State of the contractile apparatus during the development of a pathological process in the muscles. III. The nature and sequence of the structural changes in the contractile apparatus in Zenker's necrosis]

Using polarized ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence microscopy, it was shown that the local damage of muscle fibres causes in their morphologically unchanged parts the alternation of regions, being in different functional states referred to as "pseudocontraction" and "superrelaxation". The pattern of UV fluorescence anisotropy suggests that conformation of contractile proteins by "pseudocontraction" is similar to that at contraction, though changes in sarcomere length do not occur. The "superrelaxation" is characterized by a desorganization of myofilaments. During the spreading of Zenker's necrosis, the "pseudocontraction" is seen transferred first into "superrelaxation", and then into irreversible contracture and rigor. "The boundary of Zenker's necrosis" overlaps with the boundary of the self-propagating irreversible contracture. There is no proper boundary of Zenker's necrosis, because the destructive changes are observed over all the muscle fibre. Contraction nodules arise in the regions of "superrelaxation" and follow the changes of the contractile system, peculiar of contracture. The study of the influence of medium ionic composition on the development of Zenker's necrosis suggests that the arising and spreading of destruction are inseparably associated with the irreverrsible changes of intracellular membrane structures, and with the possibility of propogation of the damage signal by these structures along muscle fibres.     

State of the contractile apparatus in the development of a pathological process in muscle. IV. Effect of Ca2+ on the process of contraction nodule formation and on the ATPase activity of muscle actomyosin in Zenker's necrosis

Using phase-contrast and polarized ultraviolet (UV) fluorescent microscopy, the structure of single muscle fibres was studied in the course of the contraction module formation during Zenker's necrosis. The degree of manifestation of destructive changes in the contractile system was shown to depend upon the concentration of extracellular Ca-ions. With decreasing Ca2+ concentration, the fibre loses the ability to form contraction nodules peculiar to the Zenker necrosis, and the development of this process is interrupted at the stage of sarcomere supercontraction. The UV fluorescent anisotropy pattern of fibre regions, conforming with the contraction nodules, suggests the occurrence of a more pronounced disorganization of contractile system in the presence of Ca2+. The ATPase activity of actomyosin isolated from altered muscle was studied to appreciate the functional state of the contractile system. This actomyosin was found to be inactivated 1.5 times as much as that isolated from muscles treated during Zenker's necrosis in calcium-free media.     

Ultrastructural changes in the red muscle fibers of the quadriceps muscle of the rat femur during increased motor activity

Experiments on rats were made to study the effect of physical exercise running in a treadbahn on ultrastructure of skeletal muscle fibers. The biphasic mechanism of muscle contractile activity was shown. The processes of destruction occurring in red muscle fibers of the intensely working quadriceps femoris were manifested by enlargement of T system and sarcoplasmic reticulum elements, mitochondrial matrix swelling, cryst destruction, vacuolar degeneration of part of the mitochondria, and destruction of individual myofibrils. In addition to destructive changes, the muscle exhibited the recovery processes--physiological regeneration. Those processes included large accumulations of the mitochondria beneath the plasma membrane of muscle fibers, the presence of small mitochondria, division of the mitochondria, transformation of myosatellitocytes to myoblasts, the presence of centrioles in endotheliocytes, and so forth.     

Changes in the contractile material of human skeletal muscle following tendinous injury.

The most marked changes in the human muscle following tendinous injury can be observed in the contractile components. There is a widening of the Z-membrane, dispersion of the sarcomers, a break in their continuity, and detached bundles of myofibrils are found in the sarcoplasm. A change occurs also in the proportion of different fibre types of the muscles, in the muscle with tendinous injury a predominance of type II fibre becoming apparent. Among the proteins of myofibrils a product of disintegration of a molecular weight of 31 000 can be consequently demonstrated, and in some muscles products of disintegration with a molecular weight between 90 000 and 58,000 arise.     

Interaction of the enzymes of cellular energy support with the F-actin of the thin filaments of muscle fiber. I. The binding of lactate dehydrogenase with F-actin induces changes in the structural state of the components of the complex

A study was made of changes in F-actin conformation occurring in a myosin-free single ghost fibre induced by the binding of glycolytic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDG) to F-actin. The formation of the complex between LDG and F-actin induces changes in the parameters of the intrinsic (tryptophan) and extrinsic (rodominil--phalloin) polarized fluorescence of F-actin of the ghost muscle fibre. It is found that LDG stimulates Mg2+-ATPase of actomyosin in solution. It is assumed that the coupling of energy-providing mechanism with that of muscle contraction may be accomplished through the conformation changes in F-actin.     

