Independent development of contractile properties and myosin light chains in embryonic chick fast and slow muscle

Physiologically regulated alternative splicing patterns of fast troponin T RNA are conserved in mammals

NH2-terminal isoforms of fast troponin T (TnT) are generated by alternative splicing of fast TnT RNA transcripts. Significantly different estimates for the number of isoforms have been obtained by nucleic acid and protein chemical studies. To resolve this controversy and to determine whether specific 5'-splicing patterns correlate with fiber phenotype, we generated representative populations of 5'-TnT cDNAs from the TnT mRNAs expressed in a set of physiologically and anatomically diverse skeletal muscles. Sequencing and restriction enzyme analyses revealed a total of nine cDNAs that encode the six adult and three perinatal NH2-terminal TnT variants previously identified. Three major 5'-splicing pathways (the TnT1f, TnT2f, and TnT3f patterns) account for more than 90% of the TnT mRNAs and proteins in adult rabbit skeletal muscle. Comparative studies in rats, mice, and humans show that these splicing patterns are conserved and that fast-twitch fibers that are primarily glycolytic utilize the TnT1f and TnT2f patterns preferentially, whereas fast-twitch fibers that are primarily oxidative use the TnT1f and TnT3f patterns preferentially.

Identification of a fetal exon in the human fast troponin T gene

A developmentally regulated exon has been identified in the 5'-alternatively spliced region of the human fast Troponin T (TnT) gene. Expressed in fetal (but not adult) muscle, this exon is homologous with the fetal exons recently described in the rabbit and rat fast TnT genes. They all exhibit a split codon organization and encode a highly acidic peptide. To determine if the splicing pathways, including the human fetal exon, are also conserved, we defined the major TnT splicing patterns in fetal muscle. They generate fetal TnT 1, fetal TnT 3, and TnT1f, and TnT3f, species previously described in rabbit and rat skeletal muscles.

Differentiation of membrane systems during development of slow and fast skeletal muscle fibres in chicken

The disposition of transverse (T) tubules, sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and T-SR junctions (triads) and the width of Z lines are matched to contractile properties in adult muscle fibres. We have studied the development of the membrane systems in the slow anterior (ALD) and the fast posterior (PLD) latissimus dorsi of the chicken in ovo (E14-E21) and after hatching (D1-D30). T tubules, SR, triads and Z lines were visualized using DiIC16[3] labelling for confocal microscopy and either Ca-osmium-ferrocyanide or standard procedures for electron microscopy. Anterior latissimus dorsi and PLD have similar, slow twitches in early development (E14-E16), but PLD suddenly becomes faster starting at E17-E18. We find that in coincidence with the differentiation of faster contraction properties (starting at E18-E19) density of triads is significantly higher and width of Z lines is narrower in PLD. The SR also begins to acquire fibre-type specific characteristics at this time. Early development of T tubules, on the other hand, is quite similar in the two muscles. Peripherally-located, longitudinally-oriented T tubules, and the first T networks crossing the fibre center appear earlier in ALD (E14-E15 and E16) than in PLD (E14-E16 and E17), but have similar dispositions. The final fibre-type specific distribution of T tubules is achieved after hatching. Some T tubules-rich fibres in the ALD, presumably future fast fibres, develop extensive T tubules networks at early stages. Location of triads at the Z line in pectoralis occurs in three steps: an initial location of longitudinally oriented triads at the A-I junction; a subsequent move to the Z lines and finally a rotation to a transverse orientation.

Anti-oxidant treatment prevents the development of peripheral nerve dysfunction in streptozotocin-diabetic rats

We tested the notion that oxidative stress makes an important contribution to the aetiology of diabetic neuropathy. The effect of treatment with a 1% dietary supplement of the anti-oxidant butylated hydroxytoluene was studied during 2 months of streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus. In final experiments, sciatic motor and saphenous sensory conduction velocities were measured in vivo, and resistance to hypoxic conduction failure for sciatic trunk was examined in vitro. There were 20% and 12% decreases in motor and sensory conduction velocity, respectively after 2 months of diabetes (p < 0.001). There were completely prevented by butylated hydroxytoluene treatment (p < 0.001). Resistance to hypoxic conduction failure, shown by the time taken for sciatic compound action potential amplitude to decline by 80%, was 55% increased by diabetes, and this was limited to 31% (p < 0.01) by treatment. There were no significant effects of treatment on the 9-10 fold elevation of sciatic nerve sorbitol and fructose levels with diabetes, or on the non-significant 22% reduction in myoinositol content. Butylated hydroxytoluene treatment also did not affect sciatic nerve capillary density. We conclude that oxidative stress makes an important contribution to the aetiology of early experimental diabetic neuropathy. Amelioration of oxidative stress could potentially be a final common mechanism whereby a number of diverse treatments exert a beneficial effect on diabetic nerve function.

