Extracellular potentials of a single myelinated nerve fiber in an unbounded volume conductor

The extracellular potentials of a single myelinated nerve fiber in an unbounded volume conductor were studied. The spatial distribution of the transmembrane potential was obtained by integrating the system of partial differential equations characterizing the electric processes in the active myelinated nerve fiber. The spatial distribution of the extracellular potentials at various radial distances in the volume conductor were calculated using the line source model. Up to a certain radial distance (500 m) the discontinuity of the action potential propagation is reflected in the extracellular potentials, while further in the volume conductor the potentials are smooth. The effect of the fiber diameter and the internodal distance on the volume conductor potentials as well as the changes in the magnitude of the extracellular potential (in the time domain) between two adjacent nodes at various radial distances were studied. The radial decline of the peak-to-peak amplitude of the extracellular potential depends on the radial coordinater of the field point and increases with the increase ofr.     

The extracellular potential field of the single active nerve fiber in a volume conductor

The potential field of an active fiber in a uniform medium of infinite extent and within a nerve trunk is calculated from transmembrane potential data. The resulting distributions are given quantitatively. A comparison of both magnitude and field pattern in the nerve trunk and infinite medium environments is made and the effect of interstitial conductivity and nerve trunk diameter on potential magnitudes is considered.     

Extracellular potential field of excited isolated frog muscle fibres immersed in a volume conductor

The extracellular potential field of isolated frog muscle fibres immersed in a volume conductor was studied at radial distances up to 3 mm during excitation. The shape of the field distant from both the point of the origin of the excitation and the end of the fibre as well as changes in the field when depolarization wave approached the fibre end were described. Different amplitude decrease rates in individual phases of the extracellular potential and the peak-to-peak amplitude at different temperatures were found. Extracellular potentials at long radial distances were recorded using an averaging technique. The shape of the extracellular potentials at long radial distances over the fibre and beyond its end were very similar to the shape of extraterritorial potentials of a single motor unit.     

Effective fiber hypertrophy in satellite cell-depleted skeletal muscle

An important unresolved question in skeletal muscle plasticity is whether satellite cells are necessary for muscle fiber hypertrophy. To address this issue, a novel mouse strain (Pax7-DTA) was created which enabled the conditional ablation of >90% of satellite cells in mature skeletal muscle following tamoxifen administration. To test the hypothesis that satellite cells are necessary for skeletal muscle hypertrophy, the plantaris muscle of adult Pax7-DTA mice was subjected to mechanical overload by surgical removal of the synergist muscle. Following two weeks of overload, satellite cell-depleted muscle showed the same increases in muscle mass (approximately twofold) and fiber cross-sectional area with hypertrophy as observed in the vehicle-treated group. The typical increase in myonuclei with hypertrophy was absent in satellite cell-depleted fibers, resulting in expansion of the myonuclear domain. Consistent with lack of nuclear addition to enlarged fibers, long-term BrdU labeling showed a significant reduction in the number of BrdU-positive myonuclei in satellite cell-depleted muscle compared with vehicle-treated muscle. Single fiber functional analyses showed no difference in specific force, Ca(2+) sensitivity, rate of cross-bridge cycling and cooperativity between hypertrophied fibers from vehicle and tamoxifen-treated groups. Although a small component of the hypertrophic response, both fiber hyperplasia and regeneration were significantly blunted following satellite cell depletion, indicating a distinct requirement for satellite cells during these processes. These results provide convincing evidence that skeletal muscle fibers are capable of mounting a robust hypertrophic response to mechanical overload that is not dependent on satellite cells.     

Reaction of human skeletal muscle fiber to a one-time physical load

NADH-tetrazolium reductase and succinate dehydrogenase activity, glycogen concentration and ultrastructure of muscular fiber of a human being was studied before and after single physical load to refusal. The revealed individual peculiarities of fiber reaction in different people allow to divide all tested people into two subgroups according to the change of succinate dehydrogenase activity.     

Maximum rigor tension developed in a single rabbit glycerinated skeletal muscle fiber

Rigor tension was found to vary significantly with the replacement rate of the relaxing with the rigor solutions. The maximum value of rigor tension (Prig = 130 kN/m2) was obtained under slow (5 microL/sec) replacement of the solutions. The difference in the tensions may reflect variations in the amount of "compliance" taken out from the fibre.     

Phorbol esters affect skeletal muscle glucose transport in a fiber type-specific manner

Recent evidence has shown that activation of lipid-sensitive protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms leads to skeletal muscle insulin resistance. However, earlier studies demonstrated that phorbol esters increase glucose transport in skeletal muscle. The purpose of the present study was to try to resolve this discrepancy. Treatment with the phorbol ester 12-deoxyphorbol-13-phenylacetate 20-acetate (dPPA) led to an approximately 3.5-fold increase in glucose transport in isolated fast-twitch epitrochlearis and flexor digitorum brevis muscles. Phorbol ester treatment was additive to a maximally effective concentration of insulin in fast-twitch skeletal muscles. Treatment with dPPA did not affect insulin signaling in the epitrochlearis. In contrast, phorbol esters had no effect on basal glucose transport and inhibited maximally insulin-stimulated glucose transport approximately 50% in isolated slow-twitch soleus muscle. Furthermore, dPPA treatment inhibited the insulin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and the threonine and serine phosphorylation of PKB by approximately 50% in the soleus. dPPA treatment also caused serine phosphorylation of IRS-1 in the slow-twitch soleus muscle. In conclusion, our results show that phorbol esters stimulate glucose transport in fast-twitch skeletal muscles and inhibit insulin signaling in slow-twitch soleus muscle of rats. These findings suggest that mechanisms other than PKC activation mediate lipotoxicity-induced whole body insulin resistance.     

