Distribution of motor nerve sproutings in the mouse gastrocnemius muscle after partial denervation

1985 ◽  
Vol 330 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kojun Torigoe
1994 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. 2663-2671 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Einsiedel ◽  
A. R. Luff

The aim of the study was to determine whether increased motoneuron activity induced by treadmill walking would alter the extent of motoneuron sprouting in the partially denervated rat medial gastrocnemius muscle. An extensive partial denervation was effected by unilateral section of the L5 ventral root, and it is very likely that all units remaining in the medial gastrocnemius were used in treadmill walking. Rats were trained for 1.5 h/day and after 14 days were walking at least 1 km/day. Motor unit characteristics were determined 24 days after the partial denervation and were compared with units from partially denervated control (PDC) animals and with units from normal (control) animals. In PDC rats, force developed by slow, fast fatigue-resistant, and fast intermediate-fatigable motor units increased substantially compared with control animals; that of fast-fatigable units did not increase. In partially denervated exercised animals, force developed by slow and fast-fatigue-resistant units showed no further increase, but fast-intermediate- and fast-fatigable units showed significant increases compared with those in PDC animals. The changes in force were closely paralleled by changes in innervation ratios. We concluded that neuronal activity is an important factor in determining the rate of motoneuron sprouting.


1982 ◽  
Vol 242 (5) ◽  
pp. C272-C277 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Henriksson ◽  
H. Galbo ◽  
E. Blomstrand

The sciatic nerve was cut on one side in 11 male cats, and a piece of the nerve was removed. The cats were then divided at random into two groups, a stimulation group (S) of five cats and a control group (C) of six cats. Bilateral electrical stimulation (2 Hz) of the gastrocnemius muscle (directly or via the motor nerve) was carried out in the S cats 4 h/day, 3 days/wk for 4 wk. The voltage delivered was adjusted in each cat so that both gastrocnemius muscles lifted identical loads the same distance. The activity of the tricarboxylic acid cycle marker enzyme succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) per unit of muscle weight more than doubled in response to stimulation both in the intact and the denervated gastrocnemius muscle. Stimulation did not affect the activity of the glycolytic marker enzyme 6-phosphofructokinase (PFK) or muscle capillarization. Denervation resulted in pronounced (approx 50%) fiber atrophy, which was not prevented by the stimulation. It is concluded that the presence of the motor nerve per se is not necessary for an activity-induced adaptation of the oxidative capacity of skeletal muscle.


2018 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 815-824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosuke Shintani ◽  
Takuya Uemura ◽  
Kiyohito Takamatsu ◽  
Takuya Yokoi ◽  
Ema Onode ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVEPeripheral nerve adhesion caused by extraneural and intraneural scar formation after neurolysis leads to nerve dysfunction. The authors previously developed a novel very flexible biodegradable nerve conduit composed of poly(L-lactide) and poly(ε-caprolactone) for use in peripheral nerve regeneration. In the present study, they investigated the effect of protective nerve wrapping on preventing adhesion in a rat sciatic nerve adhesion model.METHODSRat sciatic nerves were randomly assigned to one of the following four groups: a no-adhesion group, which involved neurolysis alone without an adhesion procedure; an adhesion group, in which the adhesion procedure was performed after neurolysis, but no treatment was subsequently administered; a nerve wrap group, in which the adhesion procedure was performed after neurolysis and protective nerve wrapping was then performed with the nerve conduit; and a hyaluronic acid (HA) group, in which the adhesion procedure was performed after neurolysis and nerve wrapping was then performed with a 1% sodium HA viscous solution. Six weeks postoperatively, the authors evaluated the extent of scar formation using adhesion scores and biomechanical and histological examinations and assessed nerve function with electrophysiological examination and gastrocnemius muscle weight measurement.RESULTSIn the adhesion group, prominent scar tissue surrounded the nerve and strongly adhered to the nerve biomechanically and histologically. The motor nerve conduction velocity and gastrocnemius muscle weight were the lowest in this group. Conversely, the adhesion scores were significantly lower, motor nerve conduction velocity was significantly higher, and gastrocnemius muscle weight was significantly higher in the nerve wrap group than in the adhesion group. Additionally, the biomechanical breaking strength was significantly lower in the nerve wrap group than in the adhesion group and HA group. The morphological properties of axons in the nerve wrap group were preserved. Intraneural macrophage invasion, as assessed by the number of CD68- and CCR7-positive cells, was less severe in the nerve wrap group than in the adhesion group.CONCLUSIONSThe nerve conduit prevented post-neurolysis peripheral nerves from developing adhesion and allowed them to maintain their nerve function because it effectively blocked scarring and prevented adhesion-related damage in the peripheral nerves.