Ultrastructural and biochemical changes in the muscle tissue of Notothenia nudifrons L. during prolonged cold preservation

During initial stages freezing and conservation of Notothenia nudifrons L. muscle tissue are accompanied with nonspecific changes in the intracellular membranous system of fibers, in their lipid and protein composition. Certain connections between development of destructive changes in mitochondrial membranes, sarcoplasmic reticulum, T-system and intensity of accumulation of free fatty acids and products of peroxide oxydation of tissue lipids are revealed. Manifestation of hydrolitic enzymes activity coinsides, in time, with formation of autophage vacuoles. Transformation of the latter into residual bodies is in accord with a decreased enzymatic activity. A supposition is made concerning the mechanism of the muscle tissue destruction in the process of a prolonged conservation in cold.     

Changes in ultrastructure and actomyosin complex of cardiomyocytes in experimental hypergravitation

There were studied the cardiomyocyte ultrastructure, contractile function, actomyosin complex composition and property of the rat ventricular myocardium after repeated gravitational overloading and following rest. In the hypergravitation period cardiomyocyte changes carry destructive character or are regenerative processes manifestation. They are comparable with myocardial contractile function state and with displacements in molecular structure of myofibrillar apparatus. At rest conditions the liquidation of cardiomyocytes destructive changes falls behind the normalization of contractile and regulatory cells of physico-chemical characteristics. The possible reasons of this phenomenon are discussed.     

Dedifferentiation and remodeling of motor endplates following experimental localized lesions of muscle fibers

Local anaesthetics, cardiotoxin and mechanical injuries may cause necrosis of muscle fibres while leaving the motor nerve fibres and their terminals intact. With local injuries to mouse muscles carried out by freezing or cutting we made a point of preserving both the nerve terminals and the muscle fibre portions on which these terminals were located. It was thus possible to follow the changes induced at endplates by these lesions. Within two or three days of the freezing or cutting, the muscle fibres underwent very different degrees of regression of the contractile material and T-system. The neuromuscular junctions also underwent changes, principally affecting their postsynaptic portion, in particular the folds of the subneural apparatus. After dedifferentiation of subsynaptic areas, we observed sprouting of the nerve terminal on muscle fibres which survived the amputation of one end and formed actively new myofibrils. This sprouting restored synaptic connections at the original sites, but with new structural features and correlative changes in the distribution of cholinergic receptors and cholinesterases. It is probable that after a phase of involution followed by a phase of recovery, the injured muscle fibres triggered off the nerve terminal sprouting which led to the remodelling of the endplates.     

Human skeletal muscle architecture studied in vivo by non-invasive imaging techniques: functional significance and applications

The internal architecture plays an essential role in determining the functional features of skeletal muscle. Both length–force and force–velocity relationships depend on the spatial arrangement of muscle fibres in skeletal muscle. The degree of muscle pennation determines both the amount of contractile tissue packed along the tendons and fibre length, and is reflected by the force-generating capacity and shortening velocity of the muscle and by the elastic properties of the muscle–tendon complex. Until recently, knowledge on human muscle architecture was based on measurements performed on cadavers, whose muscle fibres were often shrunk by the preserving medium and by age. With the introduction of non-invasive imaging techniques, it has become possible to study muscle architecture in vivo at rest and the changes thereof upon contraction. This paper discusses the applications of these techniques, namely ultrasonography and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, and their relevance in physiology and biomechanics.     

Effect of foreign innervation on contractile and histochemical properties of the transplanted levator ani muscle of the rat.

Heterotopic transplantation of the levator ani (LA) muscle into the bed of the fast tibialis anterior (TA) or slow soleus (SOL) muscle respectively results in transformation of contractile and histochemical properties of the muscle dependent on the new "foreign" innervation. This transformation is observed after transplantation of minced muscle tissue and of free grafts. The result of transformation is more pronounced in the case of free LA-TA grafts which show progressive shortening of contractile response, whereas the LA-SOL shows slight shortening. The heterotopically transplanted free LA-SOL and the LA-TA grafts become relatively faster than the respective original muscle, suggesting operation of myogenic factors related to the fast LA muscle. Maximal tetanic tension output of the free heterotopic grafts 60 days after transplantation recovers to only about a quarter of the correspondong control muscles. Recovery of speed of contraction in the transplanted LA muscle is similar to that observed after selfreinnervation after crushing the pudendal nerve close to its entry into the muscle. In the heterotopically transplanted muscles the reversal of the originally uniform histochemical fibre pattern to a mixed fibre pattern in respect to ATPase and SDH activity is dependent on the type of innervation. After selfreinnervation of the LA muscle by the pudendal nerve a uniform fibre pattern is maintained with regeneration of the nerve.     

Plasticity in mammalian skeletal muscle.

