, but axonal conduction velocities were normal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Adiponectin is expressed by skeletal muscle fibers and influences muscle phenotype and function

2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (1) ◽  
pp. C203-C212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew P. Krause ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Vivian Vu ◽  
Lawrence Chan ◽  
Aimin Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Fiber Type ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Disease States ◽  
L6 Myotubes ◽  
Type Composition ◽  
Low Frequency Fatigue ◽  
And Function

Adiponectin (Ad) is linked to various disease states and mediates antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory effects. While it was originally thought that Ad expression was limited to adipocytes, we demonstrate here that Ad is expressed in mouse skeletal muscles and within differentiated L6 myotubes, as assessed by RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemical analyses. Serial muscle sections stained for fiber type, lipid content, and Ad revealed that muscle fibers with elevated intramyocellular Ad expression were consistently type IIA and IID fibers with detectably higher intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) content. To determine the effect of Ad on muscle phenotype and function, we used an Ad-null [knockout (KO)] mouse model. Body mass increased significantly in 24-wk-old KO mice [+5.5 ± 3% relative to wild-type mice (WT)], with no change in muscle mass observed. IMCL content was significantly increased (+75.1 ± 25%), whereas epididymal fat mass, although elevated, was not different in the KO mice compared with WT (+35.1 ± 23%; P = 0.16). Fiber-type composition was unaltered, although type IIB fiber area was increased in KO mice (+25.5 ± 6%). In situ muscle stimulation revealed lower peak tetanic forces in KO mice relative to WT (−47.5 ± 6%), with no change in low-frequency fatigue rates. These data demonstrate that the absence of Ad expression causes contractile dysfunction and phenotypical changes in skeletal muscle. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Ad is expressed in skeletal muscle and that its intramyocellular localization is associated with elevated IMCL, particularly in type IIA/D fibers.

Physiological characteristics of identified motor units in the mouse extensor digitorum longus muscle: an in vitro approach

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-71
Author(s):  
D M Zardini ◽  
D J Parry
Keyword(s):  
Extensor Digitorum Longus ◽  
Fiber Type ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Ventral Root ◽  
Extensor Digitorum ◽  
Physiological Characteristics ◽  
Glycogen Depletion ◽  
Single Motor ◽  
Single Motor Units

Physiological, histochemical, and morphometric properties of fast-twitch single motor units were studied in mouse extensor digitorum longus muscles in an in vitro ventral root - nerve - muscle preparation. Single motor units were functionally isolated by microdissection of the ventral root, and the glycogen depletion technique was used to demonstrate the component muscle fibers. Monoclonal antibodies were used to identify their myosin heavy chain composition. The technique allows one to correlate physiological characteristics of single motor units with fiber type but is less useful for morphological assessment of motor unit size as a result of failure to deplete glycogen from all fibers of motor units containing fibers with high oxidative capacity.Key words: fiber type, IIx motor units, fatigue index, glycogen depletion.

Compartmentalization of motor units in the cat neck muscle, biventer cervicis

1988 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Armstrong ◽  
P. K. Rose ◽  
S. Vanner ◽  
G. J. Bakker ◽  
F. J. Richmond
Keyword(s):  
Motor Unit ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Neck Muscle ◽  
Nerve Bundle ◽  
Glycogen Depletion ◽  
Nerve Bundles ◽  
In Series ◽  
C3 Segment ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. The neck muscle biventer cervicis is supplied by five separate nerve bundles that originate from segments C2-C5 and enter the muscle at different rostrocaudal levels. We have used the glycogen-depletion method to investigate the distribution of muscle fibers supplied by each nerve bundle and also the extent of motor-unit territories supplied by single motoneurons in the C3 segment. 2. Prolonged intermittent stimulation of each nerve bundle produced glycogen depletion in a compartment of muscle fibers that ran only a fraction of the whole-muscle length. The depleted compartment was separated by tendinous inscriptions from adjacent, serially arranged compartments that were supplied by different nerve bundles. Thus the muscle was divided into five in-series compartments, arranged in the same rostrocaudal sequence as the nerves by which they were supplied. 3. Six fast, glycolytic (FG) and five fast, oxidative-glycolytic (FOG) motor units were depleted by repetitive intracellular stimulation of their antidromically identified motoneurons in the C3 segment. The fibers of each motor unit were confined to a striplike subvolume whose cross-sectional area was only 20-40% of that for the whole compartment in which it was located. Single motor units contained an average of 408 extrafusal fibers (range: 262-582 fibers), and these were distributed with an average density of 20 fibers/mm2 in cross sections through their motor domains. No significant differences were found between the numbers or densities of fibers in FG and FOG motor units. 4. The specialized in-series organization of compartments has functional implications because the forces generated by one compartment of motor units must be transmitted through other in-series compartments of muscle fibers rather than directly onto skeletal attachments. The confined distribution of muscle fibers belonging to a single motor unit suggests that an additional level of organization may exist within individual compartments. The implications of these features for the physiological behavior and neural control of biventer cervicis are discussed.