Transitions from fetal to fast troponin T isoforms are coordinated with changes in tropomyosin and alpha-actinin isoforms in developing rabbit skeletal muscle

In adult fast skeletal muscle, specific combinations of thin filament and Z-line protein isoforms are coexpressed. To determine whether the expression of these sets of proteins, designated the TnT1f, TnT2f, and TnT3f programs, is coordinated during development, we characterized the transitions in troponin T (TnT), tropomyosin (Tm), and alpha-actinin isoforms that occur in developing fetal and neonatal rabbit skeletal muscle. Two coordinated developmental transitions were identified, and a novel pattern of thin filament expression was found in fetal muscle. In fetal muscle, new TnT species--whose protein and immunochemical properties suggest that they are the products of a new TnT gene--are expressed in combination with beta 2 Tm and alpha-actinin1f/s. This pattern, which is found in both back and hindlimb muscles, is specific to fetal and early neonatal muscle. Just prior to birth, there is a transition from the fetal program to the isoforms that define the TnT3f program, TnT3f, and alpha beta Tm. Like the fetal program, expression of the TnT3f program appears to be a general feature of muscle development, because it occurs in a variety of fast muscles as well as in the slow muscle soleus. The transition to adult patterns of thin filament expression begins at the end of the first postnatal week. Based on studies of erector spinae, the isoforms comprising the TnT2f program, TnT2f, alpha 2 Tm, and alpha-actinin2f, appear and increase coordinately at this time. The transitions, first to the TnT3f program, and then to adult patterns of expression indicate that synthesis of the isoforms comprising each program is coordinated during muscle specialization and throughout muscle development. In addition, these observations point to a dual role for the TnT3f program, which is the major thin filament program in some adult muscles, but appears to bridge the transition from developmentally to physiologically regulated patterns of thin filament expression during the late fetal and early neonatal development.

Myosin heavy chain composition of single cells from avian slow skeletal muscle is strongly correlated with velocity of shortening during development

We have determined the myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition (using a sensitive sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis system) and the maximal velocity of shortening (Vmax) of single cells from neonatal and adult chicken anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) muscles. In addition, the MHC, myosin light chain, and regulatory protein (i.e., troponin and tropomyosin subunits) compositions of bundles of ALD fibers were determined at late embryonic, neonatal, and adult ages. At young ages, there are two MHCs in ALD muscle, SM1 and SM2, with SM1 decreasing in relative amount with increasing age, as shown previously by others. The mean Vmax of single fibers also decreases from neonatal to adult ages. A strong quantitative correlation is demonstrated between the specific MHC composition and Vmax among individual cells of the ALD muscle at several ages. Since virtually no changes occur in the regulatory protein and myosin light chain compositions of the ALD muscle between late embryonic and adult ages, it appears that the MHC composition of an individual cell in this muscle is the primary determinant of the maximal shortening velocity. These results are the first to illustrate the functional significance of the developmental transition in myosin heavy chain composition of an avian slow skeletal muscle, consistent with our previous findings on mammalian muscle.

Regeneration after cardiotoxin injury of innervated and denervated slow and fast muscles of mammals. Myosin isoform analysis

The regeneration of adult rat and mouse slow (soleus) and fast (sternomastoid) muscles was examined after the degeneration of myofibers had been achieved by a snake venom cardiotoxin, under experimental conditions devised to spare as far as possible the satellite cells, the nerves, and the blood vessels of the muscles. Three days after the injury, no myosin was detectable in selected portions of the muscles. New myosins of embryonic, neonatal, and adult types started to be synthesized during the following two days. Adult myosins thus appeared more precociously than in development, which implies that the synthesis of myosin isoforms during regeneration does not entirely 'recapitulate' the sequence of myosin transitions observed during normal development. Two weeks after the injury, the isomyosin electrophoretic pattern displayed by regenerated muscles was already the same as that of control muscles; the normal adult pattern was therefore expressed more rapidly in regenerating than in developing muscles. Except for the synthesis of the slow isoform which was generally inhibited in denervated muscles, the same types of myosins were expressed during the early stages of regeneration in denervated as in innervated muscles; long-term denervation prevented however the qualitative and quantitative recovery of the normal myosin pattern.

