C57BL/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2) strains and two derivative populations, BXD recombinant inbred strains (BXD RIs) and B6D2F2, were used to explore genetic basis for variation in muscle weight at 500 days of age. In parallel with findings in 200-day-old mice (Lionikas A, Blizard DA, Vandenbergh DJ, Glover MG, Stout JT, Vogler GP, McClearn GE, and Larsson L. Physiol Genomics 16: 141-152, 2003), weig...

In order to study mechanisms of muscle denervation atrophy, a locomotor training on a treadmill was applied to denervated rat soleus muscle. Ultrastructure of the treated muscles were investigated two months after denervation. It has been found that pathological changes caused by denervation were less pronounced in trained muscle comparing to untrained muscle. For example, the number of capilla...

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether endogenous factor(s) contributes to the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) during the early developmental stages of rat skeletal muscles. HSP72 was expressed in both the soleus and plantaris muscles at embryonic day 22 (E22). On the basis of myosin heavy chain (MHC) immunohistochemistry, HSP72 was specifically expressed in slow typ...

Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), a rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids, has recently been shown to be a critical control point in regulation of liver and skeletal muscle metabolism. Herein, we demonstrate that endurance training significantly increases both SCD1 mRNA and protein levels in the soleus muscle, whereas it does not affect SCD1 expression in the EDL ...

Diabetes mellitus induces a reduction in skeletal muscle mass and strength. Strength training is prescribed as part of treatment since it improves glycemic control and promotes increase of skeletal muscle mass. The mechanisms involved in overload-induced muscle hypertrophy elicited at the establishment of the type I diabetic state was investigated in Wistar rats. The purpose was to examine whet...

Soleus muscles in the rat were freely grafted alongside a normal Soleus muscle in the absence of mechanical trauma to any of the surrounding muscles or motor nerves . The object of this experiment was to determine whether or not the muscle grafts would become reinnervated under these circumstances . Contractile and histochemical properties of the grafts were compared with those of the contralat...

Reflex atrophy of the soleus muscle induced by ipsilateral metatarsal bone fracture in Sagatal-anesthetized adult male rats was studied by using two-dimensional stereological methods 7 days after the operation. When compared with contralateral solei, the wet weight of the experimental soleus muscles was decreased by approximately 24% and the area of the entire muscle section by approximately 29...

The level of intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) is a physiological marker of skeletal muscle function. (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is an established method to measure IMCL contents in vivo. However, all of the MR systems do not always contain measurement instruments for (1)H-MRS, thus in a clinical setting, alternative methods for estimation of IMCL content are needed. Here, we inves...

Guinea pig hindlimbs were unilaterally immobilized at resting length to evaluate histochemical, biochemical, and contractile properties of immobilized muscle. Contralateral limbs remained unrestrained. Four weeks later contractile properties were measured under chloral hydrate anesthesia. Average time-to-peak tension of the immobilized soleus was 30% less, whereas that of the gastrocnemius was ...

We compare comprehensive quantitative profiling of lipids at the molecular level from skeletal muscle tissues (gastrocnemius and soleus) of Zucker diabetic fatty rats and Zucker lean control rats during treadmill exercise by nanoflow liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Because type II diabetes is caused by decreased insulin sensitivity due to excess lipids accumulated in skeletal mu...