1992 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 1261-1276 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. F. Rafuse ◽  
T. Gordon ◽  
R. Orozco

1. To determine the capacity of motoneurons to increase their motor unit (MU) size by collateral sprouting and to assess this capacity in relation to the size of the motor nerve, we partially denervated soleus, lateral gastrocnemius (LG), and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscles in adult and neonatal cats. Isometric force and extracellular nerve potentials were recorded from > or = 7% of the remaining MUs, 2.5-18 mo later. S1 or L7 roots were sectioned unilaterally and the number of remaining MUs was quantified by use of charge and force measurements. 2. The mean unit force increased inversely with MU number in partially denervated muscles, but the increase was less than predicted for extensive denervations (> or = 90%). The same enlargement of MU size occurred whether muscles were partially denervated in neonatal or adult animals. 3. The force distribution of MUs in partially denervated muscles was similar to normal but was shifted to larger force values in direct proportion to the extent of partial denervation (PD). All MUs increased in size by the same factor to preserve the normal force distribution. 4. Normal size relationships among force, contractile speed, and axon potential amplitude were observed for MUs in partially denervated muscles. Because changes in muscle fiber size could not account for the increase in unit force, these data show that increase in MU size, with respect to unit force and innervation ratio (muscle fibers per motoneuron), is proportional to the size of the motor nerve. 5. Enlargement of MU size in partially denervated muscles did not have a retrograde effect on nerve fiber caliber because axon potential amplitude and conduction velocity were not changed after PD. 6. Under conditions of extensive PD (> 85%), regenerated nerves from the cut spinal root reinnervated the gastrocnemius muscles. It is likely that nerves supplied muscle fibers that were not innervated by sprouts from nerves in the uncut root as well as displacing sprouts from terminals in extensively enlarged MUs. 7. We conclude that all motoneurons within a motor pool compensate for partial nerve injuries by collateral sprouting and that enlargement of MU size is a function of motor nerve size, consistent with Henneman's size principle.


Author(s):  
G.E. Visscher ◽  
R. L. Robison ◽  
G. J. Argentieri

The use of various bioerodable polymers as drug delivery systems has gained considerable interest in recent years. Among some of the shapes used as delivery systems are films, rods and microcapsules. The work presented here will deal with the techniques we have utilized for the analysis of the tissue reaction to and actual biodegradation of injectable microcapsules. This work has utilized light microscopic (LM), transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopic techniques. The design of our studies has utilized methodology that would; 1. best characterize the actual degradation process without artifacts introduced by fixation procedures and 2. allow for reproducible results.In our studies, the gastrocnemius muscle of the rat was chosen as the injection site. Prior to the injection of microcapsules the skin above the sites was shaved and tattooed for later recognition and recovery. 1.0 cc syringes were loaded with the desired quantity of microcapsules and the vehicle (0.5% hydroxypropylmethycellulose) drawn up. The syringes were agitated to suspend the microcapsules in the injection vehicle.


2016 ◽  
Vol 224 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten M. Klingner ◽  
Stefan Brodoehl ◽  
Gerd F. Volk ◽  
Orlando Guntinas-Lichius ◽  
Otto W. Witte

Abstract. This paper reviews adaptive and maladaptive mechanisms of cortical plasticity in patients suffering from peripheral facial palsy. As the peripheral facial nerve is a pure motor nerve, a facial nerve lesion is causing an exclusive deefferentation without deafferentation. We focus on the question of how the investigation of pure deefferentation adds to our current understanding of brain plasticity which derives from studies on learning and studies on brain lesions. The importance of efference and afference as drivers for cortical plasticity is discussed in addition to the crossmodal influence of different competitive sensory inputs. We make the attempt to integrate the experimental findings of the effects of pure deefferentation within the theoretical framework of cortical responses and predictive coding. We show that the available experimental data can be explained within this theoretical framework which also clarifies the necessity for maladaptive plasticity. Finally, we propose rehabilitation approaches for directing cortical reorganization in the appropriate direction and highlight some challenging questions that are yet unexplored in the field.


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