Cordotomy-denervation interactions on contractile and myofibrillar properties of fast and slow muscles in the rat

Cordotomy-denervation interactions were studied on contractile and myofibrillar properties of slow (soleus) and fast (extensor digitorum longus) muscles of the rat. The spinal cord was transected midthoracically in neonatal (2-day-old) animals. Two months after birth, a unilateral transection of the sciatic nerve was carried out in both cordotomized and control animals. Five weeks after denervation, contractile properties were tested isometrically in vitro; myofibrillar properties were assessed by histochemical staining of the muscle fibers and by electrophoretic analysis of the myosin heavy chain composition. The following results were obtained: (i) In cordotomized animals the contraction time of the soleus was significantly shorter (-23.3% on average) than that in the control animals and this shortening was accompanied by a proportional slow-to-fast shift in myofibrillar properties. (ii) The extensor digitorum longus properties were not significantly different in the control and cordotomized animals. (iii) Denervation in control animals was followed by a marked increase of contraction and half-relaxation times in the extensor digitorum longus, whereas in the soleus only the half-relaxation time was significantly increased; myofibrillar properties in the soleus showed an appreciable slow-to-fast shift, whereas in the fast muscle the main change was an increase in type 2A fibers to the detriment of type 2B. (iv) In cordotomized animals, denervation caused the soleus contraction time to increase to control values, whereas myofibrillar properties shifted to an even faster pattern; in the extensor digitorum longus denervation caused the same changes seen in the control animals. The results showed that cordotomy at birth caused the soleus to develop as a faster muscle than in the control animals. The concurrent effects of cordotomy and denervation on the myofibrillar properties of the soleus suggest that the slow-to-fast change in these properties is a common consequence of the reduction in the level of motor activity. The opposite effects of the two experimental conditions in the soleus contraction time support the view that the contractile alterations that follow denervation mainly reflect alterations in the muscle activation process.

Developmental changes in myosin isoforms from slow and fast latissimus dorsi muscles in the chicken

In the course of muscle differentiation, changes in fibre-type population and in myosin composition occur. In this work, the expression of native myosin isoforms in developing fast-twitch (posterior latissimus dorsi; PLD) and slow-tonic (anterior latissimus dorsi; ALD) muscles of the chick was examined using electrophoresis under nondissociating conditions. The major isomyosin of 11-day-old embryonic PLD comigrated with the adult fast myosin FM3. Two additional components indistinguishable from adult fast FM2 and FM1 isomyosins appeared successively during the embryonic development. The relative proportion of these latter isoforms increased with age, and the adult pattern was established by the end of the 1st month after hatching. Between day 11 and day 16 of embryonic development, PLD muscle fibres also contained small amounts of slow isomyosins SM1 and SM2. This synthesis of slow isoforms may be related to the presence of slow fibres within the muscle. At all embryonic and posthatch stages, ALD was composed essentially of slow isomyosins that comigrated with the two slow components SM1 and SM2 identified in adult. Several studies have reported that the SM1:SM2 ratio decreases progressively throughout embryonic and posthatching development, SM2 being predominant in the adult. In contrast, we observed a transient increase in SM1:SM2 ratio at the end of embryonic life. This could reflect a transitional neonatal stage in myosin expression. In addition, the presence in trace amounts of fast isomyosins in developing ALD muscle could be related to the presence of a population of fast fibres within this muscle.

Expression of fast and slow isoforms of the Ca2+-ATPase in developing chick skeletal muscle

The expression of fast and slow isoforms of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase was studied in the developing chick embryo and in tissue-cultured myotubes. Monoclonal antibodies specific for each isoform were used as probes of protein expression. Analysis of expression of Ca2+-ATPase isoforms in chick thigh muscles by immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that all muscle fibers expressed both isoforms during their development. Primary generation muscle fibers expressed predominantly the slow isoform. Secondary generation fibers expressed both isoforms at comparable levels. Loss of the "inappropriate" isoforms occurred late in embryonic development. Immunoblot analysis of embryonic thigh muscle proteins indicated that the expression of the slow isoform varied little from embryonic Day 6 (ED6) to ED19, while expression of the fast isoform increased dramatically just prior to ED19. Tissue-cultured myotubes derived from ED12 chick thigh muscle myoblasts, plated at high density, expressed both isoforms of the Ca2+-ATPase at very similar levels. Clonal analysis of myoblasts taken from early (ED6) and late (ED12) chick thigh muscles showed that all muscle colonies expressed both forms, consistent with in vivo results. Fiber-type specific isoforms of the Ca2+-ATPase and myosin heavy chain are not coordinately expressed in developing chick skeletal muscle.

