The skeleton, support and movement

Author(s):  
Derek Burton ◽  
Margaret Burton

Buoyancy largely supports fish, reducing the role of the skeleton, which functions as an attachment for muscle involved in movement and in protection, as exoskeleton (scales, scutes, bony plates) and as endoskeleton (vertebral column, skull). The general organization of fish skeletons and their component parts are described, as well as bone and cartilage. The interesting occurrence of acellular bone, additional to cellular bone, in teleosts is considered. Fish show metameric segmentation with myotomes on either side of the vertebral column, the latter acting as a compression strut, preventing shortening. Myotome muscle is organized into linear units named sarcomeres which contract by means of protein fibres, myosin and actin, sliding past each other. Usually fish body wall muscles occur as a thin outer layer of aerobic red muscle, with an inner thick region of anaerobic white muscle. Interspecific variability in the relative roles of myotomes and fin musculature in swimming is discussed.

2004 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 621-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Hua Kuo ◽  
Hyonson Hwang ◽  
Man-Cheong Lee ◽  
Arthur L. Castle ◽  
John L. Ivy

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of insulin on skeletal muscle GLUT-4 protein expression and glycogen storage after postexercise carbohydrate supplementation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of six treatment groups: sedentary control (Con), Con with streptozocin (Stz/C), immediately postexercise (Ex0), Ex0 with Stz (Stz/Ex0), 5-h postexercise (Ex5), and Ex5 with Stz (Stz/Ex5). Rats were exercised by swimming (2 bouts of 3 h) and carbohydrate supplemented immediately after each exercise session by glucose intubation (1 ml of a 50% wt/vol). Stz was administered 72-h before exercise, which resulted in hyperglycemia and elimination of the insulin response to the carbohydrate supplement. GLUT-4 protein of Ex0 rats was 30% above Con in fast-twitch (FT) red and 21% above Con in FT white muscle. In Ex5, GLUT-4 protein was 52% above Con in FT red and 47% above Con in FT white muscle. Muscle glycogen in FT red and white muscle was also increased above Con in Ex5 rats. Neither GLUT-4 protein nor muscle glycogen was increased above Con in Stz/Ex0 or Stz/Ex5 rats. GLUT-4 mRNA in FT red muscle of Ex0 rats was 61% above Con but only 33% above Con in Ex5 rats. GLUT-4 mRNA in FT red muscle of Stz/C and Stz/Ex0 rats was similar but significantly elevated in Ex5/Stz rats. These results suggest that insulin is essential for the increase in GLUT-4 protein expression following postexercise carbohydrate supplementation.


Author(s):  
Lan Deng ◽  
Jack Denham ◽  
Charu Arya ◽  
Omer Yuval ◽  
Netta Cohen ◽  
...  

AbstractInhibition plays important roles in modulating the neural activities of sensory and motor systems at different levels from synapses to brain regions. To achieve coordinated movement, motor systems produce alternating contraction of antagonist muscles, whether along the body axis or within and among limbs. In the nematode C. elegans, a small network involving excitatory cholinergic and inhibitory GABAergic motoneurons generates the dorsoventral alternation of body-wall muscles that supports undulatory locomotion. Inhibition has been suggested to be necessary for backward undulation because mutants that are defective in GABA transmission exhibit a shrinking phenotype in response to a harsh touch to the head, whereas wild-type animals produce a backward escape response. Here, we demonstrate that the shrinking phenotype is exhibited by wild-type as well as mutant animals in response to harsh touch to the head or tail, but only GABA transmission mutants show slow locomotion after stimulation. Impairment of GABA transmission, either genetically or optogenetically, induces lower undulation frequency and lower translocation speed during crawling and swimming in both directions. The activity patterns of GABAergic motoneurons are different during low and high undulation frequencies. During low undulation frequency, GABAergic VD and DD motoneurons show similar activity patterns, while during high undulation frequency, their activity alternates. The experimental results suggest at least three non-mutually exclusive roles for inhibition that could underlie fast undulatory locomotion in C. elegans, which we tested with computational models: cross-inhibition or disinhibition of body-wall muscles, or inhibitory reset.Significance StatementInhibition serves multiple roles in the generation, maintenance, and modulation of the locomotive program and supports the alternating activation of antagonistic muscles. When the locomotor frequency increases, more inhibition is required. To better understand the role of inhibition in locomotion, we used C. elegans as an animal model, and challenged a prevalent hypothesis that cross-inhibition supports the dorsoventral alternation. We find that inhibition is related to the speed rather than the direction of locomotion and demonstrate that inhibition is unnecessary for muscle alternation during slow undulation in either direction but crucial to sustain rapid dorsoventral alternation. We combined calcium imaging of motoneurons and muscle with computational models to test hypotheses for the role of inhibition in locomotion.