Muscle fiber type distribution and architecture of the cat diaphragm

1983 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 1386-1392 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. C. Sieck ◽  
R. R. Roy ◽  
P. Powell ◽  
C. Blanco ◽  
V. R. Edgerton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Fiber ◽  
Fiber Type ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Muscle Fiber Type ◽  
Diaphragmatic Muscle ◽  
Band Area ◽  
Type Composition ◽  
Abdominal Surface ◽  
Fiber Type Distribution ◽  
Fast Twitch

Three types of diaphragmatic muscle fibers were identified histochemically in the sternal, costal, and crural regions of the cat diaphragm. Differences in the proportion of each muscle fiber type were observed between the abdominal and thoracic surfaces of the diaphragm but not among the different regions. A higher percentage of slow-twitch oxidative fibers was noted on the abdominal surface, whereas more fast-twitch fibers (fast-twitch oxidative-glycolytic and fast-twitch glycolytic) were found on the thoracic surface. Differences in muscle architecture were observed between diaphragmatic regions, but not between abdominal and thoracic sides. Overall, muscle fibers were longer in the crural regions, with the longest fibers being found in the crossing-band area of the crura. In the costal regions, fibers were longest in the center and became shorter toward the ventral and dorsal extent of these regions. Fiber lengths were similar throughout the sternal region. In each diaphragmatic region, the length of fibers extended from the origin of the muscle to its insertion. We conclude that functional differences between diaphragmatic regions could be attributed to fiber length and/or orientation, but not to differences in fiber-type composition.

MHC composition and enzyme-histochemical and physiological properties of a novel fast-twitch motor unit type

1991 ◽  
Vol 261 (1) ◽  
pp. C93-C101 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Larsson ◽  
L. Edstrom ◽  
B. Lindegren ◽  
L. Gorza ◽  
S. Schiaffino
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Tibialis Anterior Muscle ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Relaxation Times ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Biochemical Properties ◽  
The Other ◽  
Glycogen Depletion ◽  
Single Motor Units ◽  
Fast Twitch

Determinations of fatigue ratio, twitch and tetanus tension, and contraction and half-relaxation times of the isometric twitch were made in 21 single fast-twitch motor units from the rat tibialis anterior muscle. Single motor units were functionally isolated by microdissection of the ventral root, and the glycogen depletion technique was used to demonstrate the muscle fibers in the unit. Morphological and immuno- and enzyme-histochemical methods were applied to serial muscle cross sections to characterize the muscle fibers in the unit. Three of the units had muscle fibers of the IIa type according to staining both for myofibrillar adenosinetriphosphatase after acid preincubation and with the use of monoclonal antibodies specific for myosin heavy chains (MHCs), i.e., the IIa-MHC isoform. The other 18 units were of the IIb type according to enzyme-histochemistry, but immunohistochemistry showed that in six of these units the muscle fibers exhibited the novel type IIx-MHC isoform and in the other 12 units the IIb-MHC isoform. It was found that the IIx motor units have contraction and half-relaxation times similar to those of types IIa and IIb units but have morphological, physiological, and biochemical properties that distinguish them from the latter two types.

scholarly journals Selective innervation of types of fibres in developing rat muscle

1987 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-263
Author(s):  
W. J. Thompson ◽  
L. C. Soileau ◽  
R. J. Balice-Gordon ◽  
L. A. Sutton
Keyword(s):  
Motor Units ◽  
Neonatal Rat ◽  
Muscle Fibre Types ◽  
Muscle Fibres ◽  
Glycogen Depletion ◽  
Fibre Type Composition ◽  
Type Composition ◽  
Motor Neurones ◽  
Developing Rat ◽  
Polyneuronal Innervation