Influence of spinal cord stimulation upon myosin light chain and tropomyosin subunit expression in a fast muscle (posterior latissimus dorsi) of the chick embryo

Latissimus dorsi muscles of the chick consist of a slow (ALD) and a fast (PLD) muscle. The influence of chronic spinal cord stimulation in the chick embryo upon the expression of myosin light chains and tropomyosin subunits was investigated. Early in development the two muscles exhibited the same ratio of alpha- and beta-tropomyosin subunits. Later, in the slow muscle the ratio beta:alpha decreased and in chicken the amounts of the two components were about the same. In the fast muscle, the alpha-subunit increased and reached 66% in young chicken. In the fast muscle, the alpha-subunit increased and reached 66% in young chicken. In the In the early stages of embryonic development, both muscles accumulated slow and fast light chains. However, in ALD the amount of slow light chains was greater than that of fast light chains and the reverse was observed in PLD muscle. Later during development, the slow components decreased in PLD while the fast components increased; the reverse was observed in ALD muscle. The fast myosin LC3f has been detected in 18-day-old embryonic PLD. Chronic spinal cord stimulation at a low rhythm was performed from day 10 of embryonic development to day 15 or 16. In both muscles from spinal cord-stimulated embryos, the beta-tropomyosin subunit was lower than in control embryos. In ALD, the pattern of light chains was unaffected by chronic stimulation while in PLD muscle the slow and fast components were modified. In particular the ratio LCs:LCf was increased in spinal cord-stimulated embryos with regard to controls.

Influence of neurons on the occurrence of fibre types and myosin light chains in cultured presumptive slow and fast myoblasts

Myoblasts from 9-day-old quail embryo slow anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) and fast posterior and latissimus dorsi (PLD) muscles were co-cultured with neurons. The presence of neurons allowed ALD-derived muscle fibres to express characteristic features of a slow muscle (occurrence of alpha' and of beta' fibres and predominance of slow myosin light chains). On the contrary, PLD-derived fibres did not differentiate into normal fast fibres (occurrence of alpha'-like fibres and absence of LC3f). These results are compared with the differentiation of ALD and PLD myoblasts in aneural condition. It is suggested that neurons can modify some phenotypic expression of presumptive slow or fast myoblasts.

The effect of 4-aminopyridine-induced increased neuromuscular activity on the metabolism of developing muscles in chick embryos

Chick embryos were treated with 4-aminopyridine (4 X 100 micrograms) during a critical stage of muscle development, and the effect of enhanced neuromuscular activity upon energy metabolism was studied in two fast-twitch muscles and a slow-tonic muscle. In the slow-tonic muscles of treated embryos, the specific activities of creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were reduced by 11 and 21%, respectively, compared with control values, whereas the ratios of the CK-MB isoforms and the LDH-H subunits increased to 125 and 135% of the control values, respectively. No significant changes could be shown in the enzymatic pattern of fast muscles. These results indicate that a moderate increase in neuromuscular activity of the chick embryo primarily influences the metabolism of developing slow muscles, promoting the development of an enzyme profile characteristic of slow oxidative fibres.

Growth of regenerating skeletal muscle fibers in cats

Extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles of cats were grafted heterotopically or orthotopically, and either with or without prior denervation. The autografted muscles were studied at times from 4 to 518 days after grafting. Muscle weight, fiber cross-sectional area, and ultrastructural, histochemical, and biochemical characteristics of regenerating muscle fibers were determined. Prior denervation reduced the mass of muscle at the time of grafting, but had no significant effect on the characteristics of the regenerating muscles. Orthotopic and heterotopic autografts achieved similar recovery of structure. Mean fiber area reached control values. Differentiation into fiber types occurred, but compared to control muscles, autografts had fewer Type I and Type IIA fibers. Electron microscopic analysis of regenerating muscle fibers revealed centrally located nuclei, but otherwise normal ultrastructure. The bimodal distribution of Z-band width was consistent with differentiation into fiber types. Mean data of some morphological variables did not stabilize.

Myosin transitions in developing fast and slow muscles of the rat hindlimb

Myosin isozymes from the slow soleus and fast EDL muscles of the rat hindlimb were analyzed by pyrophosphate gel electrophoresis, by peptide mapping of heavy chains, and by antibody staining. At the earliest stage examined, 20 days gestation, distinctions between the developing fast and slow muscles were seen by all these criteria; all fibers in the distal hindlimb reacted strongly with antibody to adult fast myosin. Some fibers also reacted with antibody to adult slow myosin; these fibers had a precise, axial distribution in the hindlimb. This pattern of staining which includes the entire soleus, foreshadows the adult distribution of slow fibers and may indicate that the specific pattern of innervation of the limb is already determined. In the early developing soleus there are four fetal and neonatal isozymes plus two isozymes present in equal proportions in the 'slow' area of the pyrophosphate gel. The mobility of these two slow isozymes decreases with maturity and the slowest moving isozyme gradually becomes the dominant species. Thus early diversity between the soleus and EDL is expressed by myosins which are distinct from the mature isozymes. The relative proportion of slow isozymes significantly increases with development and as this occurs the fetal and neonatal isozymes are progressively eliminated. Transiently at least one mature fast isozyme appears in the soleus. This is present at 15 days postpartum and probably correlates with the population of fast, type II fibers, which comprise 50% of this muscle cell population at 15 days. The EDL contained three fetal and neonatal isozymes and only one slow isozyme which does not change in mobility with age.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Muscle fiber regeneration in nerve-intact and free skeletal muscle autografts in cats

Extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles of adult cats were transplanted as free autografts (FRA) with the nerve severed or as nerve-intact autografts (NIA) with the nerve retained. Histochemical and contractile properties of NIA and FRA were analyzed at selected times from 1 to 14 wk after surgery. Regeneration was qualitatively similar in NIA and FRA. Regenerating fibers were observed in both NIA and FRA within 2 wk. After 14 wk there were fewer type I fibers in both NIA and FRA than in control EDL muscles. Capillarity was greater in NIA than FRA, but both types of autografts had significantly reduced capillarity relative to control muscles. Mean fiber area, muscle mass, and absolute tension development were greater in NIA than FRA but did not reach control muscle values. Muscle mass, mean fiber area, and contractile properties, but not the proportion of type I fibers, develop toward control values more quickly in autografts with the nerve left intact.

Potential phasic and tonic muscles express a common set of fast and slow myosin light chains and fast tropomyosin during early development of chick embryo

We investigated the expression of myosin light chains and tropomyosin subunits during chick embryonic development of the anterior (ALD) and posterior (PLD) parts of the latissimus dorsi muscles. As early as day 8 in ovo, both muscles accumulate a common set of myosin light chains (LC) in similar ratios (LC1F: 55 per cent; LC2S: 25 per cent; LC2F: 12 per cent; LC1S: 8 per cent) and a common set of tropomyosin (TM) subunits (beta 2, beta 1, alpha 2F). Later during development, the slow components of the LC regularly disappear in the PLD and the fast components of the LC and the alpha 2FTM disappear in the ALD, so that the adult pattern is almost established at the time of hatching. Thus, early in development, the two muscles accumulate a common set of fast and slow myosin light chains and fast tropomyosin and some isoforms are repressed at a later stage during development. These data might suggest that during development, the regulatory mechanisms of muscle specific isoform expression differ from one contractile protein to another.

The two myosin isoenzymes of chicken anterior latissimus dorsi muscle contain different myosin heavy chains encoded by separate mRNAs

The two myosin isozymes (SM1 and SM2) of the anterior latissimus dorsi muscle of the chicken change in relative concentration during development. As SM1 decreases from 13 days of embryonic growth through 1 year of adult maturation, SM2 increases. In the adult muscle SM2 accounts for over 95% of the total myosin. The myosin heavy chains of the two isozymes are distinctly different and may be separated from each other by 5% SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The faster migrating myosin heavy chain is identified as originating from SM1 and the slower migrating myosin heavy chain from SM2 myosin isozymes. The myosin heavy chains change in relative concentration during development exactly parallel with changes in SM1 and SM2 isozyme levels. Peptide map analysis also reveals that SM1 myosin heavy chains and SM2 myosin heavy chains are distinctly different. When RNA from the ALD muscle is added to reticulocyte lysate protein synthesizing systems the translation products are shown to include both SM1 and SM2 myosin heavy chains. These comigrate exactly on 5% SDS polyacrylamide gels with authentic counterparts from ALD muscle. Finally, when peptide maps of SM1 and SM2 myosin heavy chains synthesized in the reticulocyte lysate are compared they are again found to be distinctly different and each is identical to a peptide map of respective authentic SM1 and SM2 myosin heavy chains. It is concluded that the myosin heavy chains of SM1 and SM2 myosin isozymes of ALD muscle have different primary structures and that they are encoded by two distinctly different mRNAs.

Differentiation of muscle fiber types in aneurogenic brachial muscles of the chick embryo

Cross-reinnervation studies performed ex ovo with newly hatched chicks demonstrate that peripheral motor neurons control the phenotypic characteristics of avian muscles. The present experiments were designed to determine whether or not nerves play a similar role during the initial expression of muscle fiber types. Previous experiments indicated that differentiation of specific fiber types occurs during the first week of embryogenesis, temporally coincident with the penetration of nerves within muscle masses. These observations suggested that peripheral nerves may be associated with the initial differentiation of fiber types. To test this hypothesis directly, anterior limb buds of the chick embryo were rendered aneurogenic by deletion of the brachial segment of the neural tube. To ensure a completely aneurogenic environment for developing brachial muscles, surgery was performed at day 2 in ovo before the exit of ventral root fibers. Experimental and control embryos from Stage (St) 25 (4.5 d) through St 45 (19d) were analyzed histochemically by a silver-cholinesterase reaction to detect nerves and by the myosin ATPase reaction, following alkali and acid preincubation, to determine the fiber type composition of the muscles. In addition, the total volume of aneurogenic and control muscles was compared. Results demonstrate that the characteristic myosin ATPase profiles of individual aneurogenic and innervated (control) muscles were identical throughout the entire period analyzed. Therefore, we conclude that these enzymic profiles are endogenously expressed and are not under neuronal control during early embryogenesis. Furthermore, the entire sequence of events from the migration of myogenic cells to the anterior limb bud through the division of the primary muscle masses to form individual brachial muscles proceeded on schedule in the absence of nerves. Since the growth of aneurogenic muscles was impaired, we conclude that during embryogenesis peripheral motor nerves are necessary initially for the proper growth of muscles and ultimately, for their survival. They are not involved, however, with either the initial formation or initial differentiation of individual brachial muscles.