Single calcium channel behavior in native skeletal muscle

The purpose of this study was to use whole-cell and cell-attached patches of cultured skeletal muscle myotubes to study the macroscopic and unitary behavior of voltage-dependent calcium channels under similar conditions. With 110 mM BaCl2 as the charge carrier, two types of calcium channels with markedly different single-channel and macroscopic properties were found. One class was DHP-insensitive, had a single-channel conductance of approximately 9 pS, yielded ensembles that displayed an activation threshold near -40 mV, and activated and inactivated rapidly in a voltage-dependent manner (T current). The second class could only be well resolved in the presence of the DHP agonist Bay K 8644 (5 microM) and had a single-channel conductance of approximately 14 pS (L current). The 14-pS channel produced ensembles exhibiting a threshold of approximately -10 mV that activated slowly (tau act approximately 20 ms) and displayed little inactivation. Moreover, the DHP antagonist, (+)-PN 200-110 (10 microM), greatly increased the percentage of null sweeps seen with the 14-pS channel. The open probability versus voltage relationship of the 14-pS channel was fitted by a Boltzmann distribution with a VP0.5 = 6.2 mV and kp = 5.3 mV. L current recorded from whole-cell experiments in the presence of 110 mM BaCl2 + 5 microM Bay K 8644 displayed similar time- and voltage-dependent properties as ensembles of the 14-pS channel. Thus, these data are the first comparison under similar conditions of the single-channel and macroscopic properties of T current and L current in native skeletal muscle, and identify the 9- and 14-pS channels as the single-channel correlates of T current and L current, respectively.     

Human skeletal muscle fiber type specific protein content

The aim of this project was to develop a method to assess fiber type specific protein content across the continuum of human skeletal muscle fibers. Individual vastus lateralis muscle fibers (n = 264) were clipped into two portions: one for sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) fiber typing and one for Western blot protein identification. Following fiber type determination, fiber segments were combined into fiber type specific pools (～20 fibers/pool) and measured for total protein quantity, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), citrate synthase (CS), and total p38 content. GAPDH content was 64, 54, 160, and 138% more abundant in myosin heavy chain (MHC) I/IIa, MHC IIa, MHC IIa/IIx, and MHC IIx fibers, respectively, when compared with MHC I. Inversely, CS content was 528, 472, 242, and 47% more abundant in MHC I, MHC I/IIa, MHC IIa, and MHC IIa/IIx fibers, respectively, when compared with MHC IIx. Total p38 content was 87% greater in MHC IIa versus MHC I fibers. These data and this approach establish a reliable method for human skeletal muscle fiber type specific protein analysis. Initial results show that particular proteins exist in a hierarchal fashion throughout the continuum of human skeletal muscle fiber types, further highlighting the necessity of fiber type specific analysis.     

Post-mortem glycolysis in skeletal muscle. The extent of glycolysis in diluted preparation of mammalian muscle.

1. Sheep-, rabbit- and ox-muscle minces prepared soon after slaughter were diluted with 1 vol. of 0.16 m-potassium chloride in the absence (potassium chloride mince) and presence of added cofactor or glycolysable substrate, and the effects on the ultimate pH were examined. 2. Changes in the concentrations of glycogen and lactate and the concentrations of some phosphorus-containing fractions were determined in ox-muscle preparations. 3. Glycolysis ceased at appreciably higher pH in the potassium chloride mince than in undiluted mince. The inclusion of glycogen, ATP, ADP, NAD or magnesium chloride in the diluent had little effect on the ultimate pH of the diluted mince. 4. Lactic acid production continued at lower pH values in diluted mince containing added glucose 1-phosphate, fructose 1,6-diphosphate or glucose plus hexokinase than in potassium chloride mince. 5. The evidence points to failure of the phosphorylase step being responsible for the dilution effect.     

Time-course of potential spread along a skeletal muscle fiber under voltage clamp

The equations describing the time-course of potential spread into a terminated segment of muscle fiber are given for the condition that a step of voltage is applied at x - 2l. Measurements of V(2l) - V(l) were made at 16.7-19.5 degrees C, using a three-microelectrode voltage clamp, to compare with the theory. Best least squares fits of calculated curves to data obtained in Ringer's solution (5 mM K) gave GL = 10 mumho/cm and Cm' = 1.6 muF/cm2. Similar measurements in 100 mM K solution, with the inward rectifier shut off by a positive prepulse, gave GL = 20 mumho/cm and Cm' = 2.0 muF/cm2. The time-course of V(2l) - V(l), measured when the inward rectifier was fully activated by a negative prepulse, was in good agreement with the curve calculated assuming no change in GL and Cm' and that the only effect of the negative prepulse was to increase the conductance of surface and tubular membranes.     

