Abstract
Single fibres were isolated from the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and the soleus (SOL) muscles of the hindlimb from young male Wistar rats which had undergone a 10-week programme of endurance swimming from the age of 2 weeks. Fibres were mechanically skinned and activated with Ca2+- and Sr2+ -buffered solutions. Muscle fibres were classified by means of well-defined criteria concerning various aspects of their contractile behaviour. Most fibres could be allocated into specific groups; however, a significant proportion (13% of the sampled population) did not fit these rigid classifications but displayed contractile activation characteristics common to more than one fibre type. In these cases models which used a combination of both fast- and slow-twitch contractile and regulatory properties were used to characterise the activation behaviour of fibres. It is proposed that the exercise, initiated at a young age, induced changes in the contractile characteristics of the single fibres by modifying protein isoforms of the contractile apparatus.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Appelt D, Buenviaje B, Champ C, Franzini-Armstrong C (1989) Quantitation of ‘junctional feet’ content in two types of muscle fiber from hind limb muscles of the rat. Tissue Cell 21:783–794
Ariano MA, Armstrong RB, Edgerton VR (1973) Hindlimb muscle fibre populations of five mammals. J Histochem Cytochem 21:51–55
Armstrong RB, Phelps RO (1984) Muscle fibre type composition of the rat hindlimb. Am J Anat 171:259–272
Barnard RJ, Edgerton VR, Peter JB (1970) Effect of exercise on skeletal muscle. II. Contractile properties. J Appl Physiol 28:767–770
Baumann H, Jaggi M, Soland F, Howald H, Straub MC (1987) Exercise training induces transitions of myosin isoform subunits within histochemically typed human muscle fibres. Pflügers Arch 409:349–360
Binkhorst RA (1969) The effect of training on some isometric contraction characteristics of a fast muscle. Pflügers Arch 309:193–202
Elder GCB, Vassallo F (1986) Histochemical and contractile properties of soleus muscle trained during development. Pflügers Arch 407:166–169
Exner GU, Staudte HW, Pette D (1973) Isometric training of rats — Effect upon fast and slow muscle and modification by an anabolic hormone (Nandrolone Decenoate) II Male rats. Pflügers Arch 345:15–22
Fink RHA, Stephenson DG, Williams DA (1986) Calcium and strontium activation of single skinned muscle fibres of normal and dystrophic mice. J Physiol(Lond) 373:513–525
Fink RHA, Stephenson DG, Williams DA (1990) Physiological properties of skinned fibres from normal and dystrophic (Duchenne) human muscle activated by Ca2+ and Sr2+. J Physiol (Lond) 420:337–353
Fitts RH, Campion D, Nagle F, Cassens R (1973) Contractile properties of skeletal muscle from trained miniature pig. Pflügers Arch 343:133–141
Fitts RH, Holloszy JO (1977) Contractile properties of rat soleus muscle: effects of training and fatigue. Am J Physiol 233:C86-C91
Fitts RH, Courtwright JB, Kim DH, Witzmann FA (1982) Muscle fatigue with prolonged exercise: contractile and biochemical alterations. Am J Physiol 242:C65-C73
Fitts RH, Costill DL, Gardetto PR (1989) Effect of swim exercise training on human-muscle fibre function. J Appl Physiol 66:465–475
Goubel F, Marini JF (1987) Fibre type transition and stiffness modification of soleus muscle of trained rats. Pflügers Arch 410:321–325
Green HJ, Klug GA, Reichmann H, Seedorf U, Wieher W, Pette D (1984) Exercise-induced fibre type transitions with regard to myosin, parvalbumin and sarcoplasmic reticulum in muscles of the rat. Pflügers Arch 400:432–438
Klitgaard H, Marc A, Brunet H, Vanewalle H, Monod H (1989) Contractile properties of old rat muscles: effect of increased use. J Appl Physiol 67:1401–1408
Klug GA, Tibbits GF (1988) The effects of activity on calcium-mediated events in striated muscle. In: Pandolf KB (ed) Exercise and sports science reviews, vol 16. MacMillan, New York, pp 1–59
Kovanen V, Suominen H (1987) Effects of age and life-time physical training on fibre-composition of slow and fast skeletal muscle in rats. Pflügers Arch 408:543–551
Luginbuhl AJ, Dudley GA, Staron RS (1984) Fiber type changes in rat skeletal muscle after intense interval training. Histochem 81:55–58
Lynch GS, Williams DA, Stephenson DG (1988) Endurance exercise affects contractile properties of mammalian skeletal muscle. Proc Aust Physiol Pharmacol Soc 19:72 P
Lynch GS, Stephenson DG, Williams DA (1989a) Effect of endurance exercise on Ca2+- and Sr2+-activated single muscle fibres of the rat. Proc Aust Physiol Pharmacol Soc 20:57 P
Lynch GS, McKenna MJ, Williams DA (1989) Sprint-training and the effect of lowered pH on some contractile properties of human skeletal muscle fibres. Proc Aust Physiol Pharmacol Soc 20:165 P
Lynch GS, Stephenson DG, Williams DA (1990) Modelling Ca2+- and Sr2+-activation characteristics in skinned muscle fibre preparations with different proportions of myofibrillar isoforms. Proc Aust Physiol Pharmacol Soc 21:68 P
Maltin CA, Delday MI, Baillie AGS, Grubb DA, Garlick PJ (1989) Fiber-type composition of nine rat muscles. I. Changes during the first year of life. Am J Physiol 257:E823-E827
Melichna J, Mackova EV, Semiginovsky B, Tolar M, Stichova J, Slavicek A, Vankova S, Bartainek Z (1987) Effects of exercise on muscle fibre composition and enzyme activities of skeletal muscles in young rats. Physiol Bohemoslov 36:321–328
Moisescu DG (1976) Kinetics of reaction in calcium-activated skinned muscle fibres. Nature 262:610–613
Moisescu DG, Thieleczek R (1978) Calcium and strontium concentration changes within skinned muscle preparations following a change in the external bathing solution. J Physiol (Lond) 278:241–262
Pette D (1984) Activity-induced fast to slow transitions in mammalian muscle. Med Sci Sports Exerc 16:517–528
Schantz PG, Dhoot GK (1987) Coexistence of slow and fast isoforms of contractile and regulatory proteins in human skeletal muscle fibres induced by endurance training. Acta Physiol Scand 131:147–154
Staudte HW, Exner GU, Pette D (1973) Effects of short-term, high-intensity (sprint) training on some contractile and metabolic characteristics of fast and slow muscle of the rat. Pflügers Arch 344:159–168
Stephenson DG, Williams DA (1981) Calcium-activated force responses in fast and slowt-witch skinned muscle fibres of the rat at different temperatures. J Physiol (Lond) 317:281–302
Wilson GJ, Stephenson DG (1990) Calcium and strontium activation characteristics of skeletal muscle fibres from the small marsupial Sminthopsis macroura. J Muscle Res Cell Motil 11:25–40
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lynch, G.S., Stephenson, D. & Williams, D.A. Endurance exercise effects on the contractile properties of single, skinned skeletal muscle fibres of young rats. Pflügers Archiv 418, 161–167 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00370466
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00370466