Human variation in skeletal muscle fiber-type proportion and enzyme activities

1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (4) ◽  
pp. E567-E572 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Simoneau ◽  
C. Bouchard

The purpose of the present study was to describe the extent of the variation in some of the common characteristics of human skeletal muscle. A total of 418 biopsies was obtained from the vastus lateralis muscle of 270 healthy sedentary and 148 physically active individuals of both sexes. The lowest and highest proportion of type I muscle fiber observed were 15 and 85%, respectively. Coefficients of variation (CV) reached approximately 30% for the proportion of types I and IIA fibers and were two times higher for the proportion of type IIB fiber. The smallest and largest mean muscle fiber cross-sectional areas (CSA) were approximately 1,100 microns 2 and 9,500 microns 2, respectively. Mean CSA of the various fiber types exhibited CV of approximately 23%. CV reached 30% for the activity of creatine kinase, ranged between 28 and 41% for the glycolytic enzyme markers, and between 34 and 44% for the aerobic-oxidative enzyme markers. The mean proportion of type I fiber was lower in male than in female muscles, whereas the mean CSA of all fiber types was smaller in female than in male muscles. Levels of glycolytic enzyme markers were higher in male than in female skeletal muscles. However, activities of aerobic-oxidative enzyme markers were similar in males and females. These results reveal the existence of large interindividual variability and gender differences in the most common characteristics of the human skeletal muscle.

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 292-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ildus I. Ahmetov ◽  
Olga L. Vinogradova ◽  
Alun G. Williams

The ability to perform aerobic or anaerobic exercise varies widely among individuals, partially depending on their muscle-fiber composition. Variability in the proportion of skeletal-muscle fiber types may also explain marked differences in aspects of certain chronic disease states including obesity, insulin resistance, and hypertension. In untrained individuals, the proportion of slow-twitch (Type I) fibers in the vastus lateralis muscle is typically around 50% (range 5–90%), and it is unusual for them to undergo conversion to fast-twitch fibers. It has been suggested that the genetic component for the observed variability in the proportion of Type I fibers in human muscles is on the order of 40–50%, indicating that muscle fiber-type composition is determined by both genotype and environment. This article briefly reviews current progress in the understanding of genetic determinism of fiber-type proportion in human skeletal muscle. Several polymorphisms of genes involved in the calcineurin–NFAT pathway, mitochondrial biogenesis, glucose and lipid metabolism, cytoskeletal function, hypoxia and angiogenesis, and circulatory homeostasis have been associated with fiber-type composition. As muscle is a major contributor to metabolism and physical strength and can readily adapt, it is not surprising that many of these gene variants have been associated with physical performance and athlete status, as well as metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Genetic variants associated with fiber-type proportions have important implications for our understanding of muscle function in both health and disease.


1993 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 1013-1021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Boudriau ◽  
M Vincent ◽  
C H Côté ◽  
P A Rogers

We used immunochemical quantification and indirect immunofluorescence to investigate the cell content, distribution, and organization of microtubules in adult rat slow-twitch soleus and fast-twitch vastus lateralis muscles. An immunoblotting assay demonstrated that the soleus muscle (primarily Type I fibers) was found to have a 1.7-fold higher relative content of alpha-tubulin compared with the superficial portion of the vastus lateralis muscle (primarily Type IIb fibers). Both physiological muscle types revealed a complex arrangement of microtubules which displayed oblique, longitudinal, and transverse orientations within the sarcoplasmic space. The predominance of any one particular orientation varied significantly from one muscle tissue section to another. Nuclei were completely surrounded by a dense net-like structure of microtubules. Both muscle fiber types were found to possess a higher density of microtubules in the subsarcolemmal region. These microtubules followed the contour of the sarcolemma in slightly contracted fibers and showed a fine punctate appearance indicative of a restricted distribution. The immunofluorescence results indicate that microtubules are associated with the sarcolemma and therefore may form a part of the membrane cytoskeletal domain of the muscle fiber. We conclude that the microtubule network of the adult mammalian skeletal muscle fiber constitutes a bone fide component of the exosarcomeric cytoskeletal lattice domain along with the intermediate filaments, and as such could therefore participate in the mechanical integration of the various organelles of the myofibers during the contraction-relaxation cycle.