2003 ◽  
Vol 161 (4) ◽  
pp. 757-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia M. Bosher ◽  
Bum-Soo Hahn ◽  
Renaud Legouis ◽  
Satis Sookhareea ◽  
Robby M. Weimer ◽  
...  

Morphogenesis of the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo is driven by actin microfilaments in the epidermis and by sarcomeres in body wall muscles. Both tissues are mechanically coupled, most likely through specialized attachment structures called fibrous organelles (FOs) that connect muscles to the cuticle across the epidermis. Here, we report the identification of new mutations in a gene known as vab-10, which lead to severe morphogenesis defects, and show that vab-10 corresponds to the C. elegans spectraplakin locus. Our analysis of vab-10 reveals novel insights into the role of this plakin subfamily. vab-10 generates isoforms related either to plectin (termed VAB-10A) or to microtubule actin cross-linking factor plakins (termed VAB-10B). Using specific antibodies and mutations, we show that VAB-10A and VAB-10B have distinct distributions and functions in the epidermis. Loss of VAB-10A impairs the integrity of FOs, leading to epidermal detachment from the cuticle and muscles, hence demonstrating that FOs are functionally and molecularly related to hemidesmosomes. We suggest that this isoform protects against forces external to the epidermis. In contrast, lack of VAB-10B leads to increased epidermal thickness during embryonic morphogenesis when epidermal cells change shape. We suggest that this isoform protects cells against tension that builds up within the epidermis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresia Zuleger ◽  
Julia Heinzelbecker ◽  
Zsuzsanna Takacs ◽  
Catherine Hunter ◽  
Jakob Voelkl ◽  
...  

Background/Aims. As autophagy is linked to several pathological conditions, like cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, it is crucial to understand its regulatory signaling network. In this study, we investigated the role of the serum- and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase 1 (SGK1) in the control of autophagy. Methods. To measure autophagic activity in vivo, we quantified the abundance of the autophagy conjugates LC3-PE (phosphatidylethanolamine) and ATG12-ATG5 in tissue extracts of SGK1 wild-type (Sgk1+/+) and knockout (Sgk1−/−) mice that were either fed or starved for 24 h prior sacrifice. In vitro, we targeted SGK1 by RNAi using GFP-WIPI1 expressing U-2 OS cells to quantify the numbers of cells displaying newly formed autophagosomes. In parallel, these cells were also assessed with regard to LC3 and ULK1 by quantitative Western blotting. Results. The abundance of both LC3-PE (LC3-II) and ATG12-ATG5 was significantly increased in red muscle tissues of SGK1 knockout mice. This was found in particular in fed conditions, suggesting that SGK1 may keep basal autophagy under control in red muscle in vivo. Under starved conditions, significant differences were observed in SGK1-deficient white muscle tissue and, under fed conditions, also in the liver. In vitro, we found that SGK1 silencing provoked a significant increase of cells displaying WIPI1-positive autophagosomes and autophagosomal LC3 (LC3-II). Moreover, autophagic flux assessments revealed that autophagic degradation significantly increased in the absence of SGK1, strongly suggesting that SGK1 inhibits both autophagosome formation and autophagic degradation in vitro. In addition, more ULK1 protein lacking the inhibitory, TORC1-specific phosphorylation at serine 758 was detected in the absence of SGK1. Conclusions. Combined, our data strongly support the idea that SGK1 inhibits the process of autophagy. Mechanistically, our data suggest that SGK1 should act upstream of ULK1 in regulating autophagy, and we hypothesize that SGK1 contributes to the regulation of ULK1 gene expression.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Turek ◽  
Małgorzata Piechota ◽  
Katarzyna Banasiak ◽  
Nilesh Shanmugam ◽  
Matylda Macias ◽  
...  

