Spontaneous regeneration of the gastrocnemius muscle of the frog. Rana tigrina

Regeneration of frog twitch and slow muscle fibers after mincing

Iliofibularis muscles of Rana temporaria were minced and allowed to regenerate in the iliofibularis or the sartorius bed of the same frog. Regenerated muscles were examined for the presence of slow muscle fibers using electrophysiologic, histochemical, and contractile parameters. Muscle regeneration from sartorius mince was also studied. Regeneration was more successful from iliofibularis than from sartorius mince, and the iliofibularis bed was more favorable for regeneration than the sartorius bed for both types of muscle. Twitch fibers regenerated within a few months, but slow fibers could not be identified earlier than 14 months after muscle destruction. Slow muscle fibers regenerated only from iliofibularis mince, both orthotopically and heterotopically. All regenerates capable of maintaining a K-contracture contained histochemically identified slow fibers; the membrane properties of electrophysiologically identified slow fibers were normal. It is concluded that slow muscle fibers regenerate only from the remnants of a muscle that contains slow fibers. The results are discussed with respect to the role of innervating nerve fibers.