Background: Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) rehabilitation remains a challenge for physical therapists because PNI effects are very disabling. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been described as a physical resource that is able to influence enzymes called metallopeptidases (MMPs) associated with extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover, thus accelerating neuromuscular recovery after nerve crush injur...

The effects of lanthanum on the resting membrane potential, action potential, membrane resistance, twitch tension, and potassium contracture were investigated and the localization of the drug was studied electron microscopically in isolated frog ventricular muscle. Lanthanum in concentration of 0.2 to 5 mM decreased the resting potential by about 5-8 mV, which was accompanied by an increase in ...

Perilipins (PLINs) coat the surface of lipid droplets and are important for the regulation of lipid turnover. Knowledge about the physiological role of the individual PLINs in skeletal muscle is limited although lipid metabolism is very important for muscle contraction. To determine the effect of long-term exercise on PLINs expression, 26 middle-aged, sedentary men underwent 12 weeks combined e...

The specification and morphogenesis of slow and fast twitch muscle fibers are crucial for muscle development. In zebrafish, Hedgehog is required for slow muscle fiber specification. However, less is known about signals that promote development of fast muscle fibers, which constitute the majority of somitic cells. We show that when Hedgehog signaling is blocked, fast muscle cell elongation is di...

Increases in contraction-stimulated glucose transport in fast-twitch rat epitrochlearis muscle are mediated by AMPK- and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CAMK)-dependent signaling pathways. However, recent studies provide evidence suggesting that contraction-stimulated glucose transport in slow-twitch skeletal muscle is mediated through an AMPK-independent pathway. The purpose of the p...

Rat extensor digitorum longus muscles were transversely sliced into 7-8 segments. The muscle slices were autografted back into their original beds. In one series the recipient limbs were normal and in the other, limbs were denervated. At postoperative intervals of 7, 14, 30, and 60 days, the contractile properties (latency period, contraction and half relaxation times, time parameters of contra...

One of the main factors that control vasoreactivity and angiogenesis is nitric oxide produced by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). We recently showed that knocking out eNOS induces an important reduction of mitochondrial oxidative capacity in slow-twitch skeletal muscle. Here we investigated eNOS's role in physical activity and contribution to adaptation of muscle energy metabolism to e...

In skeletal muscle, two major types of muscle fibers exist: slow-twitch oxidative (type I) fibers designed for low-intensity long-lasting contractions, and fast-twitch glycolytic (type II) fibers designed for high-intensity short-duration contractions. Such a wide range of capabilities has emerged through the selection across fiber types of a narrow set of molecular characteristics suitable to ...

Pircher, P., P. Chomez, F. Yu, B. Vennström, and L. Larsson. Aberrant expression of myosin isoforms in skeletal muscles from mice lacking the rev-erbA orphan receptor gene. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 288: R482–R490, 2005. First published September 16, 2004; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00690.2003.—The rev-erbA orphan protein belongs to the steroid nuclear receptor superfamily. No ligand has ...