While it has been recognized for many years that different limb muscles belonging to the same mammal may have markedly differing contractile characteristics, it is only comparatively recently that it has been demonstrated that these differences depend upon the motor innervation. By appropriately changing the peripheral nerve innervating a mammalian skeletal muscle, it is possible to change dramatically the contractile behaviour of the reinnervated muscle. The manner by which the motor innervation determines the nature of a muscle fibre's contractile machinery is not completely understood, but it appears that the number and pattern of motor nerve impulses reaching the muscle play an important role. The biochemical changes occurring within muscle fibres whose contractile properties have been modified by altered motor innervation include the synthesis of different contractile proteins.     

Drastic increase of myosin light chain MLC-2 in senescent skeletal muscle indicates fast-to-slow fibre transition in sarcopenia of old age

The age-dependent decline in skeletal muscle mass and function is believed to be due to a multi-factorial pathology and represents a major factor that blocks healthy aging by increasing physical disability, frailty and loss of independence in the elderly. This study has focused on the comparative proteomic analysis of contractile elements and revealed that the most striking age-related changes seem to occur in the protein family representing myosin light chains (MLCs). Comparative screening of total muscle extracts suggests a fast-to-slow transition in the aged MLC population. The mass spectrometric analysis of the myofibril-enriched fraction identified the MLC2 isoform of the slow-type MLC as the contractile protein with the most drastically changed expression during aging. Immunoblotting confirmed an increased abundance of slow MLC2, concomitant with a switch in fast versus slow myosin heavy chains. Staining of two-dimensional gels of crude extracts with the phospho-specific fluorescent dye ProQ-Diamond identified the increased MLC2 spot as a muscle protein with a drastically enhanced phosphorylation level in aged fibres. Comparative immunofluorescence microscopy, using antibodies to fast and slow myosin isoforms, confirmed a fast-to-slow transformation process during muscle aging. Interestingly, the dramatic increase in slow MLC2 expression was restricted to individual senescent fibres. These findings agree with the idea that aged skeletal muscles undergo a shift to more aerobic-oxidative metabolism in a slower-twitching fibre population and suggest the slow MLC2 isoform as a potential biomarker for fibre type shifting in sarcopenia of old age.     

Key signalling factors and pathways in the molecular determination of skeletal muscle phenotype

The molecular basis and control of the biochemical and biophysical properties of skeletal muscle, regarded as muscle phenotype, are examined in terms of fibre number, fibre size and fibre types. A host of external factors or stimuli, such as ligand binding and contractile activity, are transduced in muscle into signalling pathways that lead to protein modifications and changes in gene expression which ultimately result in the establishment of the specified phenotype. In skeletal muscle, the key signalling cascades include the Ras-extracellular signal regulated kinase-mitogen activated protein kinase (Erk-MAPK), the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K)-Akt1, p38 MAPK, and calcineurin pathways. The molecular effects of external factors on these pathways revealed complex interactions and functional overlap. A major challenge in the manipulation of muscle of farm animals lies in the identification of regulatory and target genes that could effect defined and desirable changes in muscle quality and quantity. To this end, recent advances in functional genomics that involve the use of micro-array technology and proteomics are increasingly breaking new ground in furthering our understanding of the molecular determinants of muscle phenotype.     

Proteomic profiling of chronic low-frequency stimulated fast muscle

Skeletal muscle fibre transitions occur in many biological processes, in response to alterations in neuromuscular activity, in muscular disorders, during age-induced muscle wasting and in myogenesis. It was therefore of interest to perform a comprehensive proteomic profiling of muscle transformation. Chronic low-frequency stimulation of the rabbit tibialis anterior muscle represents an established model system for studying the response of fast fibres to enhanced neuromuscular activity under conditions of maximum activation. We have conducted a DIGE analysis of unstimulated control specimens versus 14- and 60-day conditioned muscles. A differential expression pattern was observed for 41 protein species with 29 increased and 12 decreased muscle proteins. Identified classes of proteins that are changed during the fast-to-slow transition process belong to the contractile machinery, ion homeostasis, excitation-contraction coupling, capillarization, metabolism and stress response. Results from immunoblotting agreed with the conversion of the metabolic, regulatory and contractile molecular apparatus to support muscle fibres with slower twitch characteristics. Besides confirming established muscle elements as reliable transition markers, this proteomics-based study has established the actin-binding protein cofilin-2 and the endothelial marker transgelin as novel biomarkers for evaluating muscle transformation.     

In vitro functions of the rat diaphragm during postnatal development.

This study was designed to determine the developmental changes in the functional characteristics of the rat diaphragm. A total of 150 animals were studied at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 weeks of postnatal age. Body and diaphragm muscle weights were measured. Diaphragm strips were studied in an in vitro preparation to assess muscle contractile and endurance properties. Total diaphragm weight increased considerably, by a factor of 23 over the 9 week-period of study and was highly correlated with body weight (r = 0.93, P less than 0.01). However, the ratio of diaphragm-to-body weight decreased progressively with age. In comparison with those from older animals, diaphragms from 1 and 3 weeks old animals: (1) generated similar force normalized for muscle weight but a lower force normalized for fibre cross-sectional area (P less than 0.05), (2) had longer time-to-peak tension and one-half relaxation times (P less than 0.01) and (3) were more resistant to fatigue (P less than 0.01). The mechanisms underlying the diaphragm functional development were discussed.     