AbstractOrganismal functionality and reproduction depend on metabolic rewiring and balanced energy resources. However, the crosstalk between organismal homeostasis and fecundity, and the associated paracrine signaling mechanisms are still poorly understood. Using the Caenorhabditis elegans we discovered that large extracellular vesicles termed exophers, attributed in neurons and cardiomyocytes to the removal of damaged subcellular components, are released by body wall muscles to support embryonic growth. We found that exopher formation (exopheresis) is a non-cell autonomous process regulated by egg formation in the uterus. Our data suggest that exophers serve as transporters for muscle-generated yolk proteins used for nourishing and improving the growth rate of the next generation. We propose that the primary role of muscular exopheresis is to stimulate the reproductive capacity, thereby influencing the adaptation of worm populations to the current environmental conditions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather L. Bennett ◽  
Patrick D. McClanahan ◽  
Christopher Fang-Yen ◽  
Robert G. Kalb

AbstractFor most metazoans, oxygen deprivation leads to cell dysfunction and if severe, death. Sublethal stress prior to a hypoxic or anoxic insult (“preconditioning”) can protect cells from subsequent oxygen deprivation. The molecular mechanisms by which sublethal stress can buffer against a subsequent toxic insult and the role of the nervous system in the response are not well understood. We studied the role of neuronal activity preconditioning to oxygen deprivation in C. elegans. Animals expressing the histamine gated chloride channels (HisCl1) in select cell populations were used to temporally and spatially inactivate the nervous system or tissue prior to an anoxic insult. We find that inactivation of the nervous system for 3 hours prior to the insult confers resistance to a 48-hour anoxic insult in 4th-stage larval animals. Experiments show that this resistance can be attributed to loss of activity in cholinergic and GABAergic neurons as well as in body wall muscles. These observations indicate that the nervous system activity can mediate the organism’s response to anoxia.


1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 736-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. Hochachka ◽  
M. Guppy ◽  
H. E. Guderley ◽  
K. B. Storey ◽  
W. C. Hulbert

To delineate what modifications in muscle metabolic biochemistry correlate with transition to air breathing in fishes, the myotomal muscles of aruana, an obligate water breather, and Arapaima, a related obligate air breather, were compared using electron microscopy and enzyme methods. White muscle in both species maintained a rather similar ultrastructure, characterized by large-diameter fibers, very few mitochondria, and few capillaries. However, aruana white muscle displayed nearly fivefold higher levels of pyruvate kinase, threefold higher levels of muscle-type lactate dehydrogenase, and a fourfold higher ratio of fructose diphosphatase –phosphofructokinase activity; at the same time, enzymes in aerobic metabolism occurred at about one-half the levels in Arapaima. Red muscle was never found in the myotomal mass of aruana, but in Arapaima, red muscle was present and seemed fueled by glycogen, lipid droplets never being observed. From these and other data, it was concluded that in myotomal muscle two processes correlate with the transition to air breathing in Amazon osteoglossids: firstly, an emphasis in oxidative metabolism, and secondly, a retention of red muscle. However, compared with more active water-breathing species, Arapaima sustains an overall dampening of enzyme activities in its myotomal muscle, which because of the large myotome mass explains why its overall metabolic rate is relatively low. By keeping the oxidative capacity of its myotomal muscle low, Arapaima automatically conserves O2 either for a longer time or for other more O2-requiring organs in the body, a perfectly understandable strategy for an air-breathing, diving fish, comparable with that observed in other diving vertebrates. A similar comparison was also made of two erythrinid fishes, one that skimmed the O2-rich surface layers of water and one that obtained three quarters of its O2 from water, one quarter from air. Ultrastructural and enzyme data led to the unexpected conclusion that the surface skimmer sustained a higher oxidative capacity in its myotomal muscles than did the facultative air breather.