Relationship among fibre type, myosin ATPase activity and contractile properties

At least two types of skeletal muscle myosin have been described which differ in ATPase activity and stability in alkaline or acidic media. Differences in ATPase characteristics distinguish Type I and Type II fibres histochemically. In this study, ATPase activity of myosin from muscles of several species with known histochemical and contractile properties has been determined to test the hypothesis that (1) myosin ATPase activity, (2) histochemical determination of fibre types and (3) maximum shortening velocity, all provide equivalent estimates of contractile properties in muscles of mixed fibre types. Maximum shortening velocity appears to be proportional to ATPase activity as expected from previous reports by Barany. However, both myosin ATPase and the maximum shortening velocity exhibit curvilinear relationships to the fraction of cross-sectional area occupied by Type II fibres. Therefore, we reject the hypothesis and conclude that histochemically determined myofibrillar ATPase does not accurately reflect the intrinsic ATPase activity or shortening velocity in muscles of mixed fibre types. Our data are consistent with the presence of more than two myosin isozymes or with a mixture of isozymes within single muscle fibres.

Isometric contractile properties and velocity of shortening during avian myogenesis

Isometric twitch and tetanic contractile properties and velocity of unloaded shortening (V0) of whole avian posterior latissimus dorsi muscle (PLD) were examined between embryonic day 15 and the first 2 wk after hatching. The time to peak twitch force, time to half-relaxation of the twitch response, and time to half-peak tetanic force all change significantly during the final week in ovo but do not change during the first 2 wk ex ovo. Comparisons with previously published reports by others indicate that the twitch half-relaxation time at hatching is approximately the same as that of the adult PLD. The velocity of unloaded shortening increases 2.3-fold during the period studied. It has previously been shown by other that the velocity of shortening is well correlated with a muscle's myosin ATPase activity. Therefore, the observed changes in V0 suggest that the myosin ATPase activity of the avian PLD increases between embryonic day 15 and the first 2 wk posthatching, and this change could account, at least in part, for some of the changes in the isometric properties that were measured.

The effect of denervation on the distribution of the polymorphic forms of troponin components in fast and slow muscles of the adult rat

The structure of a proprioceptor in the lateral hypodermal chords of Denotostoma californicum has been studied by light and electron microscopy. It is comprised of a sensory cell provided with a cilium situated in a terminal invagination. An accompanying dendrite forms a synaptic junction at the distal end of the sensory cell. This is the first fine structural description of this proprioceptor in the Enoplida.

Distribution and properties of myosin isozymes in developing avian and mammalian skeletal muscle fibers

Isozymes of myosin have been localized with respect to individual fibers in differentiating skeletal muscles of the rat and chicken using immunocytochemistry. The myosin light chain pattern has been analyzed in the same muscles by two-dimensional PAGE. In the muscles of both species, the response to antibodies against fast and slow adult myosin is consistent with the speed of contraction of the muscle. During early development, when speed of contraction is slow in future fast and slow muscles, all the fibers react strongly with anti-slow as well as with anti-fast myosin. As adult contractile properties are acquired, the fibers react with antibodies specific for either fast or slow myosin, but few fibers react with both antibodies. The myosin light chain pattern slow shows a change with development: the initial light chains (LC) are principally of the fast type, LC1(f), and LC2(f), independent of whether the embryonic muscle is destined to become a fast or a slow muscle in the adult. The LC3(f), light chain does not appear in significant amounts until after birth, in agreement with earlier reports. The predominance of fast light chains during early stages of development is especially evident in the rat soleus and chicken ALD, both slow muscles, in which LC1(f), is gradually replaced by the slow light chain, LC1(s), as development proceeds. Other features of the light chain pattern include an "embryonic" light chain in fetal and neonatal muscles of the rat, as originally demonstrated by R.G. Whalen, G.S. Butler- Browne, and F. Gros. (1978. J. Mol. Biol. 126:415-431.); and the presence of approximately 10 percent slow light chains in embryonic pectoralis, a fast white muscle in the adult chicken. The response of differentiating muscle fibers to anti-slow myosin antibody cannot, however, be ascribed solely to the presence of slow light chains, since antibody specific for the slow heavy chain continues to react with all the fibers. We conclude that during early development, the myosin consists of a population of molecules in which the heavy chain can be associated with a fast, slow, or embryonic light chain. Biochemical analysis has shown that this embryonic heavy chain (or chains) is distinct from adult fast or slow myosin (R.G. Whalen, K. Schwartz, P. Bouveret, S.M. Sell, and F. Gros. 1979. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76:5197-5201. J.I. Rushbrook, and A. Stracher. 1979. Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76:4331-4334. P.A. Benfield, S. Lowey, and D.D. LeBlanc. 1981. Biophys. J. 33(2, Pt. 2):243a[Abstr.]). Embryonic myosin, therefore, constitutes a unique class of molecules, whose synthesis ceases before the muscle differentiates into an adult pattern of fiber types.