2015 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. 699-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. L. Wyckelsma ◽  
M. J. McKenna ◽  
F. R. Serpiello ◽  
C. R. Lamboley ◽  
R. J. Aughey ◽  
...  

The Na+-K+-ATPase (NKA) plays a key role in muscle excitability, but little is known in human skeletal muscle about fiber-type-specific differences in NKA isoform expression or adaptability. A vastus lateralis muscle biopsy was taken in 17 healthy young adults to contrast NKA isoform protein relative abundance between type I and IIa fibers. We further investigated muscle fiber-type-specific NKA adaptability in eight of these adults following 4-wk repeated-sprint exercise (RSE) training, comprising three sets of 5 × 4-s sprints, 3 days/wk. Single fibers were separated, and myosin heavy chain (I and IIa) and NKA (α1–3 and β1–3) isoform abundance were determined via Western blotting. All six NKA isoforms were expressed in both type I and IIa fibers. No differences between fiber types were found for α1-, α2-, α3-, β1-, or β3-isoform abundances. The NKA β2-isoform was 27% more abundant in type IIa than type I fibers ( P < 0.05), with no other fiber-type-specific trends evident. RSE training increased β1 in type IIa fibers (pretraining 0.70 ± 0.25, posttraining 0.84 ± 0.24 arbitrary units, 42%, P < 0.05). No training effects were found for other NKA isoforms. Thus human skeletal muscle expresses all six NKA isoforms and not in a fiber-type-specific manner; this points to their different functional roles in skeletal muscle cells. Detection of elevated NKA β1 after RSE training demonstrates the sensitivity of the single-fiber Western blotting technique for fiber-type-specific intervention effects.


1997 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S. Staron

This brief review attempts to summarize a number of studies on the delineation, development, and distribution of human skeletal muscle fiber types. A total of seven fiber types can be identified in human limb and trunk musculature based on the pH stability/ability of myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase (mATPase). For most human muscles, mATPase-based fiber types correlate with the myosin heavy chain (MHC) content. Thus, each histochemically identified fiber has a specific MHC profile. Although this categorization is useful, it must be realized that muscle fibers are highly adaptable and that innumerable fiber type transients exist. Also, some muscles contain specific MHC isoforms and/or combinations that do not permit routine mATPase-based fiber typing. Although the major populations of fast and slow are, for the most part, established shortly after birth, subtle alterations take place throughout life. These changes appear to relate to alterations in activity and/or hormonal levels, and perhaps later in life, total fiber number. Because large variations in fiber type distribution can be found within a muscle and between individuals, interpretation of data gathered from human muscle is often difficult. Key words: aging, myosin heavy chains, myogenesis, myofibrillar adenosine triphosphate


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Han Wang ◽  
Zhonghao Shen ◽  
Xiaolong Zhou ◽  
Songbai Yang ◽  
Feifei Yan ◽  
...  

The difference in muscle fiber types is very important to the muscle development and meat quality of broilers. At present, the molecular regulation mechanisms of skeletal muscle fiber-type transformation in broilers are still unclear. In this study, differentially expressed genes between breast and leg muscles in broilers were analyzed using RNA-seq. A total of 767 DEGs were identified. Compared with leg muscle, there were 429 upregulated genes and 338 downregulated genes in breast muscle. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment indicated that these DEGs were mainly involved in cellular processes, single organism processes, cells, and cellular components, as well as binding and catalytic activity. KEGG analysis shows that a total of 230 DEGs were mapped to 126 KEGG pathways and significantly enriched in the four pathways of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, starch and sucrose metabolism, insulin signalling pathways, and the biosynthesis of amino acids. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to verify the differential expression of 7 selected DEGs, and the results were consistent with RNA-seq data. In addition, the expression profile of MyHC isoforms in chicken skeletal muscle cells showed that with the extension of differentiation time, the expression of fast fiber subunits (types IIA and IIB) gradually increased, while slow muscle fiber subunits (type I) showed a downward trend after 4 days of differentiation. The differential genes screened in this study will provide some new ideas for further understanding the molecular mechanism of skeletal muscle fiber transformation in broilers.