The technique of glycogen depletion has been used to identify the types of muscle fibres innervated by individual motor neurones in the neonatal rat. This analysis shows that neonatal motor units are highly biased in their fibre type composition, even at times when the fibres receive extensive polyneuronal innervation. This finding suggests that the innervation of muscle fibres is somehow sorted according to type during early development. This sorting does not appear to occur during the removal of the polyneuronal innervation because little, if any, increase in the bias of unit compositions occurs as the number of synapses present in the muscle is reduced 2- to 3-fold. To determine whether the sorted innervation might be explained by a selective synaptogenesis, a study was made of the type compositions of units formed by reinnervation of neonatal soleus muscle. Glycogen depletion of single units 2 weeks following crush of the soleus nerve at postnatal day 2 showed that most of them (10/12) had biased type compositions which could not be explained by a random reinnervation. The location of fibres in the reinnervated motor units suggests that the regenerating axons innervated a novel set of fibres. The differentiation of fibres into types was apparently not changed during their reinnervation. These results imply that regenerating motor neurones in the neonatal rat selectively reinnervate muscle fibre types. These and other studies further imply that the organization of fibres into motor units during normal development does not occur, as is widely believed, by a random innervation of naive fibres and their subsequent differentiation under the influence of innervation.

Self-reinnervated cat medial gastrocnemius muscles. II. analysis of the mechanisms and significance of fiber type grouping in reinnervated muscles

1996 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 282-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. F. Rafuse ◽  
T. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Fiber Type ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Medial Gastrocnemius ◽  
Territory Size ◽  
Type I ◽  
Motor Axons ◽  
Glycogen Depletion ◽  
Functional Connections ◽  
Distal Nerve

1. The technique of glycogen depletion was used to determine whether regenerating motor axons reestablish the normal regionalization of motor units (MUs) in the cat medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle, 2) whether the extent of clumping between MU fibers and/or type grouping of muscle fibers progressively increases with a decrease in reinnervated MU numbers, and 3) whether the pattern of innervation can explain why MUs fail to increase significantly in size when the cut nerve is sutured directly to the muscle, even when few axons make functional connections. 2. Distributions of MU fibers were analyzed in 5 normal and 14 reinnervated cat MG muscles 4.5-16 mo after sectioning of its nerve and suturing of the proximal end to the distal nerve sheaths (N-N suture) or directly to the muscle fascia (N-M suture). Muscle unit distributions were quantified according to location, territory size, density, and extent of clumping between fibers from the same MU. 3. Normal MU fibers were regionalized within five regions along the muscle's longitudinal and transverse axes. Reinnervated MUs were located within similar regions, indicating that regenerating axons follow the major proximal nerve branches to restore normal compartmentalization. 4. Muscle unit fibers were diffusely scattered within discrete MU territories in normal muscles. Territory size tended to increase with MU size, whereas density of muscle unit fibers within the territory decreased. 5. Territories increased with MU size after N-N suture but were smaller and showed little size variation after N-M suture. The extent of muscle unit fiber clumping was inversely related to the number of reinnervated MUs. On average, the extent of clumping was substantially higher in muscles reinnervated after N-M suture. These results indicate that distal nerve sheaths facilitate proximal axon branching, which establishes MU territory size. Once the territory is established, motor axons branch distally to increase MU size, which in turn compensates for reduced MU numbers. 6. Muscles reinnervated by < 80% of the MUs exhibited fiber type grouping of type I fibers, and on average the extent of clumping was substantially higher in muscles reinnervated after N-M suture. With less innervation, type grouping increased inversely with the number of reinnervated MUs. However, for a similar number of MUs, type I fiber type grouping was substantially higher in muscle reinnervated after N-M suture. Type grouping therefore reflects muscle unit fiber clumping under conditions where MU size increased (N-N suture) or MU territory size decreased (N-M suture).

scholarly journals Mitochondrial Mechanisms of Neuromuscular Junction Degeneration with Aging