Muscle protein analysis by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis

Two-dimensional electrophoresis was first applied to the analysis of muscle proteins in 1976 when the occurrence of multiple forms of actin was discovered. Since that time the technique has become widely accepted as a new approach to studies of myogenesis, muscle differentiation, and muscle pathology. In addition, two-dimensional electrophoresis now is being used to investigate contractile proteins present in nonmuscle cells. This review will discuss, in general, the technique of two-dimensional electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels which combines isoelectric focusing and sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis. The application of the technique specifically to muscle protein analysis will be discussed through a review of existing literature on two-dimensional electrophoresis of cultured muscle cells and tissue homogenates. Attention will be given to contractile protein heterogeneities such as alpha, beta, and gamma actin and the embryonic forms of myosin light chains, all discovered through the use of two-dimensional electrophoresis. New information concerning gene expression during muscle differentiation revealed by differences in two-dimensional electrophoresis protein patterns and the use of two-dimensional electrophoresis for studying human muscle pathology through analysis of tissue biopsies will also be discussed.

Development of contractile properties in avian embryonic skeletal muscle

The development of the twitch and tetanic responses of the embryonic chick posterior latissimus dorsi muscle has been studied during the last week in ovo. Normalized twitch and tetanic forces increased 3- and 12-fold, respectively, during this period. The changes in the kinetics of the twitch and tetanic responses differed during this developmental period. The time to peak twitch force progressively decreased. The decrease in time to half-peak tetanic force and the increase in the time differential of force production of the tetanic response did not continue after day 18. A prolonged tonic contractile component was described for both the twitch and tetanic responses, particularly in muscles from the younger embryos (days 14-18). A large decrease in the time to one-half relaxation of the twitch response also takes place during the final week in ovo. This detailed description of the development of the contractile properties provides a model system of fast-twitch muscle development in which neurogenic and myogenic components of muscular differentiation can be studied from several approaches.

Development of muscle fiber specialization in the rat hindlimb

The appearance of fast and slow fiber types in the distal hindlimb of the rat was investigated using affinity-purified antibodies specific to adult fast and slow myosins, two-dimensional electrophoresis of myosin light chains, and electron microscope examination of developing muscle cells. As others have noted, muscle histogenesis is not synchronous; rather, a series of muscle fiber generations occurs, each generation forming along the walls of the previous generation. At the onset of myotube formation on the 15th d of gestation, the antimyosin antibodies do not distinguish among fibers. All fibers react strongly with antibody to fast myosin but not with antibody to slow myosin. The initiation of fiber type differentiation can be detected in the 17-d fetus by a gradual increase in the binding of antibody to slow myosin in the primary, but not the secondary, generation myotubes. Moreover, neuromuscular contacts at this crucial time are infrequent, primitive, and restricted predominantly, but not exclusively, to the primary generation cells, the same cells which begin to bind large amounts of antislow myosin at this time. With maturation, the primary generation cells decrease their binding of antifast myosin and become type I fibers. Secondary generation cells are initially all primitive type II fibers. In future fast muscles the secondary generation cells remain type II, while in future slow muscles most of the secondary generation cells eventually change to type I over a prolonged postnatal period. We conclude that the temporal sequence of muscle development is fundamentally important in determining the genetic expression of individual muscle cells.

Characterization of human muscle myosins with respect to the light chains

Isolated myosins from human predominantly fast and slow muscles, human neonatal and foetal muscle were examined for light chain composition by one- and two-dimensional electrophoresis. The LC1F, LC2F and LC3F light chains were identical with their counterparts from rabbit fast myosin. Human LC1S was identified by correlative criteria as a single component having a molecular weight slightly lower than, but an electric charge similar to, that of rabbit LC1Sb. Consequently, human LC1S appears to be much less heterogeneous relative to LC1F than is the case with other mammalian species. A high immunological cross-reactivity was likewise observed, with antibody specific to rabbit LC1F, between the isolated myosins from several human mixed muscles and rabbit fast myosin, though reactivity was highest with foetal myosin (having a pure-fast-light-chain pattern).

