Ultrastructure and collagen composition of the myo-fascial junction in rat calf muscles.

The collagen composition and ultrastructural organization of the myo-fascial junction was studied using immunohistochemical techniques and electron microscopy. At the myo-fascial junction, a small amount of type-III collagen was found; however, the major collagen component was the type-I collagen. On the longitudinal sites of muscle cells, there were deep recesses and, within these, finger-like structures containing sarcomeres. In these recesses and in the finger-like structures of the myo-fascial junction, the sarcolemma was thickened (three times) in a similar way to the basal lamina at the myotendinous junction. Thin collagen fibers were closely associated with the thickened sarcolemma of the finger-like structures.