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria-Eleni Anagnostou ◽  
Russell T. Hepple
Keyword(s):  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Mitochondrial Dysfunction ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Fiber Type ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Permeability Transition ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Aging Muscle

Skeletal muscle deteriorates with aging, contributing to physical frailty, poor health outcomes, and increased risk of mortality. Denervation is a major driver of changes in aging muscle. This occurs through transient denervation-reinnervation events throughout the aging process that remodel the spatial domain of motor units and alter fiber type. In advanced age, reinnervation wanes, leading to persistent denervation that accelerates muscle atrophy and impaired muscle contractility. Alterations in the muscle fibers and motoneurons are both likely involved in driving denervation through destabilization of the neuromuscular junction. In this respect, mitochondria are implicated in aging and age-related neurodegenerative disorders, and are also likely key to aging muscle changes through their direct effects in muscle fibers and through secondary effects mediated by mitochondrial impairments in motoneurons. Indeed, the large abundance of mitochondria in muscle fibers and motoneurons, that are further concentrated on both sides of the neuromuscular junction, likely renders the neuromuscular junction especially vulnerable to age-related mitochondrial dysfunction. Manifestations of mitochondrial dysfunction with aging include impaired respiratory function, elevated reactive oxygen species production, and increased susceptibility to permeability transition, contributing to reduced ATP generating capacity, oxidative damage, and apoptotic signaling, respectively. Using this framework, in this review we summarize our current knowledge, and relevant gaps, concerning the potential impact of mitochondrial impairment on the aging neuromuscular junction, and the mechanisms involved.

Cross-reinnervated motor units in cat muscle. II. Soleus muscle reinnervated by flexor digitorum longus motoneurons

1985 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 837-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. Dum ◽  
M. J. O'Donovan ◽  
J. Toop ◽  
P. Tsairis ◽  
M. J. Pinter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Fat Content ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Glycogen Depletion ◽  
Flexor Digitorum Longus ◽  
Twitch Contraction ◽  
Contraction Times ◽  
Flexor Digitorum ◽  
Individual Motor

The properties of whole soleus (SOL) muscles and of individual motor units were studied in cats 30-50 wk after self-reinnervation by soleus (SOL) motoneurons (SOL----SOL) or cross-reinnervation by flexor digitorum longus (FDL) motoneurons (FDL----SOL). As in the preceding paper (22), intracellular and glycogen-depletion methods were used to examine the physiological and histochemical properties of individual motor units. The results were compared with data from normal SOL motor units (8, 12). Intentionally self-reinnervated SOL muscles (SOL----SOL; n = 6) were normal in size and wet weight, and all of the five SOL----SOL motor units studied had physiological and histochemical characteristics that matched those of normal SOL units. Cross-reinnervation of SOL by FDL alpha-motoneurons (FDL----SOL; n = 7) produced muscles with wet weights and appearance essentially identical to normal SOL. However, whole-muscle twitch contraction times were much shorter (mean 60.4 ms) than those of normal (mean 136.9 ms, n = 18) or SOL----SOL muscles (mean 115.3 ms; n = 6). Despite this difference, none of the FDL----SOL muscles contained more than 7% histochemical type II muscle fibers, all of which were type IIA. Normal cat SOL muscles can contain up to 5% type IIA fibers, but none of our SOL----SOL muscles showed any type II fibers. Two FDL----SOL muscles had significant amounts of unintended self-reinnervation, permitting side-by-side comparison of FDL----SOL and SOL----SOL muscle fibers. The twitch contraction times of the two populations differed markedly, but they were histochemically indistinguishable except for the fact that SOL----SOL fibers had high neutral fat content (as do normal SOL fibers), whereas FDL----SOL showed much lower fat content. The 23 FDL----SOL muscle units studied were classified as physiological type S by criteria ("sag" test and fatigue resistance) used to identify motor-unit types in normal cat muscles. All five of the FDL----SOL units studied histochemically after glycogen depletion showed the type I histochemical profile, which is characteristic of the normal cat SOL. In marked contrast to the preceding study, cross-reinnervation of cat SOL by FDL motoneurons produced no conversion of muscle-unit properties into those associated with fast-twitch unit types, despite significant decreases in isometric twitch contraction time. The altered twitch speed was not associated with evident changes in conventional myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) histochemistry.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document