Rat Extensor Digitorum Longus Fibres Research Articles

Cadmium withdrawal contractures in rat soleus muscle fibres.

Transient "Cd2+ withdrawal" contractures, with amplitudes of < or =60% peak tetanic tension, were seen when > or =3 mM Cd2+ was removed, after exposures lasting > or =5 min, from solutions bathing rat soleus fibres at 22 degrees C with Cl- as the major external anion. The minimum free [Cd2+] for withdrawal contractures was reduced twofold when the external anion was SO4(2-). Withdrawal contractures were not seen after removal of 3 mM Co2+, Zn2+ or La3+ and were not observed in rat extensor digitorum longus fibres. The contractures were not due to depolarization (membrane potential, Vm, did not change during Cd2+ removal) or to an influx of external Ca2+ (the transient tension increase was recorded when solutions either lacked Ca2+, or contained 2 mM Co2+). Cd2+ withdrawal contractures were abolished by inactivation of excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) following depolarization in 40 mM K+ for 20 min, and recovered from inactivation at the same time as twitch and tetanic contractions with repriming of ECC. Withdrawal contractures were depressed by agents that depress ECC, i.e. low [Ca2+], 2 mM Co2+, 30 mM Ca2+, 30 mM Mg2+ and 50 microM nifedipine. The results support a hypothesis in which withdrawing Cd2+ from the external solution induces a contracture by activating the voltage sensor for ECC.

Glucose 6-phosphate alters rat skeletal muscle contractile apparatus and sarcoplasmic reticulum function.

We investigated the effects of glucose 6-phosphate (G6P) on skeletal muscle contractile apparatus and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) function. Using rat extensor digitorum longus fibres, the presence of 5 mM G6P decreased the Ca2+ sensitivity of both force production and actomyosin ATPase (AM-ATPase) activity. Conversely, maximal Ca(2+)-activated force was unaffected while maximal AM-ATPase activity was increased by 37%. In SR vesicles isolated from rat gastrocnemius, G6P markedly altered Ca2+ handling. It increased Ca(2+)-stimulated Ca(2+)-ATPase activity but depressed the net rate of Ca2+ uptake. This latter effect appears to be due to G6P-stimulated Ca2+ release. When G6P was added to Ca(2+)-loaded vesicles, a small, transient release of Ca2+ was elicited. In addition, G6P lowered the threshold for Ca(2+)-induced Ca2+ release but depressed the net rates of both AgNO3- and caffeine-induced releases. It is possible that the accumulation of G6P during muscular activity may adversely affect muscle force production and contribute to the fatigue process via its action on the contractile apparatus and SR.

Barium resistant potassium current in mammalian skeletal muscle following denervation

Inward rectifier potassium channels are thought to be related to resting membrane potential and in innervated skeletal muscle they are specially sensitive to the blocking action of Ba 2+ ions. After denervation other channels are known to become resistant to their blockers. We study the effect of Ba 2+ upon the inward rectifier potassium channels after denervation. Rat extensor digitorum longus fibers were equilibrated for 150 minutes in 150 mM KCl; when they were returned to 5 mM KCl the resting potential went back to its original level with a half time of 35 minutes. This repolarization was blocked by 5 mM BaCl 2 in innervated muscles and in muscles denervated for 7 days, but failed to do so after 14 days of denervation. Voltage-clamp experiments performed in lumbricalis denervated muscle showed a lack of effect of Ba 2+ upon potassium current after 18 days of denervation. This results suggest that the inward rectifier potassium channels become resistant to Ba 2+ ions after denervation, indicating a neural influence.

Effects of Mg2+ on Ca2+ handling by the sarcoplasmic reticulum in skinned skeletal and cardiac muscle fibres.

The influence of myoplasmic Mg2+ (0.05-10 mM) on Ca2+ accumulation (net Ca2+ flux) and Ca2+ uptake (pump-driven Ca2+ influx) by the intact sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) was studied in skinned fibres from the toad iliofibularis muscle (twitch portion), rat extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle (fast twitch), rat soleus muscle (slow twitch) and rat cardiac trabeculae. Ca2+ accumulation was optimal between 1 and 3 mM Mg2+ in toad fibres and reached a plateau between 1 and 10 mM Mg2+ in the rat EDL fibres and between 3 and 10 mM Mg2+ in the rat cardiac fibres. In soleus fibres, optimal Ca2+ accumulation occurred at 10 mM Mg2+. The same trend was obtained with all preparations at 0.3 and 1 microM Ca2+. Experiments with 2,5-di-(tert-butyl)-1,4-benzohydroquinone, a specific inhibitor of the Ca2+ pump, revealed a marked Ca2+ efflux from the SR of toad iliofibularis fibres in the presence of 0.2 microM Ca2+ and 1 mM Mg2+. Further experiments indicated that the SR Ca2+ leak could be blocked by 10 microM ruthenium red without affecting the SR Ca2+ pump and this allowed separation between SR Ca2+ uptake and SR Ca2+ accumulation. At 0.3 microM Ca2+, Ca2+ uptake was optimal with 1 mM Mg2+ in the toad iliofibularis and rat EDL fibres and between 1 and 10 mM Mg2+ in the rat soleus and trabeculae preparations. At higher [Ca2+] (1 microM), Ca2+ uptake was optimal with 1 mM Mg2+ in the iliofibularis fibres and between 1 and 3 mM Mg2+ in the EDL fibres.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adaptation of sarcolemmal action potential mechanisms to chronic depolarization in denervated skeletal muscle

Action potential properties were studied in rat extensor digitorum longus fibers, at different times after locally setting the membrane to a holding potential of −90 mV. Whereas in normal muscles holding potential duration had little effect on the action potential, the holding potential duration markedly influenced membrane excitability in the fibers previously depolarized by increasing the K + concentration of the bathing medium. In this case, when the holding potential was prolonged from 20 to 180 s, action potential overshoot, maximum rate of rise, and maximum rate of fall increased 1.8-, 3.1-, and 1.8-fold, respectively. In the denervated muscle, overshoot and maximum rate of fall were dependent on the duration of holding potential application until denervation day 6, whereas maximum rate of rise was affected throughout the duration of this study (15 days of denervation). However, 180-s application of −90 mV holding potential elicited about a 2-fold increase of maximum rate of rise in the earlier denervation stages, and only a 1.5-fold increase at later times. These observations suggest that ultra-slow processes of Na + conductance inactivation were less effective after 6 days of denervation. Correspondingly, extensor digitorum longus fibers acquired the ability to generate action potentials at a depolarized holding potential. The partial removal of ultra-slow Na + inactivation after muscle denervation could substantially contribute to a general process of membrane adaptation, resulting in the capacity of voltage-dependent ion channels to operate in a condition of chronic depolarization.

Dynamic properties of inferior rectus muscle of the rat

1. Isometric responses of rat inferior rectus muscle to indirect and direct stimulation were compared, and conditions were found for selective direct stimulation of twitch fibres in vitro.2. Most of the twitch fibres were qualitatively ;fast'.3. The influence of length on isometric contractions and the relation between relative load and speed of sarcomere shortening of fast-twitch fibres were determined.4. The isometric twitch contraction and half-relaxation times of fast-twitch inferior rectus fibres were only about one half of those of rat extensor digitorum longus fibres in the same conditions, whereas the force: velocity properties of these two fibre groups were virtually the same. These results show that the relation between intrinsic speed of shortening and duration of the active state of the contractile material is not the same for rat extraocular and hind-limb muscles.