Comparative pathomorphologic study of the toxic properties of a corpuscular pertussis vaccine and of a cell-free pertussis preparation

The comparative study of morphological changes in the body of outbred mice under the action of corpuscular pertussis vaccine and acellular pertussis preparation has been made. The corpuscular vaccine has been shown to produce a pronounced, dynamically increasing toxic effect, thus causing the damage of lymphoid thymic and spleen cells, prolonged interstitial reaction in the lungs, destructive inflammatory process at the site of injection. The acellular pertussis preparation is less toxic, induces less pronounced changes in these organs at the early period of the experiment, stimulates the proliferation of lymphoid cells and lymphoblast transformation. As noted in this study, the damaging action of pertussis vaccine is mainly indicated by pathological phenomena appearing in the organs of the immune system, pulmonary parenchyma and muscular tissue (in the inoculation zone).     

Cytotoxic effect of phenazine methosulphate on the isolated frog heart

1. Perfusion of isolated frog hearts with phenazine methosulphate (PMS) at 0.3-1.0 mM caused a fall in amplitude and frequency of beat, and finally a cessation of contractile activity, together with widespread ultrastructural damage. 2. Sarcolemma blebs were a characteristic feature of the damage. 3. No protection was provided by mannitol (10-100 mM), superoxide dismutase, catalase or a pHo of 6.6. 4. Potassium ferricyanide (1-6 mM), an artificial electron acceptor, also caused ultrastructural damage. 5. Comparisons are made with the oxygen paradox of mammalian heart, and the possible role of Ca2+ fluxes and oxygen radicals in muscle damage are discussed.     

Electrophoretic study of the protein makepup of the muscles in Zenker's necrosis]

Changes of protein composition within necrotic areas of muscle at the late stages of Zenker's necrosis (3--5 hours after damage) have been studied using the disc-DSN-electrophoresis method. These changes are presumably associated with a disarrangement of the structure of thick and thin fillaments. The disturbance of the contractile system is accompanied by the loss of water soluble protein specific fractions.     

Role of myokines in exercise and metabolism.

During the past 20 yr, it has been well documented that exercise has a profound effect on the immune system. With the discovery that exercise provokes an increase in a number of cytokines, a possible link between skeletal muscle contractile activity and immune changes was established. For most of the last century, researchers sought a link between muscle contraction and humoral changes in the form of an "exercise factor," which could mediate some of the exercise-induced metabolic changes in other organs such as the liver and the adipose tissue. We suggest that cytokines and other peptides that are produced, expressed, and released by muscle fibers and exert either paracrine or endocrine effects should be classified as "myokines." Since the discovery of interleukin (IL)-6 release from contracting skeletal muscle, evidence has accumulated that supports an effect of IL-6 on metabolism. We suggested that muscle-derived IL-6 fulfils the criteria of an exercise factor and that such classes of cytokines should be named "myokines." Interestingly, recent research demonstrates that skeletal muscles can produce and express cytokines belonging to distinctly different families. Thus skeletal muscle has the capacity to express several myokines. To date the list includes IL-6, IL-8, and IL-15, and contractile activity plays a role in regulating the expression of these cytokines in skeletal muscle. The present review focuses on muscle-derived cytokines, their regulation by exercise, and their possible roles in metabolism and skeletal muscle function and it discusses which cytokines should be classified as true myokines.     

Do muscle fibre size and fibre angulation correlate in pennated human muscles?

Several studies have reported estimations of the total number of fibres in a muscle, e.g. before and after training or before and after inactivity. In those investigations a combination of computed tomographic estimations of muscle size and morphological studies of fibre size has most often been used. There have been doubts about the reliability of those studies on pennate muscles, since changes in muscle fibre size have been said to alter fibre angulation and thus the number of fibres that will cross a section. If such an alteration in fibre angulation takes place with an increase in fibre size, there ought to be some correlation between fibre size and fibre angulation. The present study was designed to test whether repetitive estimations of muscle fibre angulation could be performed in vivo and if any such correlation could be found between fibre size and fibre angulation. A group of 15 women volunteered to take part in the study. Repeated ultrasonographic recordings were made on five subjects on 3 consecutive days to test the repeatability of ultrasonographic measurement of fibre angulation. Both muscle morphological analyses and ultrasonographic measurements of fibre angulation were performed on the other 10 subjects. Ultrasonographic measurement of fibre angulation was found to be reproducible since no variation between measurements made on different days was found. When trying to correlate muscle fibre size to the muscle fibre angulation, measured ultrasonographically, no significant correlation was found.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)