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

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 NH(2)-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.     

Electrical models of excitation-contraction coupling and charge movement in skeletal muscle

The consequences of ionic current flow from the T system to the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of skeletal muscle are examined. The Appendix analyzes a simple model in which the conductance gx, linking T system and SR, is in series with a parallel resistor and capacitor having fixed values. The conductance gx is supposed to increase rapidly with depolarization and to decrease slowly with repolarization. Nonlinear transient currents computed from this model have some of the properties of gating currents produced by intramembrane charge movement. In particular, the integral of the transient current upon depolarization approximates that upon repolarization. Thus, equality of nonlinear charge movement can occur without intramembrane charge movement. A more complicated model is used in the text to fit the structure of skeletal muscle and other properties of its charge movement. Rectification is introduced into gx and the membrane conductance of the terminal cisternae to give asymmetry in the time- course of the transient currents and saturation in the curve relating charge movement to depolarization, respectively. The more complex model fits experimental data quite well if the longitudinal tubules of the sarcoplasmic reticulum are isolated from the terminal cisternae by a substantial resistance and if calcium release from the terminal cisternae is, for the most part, electrically silent. Specific experimental tests of the model are proposed, and the implications for excitation-contraction coupling are discussed.     

A model study of intracellular oxygen gradients in a myoglobin-containing skeletal muscle fiber.

A theoretical two-dimensional model is used to investigate oxygen gradients in a red skeletal muscle fiber. The model describes the steady state, free and myoglobin-facilitated diffusion of oxygen into a respiring cylindrical muscle fiber cross section. The oxygen tension at the sarcolemma is assumed to vary along the sarcolemma as an approximation to the discrete capillary oxygen supply around the fiber. Maximal oxygen gradients are studied by considering parameters relevant to a maximally-respiring red muscle fiber. The model predicts that angular variations in the oxygen tension imposed at the sarcolemma due to the discrete capillary sources do not penetrate deeply into the fiber over a range of physiological values for myoglobin concentration, diffusion coefficients, number of surrounding capillaries, and oxygen tension level at the sarcolemma. Also, the oxygen tension in the core of the fiber is determined by the average oxygen tension at the sarcolemma. The drop in oxygen tension from fiber periphery to core, however, does depend significantly on the myoglobin concentration, the oxygen tension level at the sarcolemma, and the oxygen and myoglobin diffusivities. This dependence is summarized by calculating the minimum average sarcolemmal oxygen tension for maximal respiration without the development of an intracellular anoxic region. For a myoglobin-rich muscle fiber (0.5 mM myoglobin), the model predicts that maximal oxygen consumption can proceed with a relatively flat (less than 5 mm Hg) oxygen tension drop from fiber periphery to core over a large range for diffusion coefficients.     

Cable analysis of a motor-nerve terminal branch in a volume conductor

An equivalent electrical circuit is given for a branch of an amphibian motor-nerve terminal in a volume conductor. The circuit allows for longitudinal current flow inside the axon as well as between the axon and its Schwann cell sheath, and also for the radial leakage of current through the Schwann cell sheath. Analytical and numerical solutions are found for the spatial and time dependence of the membrane potential resulting from the injection of depolarizing current pulses by external electrodes at one or two separate locations on the terminal. These solutions show that the depolarization at an injection site can cause a hyperpolarization at sites a short distance away. This effect becomes more pronounced in a short terminal with sealed-end boundary conditions. The hyperpolarization provides a possible explanation for recent experimental results, which show that the average quantal release due to a test depolarizing current pulse delivered by an electrode at one site on a nerve terminal is reduced by the application of an identical conditioning pulse at a neighbouring site.     

Electrical properties of normal and dysgenic mouse skeletal muscle in culture

Electrical properties of normal and dysgenic mouse skeletal muscle were studied by intracellular recording from embryonic cells developing in vitro. Passive membrane constants were determined from records of transmembrane potential responses to hyperpolarizing pulses of current using two types of analyses, assuming the tubes to be finite cylinders: the off transient and steady state analyses. The following properties of normal and dysgenic fibers were also studied. (a) membrane potentials (b) acetylcholine sensitivity (c) α-Bungarotoxin binding and (d) maximum rate of rise, overshoot and one-half fall time of the action potential. Rare electrotonic coupling between fibroblasts and myotubes was noted. An anomalous type of rectification Was observed in some fibers in which the transmembrane potential responses possessed under and overshoots. These responses may have affected the values of membrane constants as derived by the off transient analysis. In all parameters studied, including membrane constants derived by the steady state analysis, the cultured mouse cells resembled adult denervated mammalian muscle rather than innervated muscle. There were no differences between normal and dysgenic fibers with respect to any of the parameters studied. Dysgenic fibers did not contract although they displayed passive and active membrane properties like those in normal, non-dysgenic fibers.