2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 699-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Güth ◽  
Alexander Chaidez ◽  
Manoj P. Samanta ◽  
Graciela A. Unguez

Skeletal muscle is distinguished from other tissues on the basis of its shape, biochemistry, and physiological function. Based on mammalian studies, fiber size, fiber types, and gene expression profiles are regulated, in part, by the electrical activity exerted by the nervous system. To address whether similar adaptations to changes in electrical activity in skeletal muscle occur in teleosts, we studied these phenotypic properties of ventral muscle in the electric fish Sternopygus macrurus following 2 and 5 days of electrical inactivation by spinal transection. Our data show that morphological and biochemical properties of skeletal muscle remained largely unchanged after these treatments. Specifically, the distribution of type I and type II muscle fibers and the cross-sectional areas of these fiber types observed in control fish remained unaltered after each spinal transection survival period. This response to electrical inactivation was generally reflected at the transcript level in real-time PCR and RNA-seq data by showing little effect on the transcript levels of genes associated with muscle fiber type differentiation and plasticity, the sarcomere complex, and pathways implicated in the regulation of muscle fiber size. Data from this first study characterizing the acute influence of neural activity on muscle mass and sarcomere gene expression in a teleost are discussed in the context of comparative studies in mammalian model systems and vertebrate species from different lineages.


2012 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael I. Lewis ◽  
Mario Fournier ◽  
Huiyuan Wang ◽  
Thomas W. Storer ◽  
Richard Casaburi ◽  
...  

Muscle weakness and effort intolerance are common in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. This study characterized morphometric, histochemical, and biochemical properties of limb muscle in MHD patients compared with controls (CTL) with similar age, gender, and ethnicity. Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were obtained from 60 MHD patients, 1 day after dialysis, and from 21 CTL. Muscle fiber types and capillaries were identified immunohistochemically. Individual muscle fiber cross-sectional areas (CSA) were quantified. Individual fiber oxidative capacities were determined (microdensitometric assay) to measure succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity. Mean CSAs of type I, IIA, and IIX fibers were 33, 26, and 28% larger in MHD patients compared with CTL. SDH activities for type I, IIA, and IIX fibers were reduced by 29, 40, and 47%, respectively, in MHD. Capillary to fiber ratio was increased by 11% in MHD. The number of capillaries surrounding individual fiber types were also increased (type I: 9%; IIA: 10%; IIX: 23%) in MHD patients. However, capillary density (capillaries per unit muscle fiber area) was reduced by 34% in MHD patients, compared with CTL. Ultrastuctural analysis revealed swollen mitochondria with dense matrix in MHD patients. These results highlight impaired oxidative capacity and capillarity in MHD patients. This would be expected to impair energy production as well as substrate and oxygen delivery and exchange and contribute to exercise intolerance. The enlarged CSA of muscle fibers may, in part, be accounted for by edema. We speculate that these changes contribute to reduce limb strength in MHD patients by reducing specific force.


1981 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Hulland

Skeletal muscle of sheep was examined histochemically in an attempt to define muscle fiber populations capable of distinctive biological behavior. ATPase at alkaline and acid pH, NADH-TR, and succinic dehydrogenase showed at least 12 fiber types, but only three often enough to be considered biologically important muscle fiber populations. The proportions of the three major types altered during early life, but not perceptibly during adult life. Proportions of Type I and Type II fibers were different, sometimes significantly, from breed to breed. Histochemical techniques and morphometric analyses of fiber cross-sectional area were used to study muscle fiber changes in moderate to marked cachectic atrophy. Progressive reduction of gross muscle volume was attended by complex interrelationships between the two major muscle fiber types, including alternate episodes of atrophy and hypertrophy, resulting in marked inequality of mean fiber size between the fiber types. The patterns appeared to be different but characteristic for each muscle. The usual pattern of cachectic atrophy shows atrophy resistance of Type I fibers, but here a Type II-dominant atrophy also was seen. It is concluded that the large muscle fibers often seen in advanced cachectic atrophy are those Type I fibers that are more labile in both atrophy and hypertrophy than most.


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