1972 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 551-567
Author(s):  
T. YAMAMOTO

1. Electrical and mechanical properties of the red muscle (M. levator pinnae pectoralis) and white muscle (M. levator pinnae lateralis abdominis) in the silver carp (Carassius auratus Linné) were investigated by using caffeine and thymol. 2. A complete tetanus could be produced in the red muscle. But in the white muscle no tetanus was produced and there was a gradual decrease in tension during continuous stimulation, even at a frequency of 1 c/s or less. 3. Caffeine (0.5-1 mM) and thymol (0.25-0.5 mM) potentiated the twitch tension in both muscles without an increase in the resting tension; they produced a contracture in both muscles when the concentration was increased further. 4. The falling phase of the active state of contraction was nearly the same in both muscles and was prolonged by caffeine (0.5 mmM) and by thymol (0.25 mM). 5. The resting membrane potential of the red muscle was scarcely affected by caffeine (0.5-5 mM), whereas in the white muscles a depolarization of 10 mV was observed with caffeine of more than 2 mM. The resting potential of both muscles was little changed by o.25 mm thymol. However, at a concentration of more than 0.5mM thymol depolarized the membrane in both muscles to the same extent. 6. In caffeine (2-3 mM) solution the mean specific membrane resistance was reduced from 8.8 kΩ cm2 to 6.0 kΩ cm2 in the red muscle, and from 5.0 kΩ cm2 to 2.7 kΩ cm2 in the white muscle. In thymol (0.5-1 mM) solution it was reduced from 11.2 kΩcm2 to 6.5 kΩ cm2 in the red muscle, and from 5.4kΩ cm2 to 3.1 kΩ) cm2 in the white muscle. The specific membrane capacitance, calculated from the time constant and the membrane resistance, remained more or less the same in both muscles after a treatment with these agents. 7. Electrical properties of the muscles and the effects of caffeine and thymol on mechanical responses suggest that there are no fundamental differences between red and white muscles except for the excitation-contraction coupling. A lack of summation of twitch, a successive decline of twitch, and inability to produce potassium contracture in the white muscle may be due to the fact that the Ca-releasing mechanism is easily inactivated by depolarization of the membrane.


1960 ◽  
Vol s3-101 (54) ◽  
pp. 149-176
Author(s):  
R. B. CLARK ◽  
M. E. CLARK

Nephtys lacks circular body-wall muscles. The chief antagonists of the longitudinal muscles are the dorso-ventral muscles of the intersegmental body-wall. The worm is restrained from widening when either set of muscles contracts by the combined influence of the ligaments, some of the extrinsic parapodial muscles, and possibly, to a limited extent, by the septal muscles. Although the septa are incomplete, they can and do form a barrier to the transmission of coelomic fluid from one segment to the next under certain conditions, particularly during eversion of the proboscis. Swimming is by undulatory movements of the body but the distal part of the parapodia execute a power-stroke produced chiefly by the contraction of the acicular muscles. It is suspected that the extrinsic parapodial muscles, all of which are inserted in the proximal half of the parapodium, serve to anchor the parapodial wall at the insertion of the acicular muscles and help to provide a rigid point of insertion for them. Burrowing is a cyclical process involving the violent eversion of the proboscis which makes a cavity in the sand. The worm is prevented from slipping backwards by the grip the widest segments have on the sides of the burrow. The proboscis is retracted and the worm crawls forward into the cavity it has made. The cycle is then repeated. Nephtys possesses a unique system of elastic ligaments of unusual structure. The anatomy of the system is described. The function of the ligaments appears to be to restrain the body-wall and parapodia from unnecessary and disadvantageous dilatations during changes of body-shape, and to serve as shock-absorbers against the high, transient, fluid pressures in the coelom, which are thought to accompany the impact of the proboscis against the sand when the worm is burrowing. From what is known of its habits, Nephtys is likely to undertake more burrowing than most other polychaetes.


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