Myosin light chains and the developmental origin of fast muscle

Physiological characteristics of embryonic and fetal fast muscle function are similar to those of adult slow muscles, whereas most biochemical data suggest that embryonic and fetal fast muscles contain only fast muscle myosin. In the studies reported here, myofibrillar preparations from developing avian pectoral muscle (fast muscle) were isolated and analyzed for myosin light-chain type and synthesis. These analyses show that early in development avian fast muscle synthesizes and assembles myofibrils with light chains of both slow and fast myosins. Later in development, fast muscle no longer assembles myofibrils containing slow myosin light chains due to the cessation of synthesis of slow myosin light chains in mid-development. These in vivo studies indicate that the more developmentally primitive type of skeletal muscle is one that synthesizes both slow and fast myosin light chains independent of its anatomic location, and an event(s) late in fast muscle development results in the repression of synthesis of slow myosin light chains.

Mechanical properties and myosin light chain composition of skinned muscle fibres from adult and new-born rabbits

1. The maximum velocity of shortening, Vmax, and stiffness were measured in skinned single fibre segments from psoas and soleus muscles of adult rabbits and psoas muscles of new-born rabbits, and the myosin light chain composition was also determined in the same segments used in the mechanical studies. 2. Vmax was obtained at 15 degrees C during maximal activation at pCa 5.49 using a method involving measurement of the time required to take up various amounts of slack imposed on the segments. Stiffness was measured during activation at 10 degrees C by application of length steps complete in 0.6 msec. The myosin light chain composition of the segments was then determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 3. Only fast type light chains were found to be present in the psoas fibre segments, though the relative amounts of myosin LC1f, LC2f and LC3f in these segments was somewhat variable. In most instances, the sum of the amounts of LC1f and LC3f present was equivalent to the amount of LC2f. Only slow type light chains were found in the soleus segments and the sum of the amounts of LC1as and LC1bs was about equal to the amount of LC2s. 4. The results indicate that there are no consistent relationships between Vmax, tension development or stiffness and LC1f/LC2f in the segments from adult and new-born psoas muscles, or between these mechanical parameters and LC1as/LC2s or LC1bs/LC2s in the adult soleus segments. However, the psoas segments, which had light chains of the fast type, had Vmax values that were consistently higher than those of the soleus segments, which had light chains of the slow type. 5. The stiffness values obtained in each of the three kinds of muscle were similar, suggesting that cross-bridge stiffness is similar in rabbit skeletal muscles of different type and age. Moreover, the results indicate that the amount of end compliance introduced by the connections to the fibre segments has a marked influence on the stiffness that is measured.

Contractile, biochemical, and histochemical properties of thyrotoxic rat soleus muscle

The effects of thyrotoxicosis on the contractile properties of soleus muscle were examined in rats given 3 mg of T4 and 1 mg of T3 per kg of diet for 6--8 wk. Thyrotoxicosis induced significant decreases in isometric twitch contraction time (CT), one-half relaxation time, and peak twitch tension. The Ca2+ uptake activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) was increased in the thyrotoxic muscles; this adaptation in the SR provides a possible mechanism for the alterations in isometric contractile properties. Thyrotoxicosis induced a large increase in fibers classified as type 2, on the basis of an alkali-stable histochemical reaction for ATPase, in the soleus. Although this reaction is commonly interpreted as indicating that a muscle is fast, maximum shortening velocity (Vmax) and Mg2+ activated actomyosin ATPase activity were unaffected in the thyrotoxic soleus. Our findings provide evidence that CT and Vmax can vary independently and that the histochemical ATPase reaction may not always reflect the biochemical properties that make myosin fast or slow.

Fast and slow myosin within single skeletal muscle fibres of adult rabbits

There is good evidence for the coexistence of different myosin types both in developing muscles and in Purkinje cells from adult chicken hearts. In skeletal muscle fibres of adult animals, however, coexistence of fast (FM) and slow (SM) myosin has only been demonstrated after long-term electrical stimulation. The term 'promiscuity' has recently been coined to describe the coexistence of different myosin isoenzymes within a single fibre. Using novel, refined immunological methods we demonstrate here the presence of both FM and SM within single fibres of the musculus tibialis anterior of adult rabbits. Essentially identical results were also obtained with other muscles. Our findings imply that the genes coding for FM and SM can be expressed simultaneously within the same cell throughout an animal's entire life, and not only during development or after artificial electrical stimulation.