Morphometric and Immunohistochemical Characteristics of the Adult Human Soft Palate Muscles

2021 ◽  
pp. 002215542110669
Author(s):  
Liancai Mu ◽  
Jingming Chen ◽  
Themba Nyirenda ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Stanislaw Sobotka ◽  
...  

The soft palate is the only structure that reversibly separates the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. Most species can eat and breathe at the same time. Humans cannot do this and malfunction of the soft palate may allow food to enter the lungs and cause fatal aspiration pneumonia. Speech is the most defining characteristic of humans and the soft palate, along with the larynx and tongue, plays the key roles. In addition, palatal muscles are involved in snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Considering the significance of the soft palate, its function is insufficiently understood. The objectives of this study were to document morphometric and immunohistochemical characteristics of adult human soft palate muscles, including fiber size, the fiber type, and myosin heavy chain (MyHC) composition for better understanding muscle functions. In this study, 15 soft palates were obtained from human autopsies. The palatal muscles were separated, cryosectioned, and stained using histological and immunohistochemical techniques. The results showed that there was a fast type II predominance in the musculus uvulae and palatopharyngeus and a slow type I predominance in the levator veli palatine. Approximately equal proportions of type I and type II fibers existed in both the palatoglossus and tensor veli palatine. Soft palate muscles also contained hybrid fibers and some specialized myofibers expressing slow-tonic and embryonic MyHC isoforms. These findings would help better understand muscle functions.

1998 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 1776-1787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Fitts ◽  
Sue C. Bodine ◽  
Janell G. Romatowski ◽  
Jeffrey J. Widrick

In this study, we determined the contractile properties of single chemically skinned fibers prepared from the medial gastrocnemius (MG) and soleus (Sol) muscles of adult male rhesus monkeys and assessed the effects of the spaceflight living facility known as the experiment support primate facility (ESOP). Muscle biopsies were obtained 4 wk before and immediately after an 18-day ESOP sit, and fiber type was determined by immunohistochemical techniques. The MG slow type I fiber was significantly smaller than the MG type II, Sol type I, and Sol type II fibers. The ESOP sit caused a significant reduction in the diameter of type I and type I/II (hybrid) fibers of Sol and MG type II and hybrid fibers but no shift in fiber type distribution. Single-fiber peak force (mN and kN/m2) was similar between fiber types and was not significantly different from values previously reported for other species. The ESOP sit significantly reduced the force (mN) of Sol type I and MG type II fibers. This decline was entirely explained by the atrophy of these fiber types because the force per cross-sectional area (kN/m2) was not altered. Peak power of Sol and MG fast type II fiber was 5 and 8.5 times that of slow type I fiber, respectively. The ESOP sit reduced peak power by 25 and 18% in Sol type I and MG type II fibers, respectively, and, for the former fiber type, shifted the force-pCa relationship to the right, increasing the Ca2+ activation threshold and the free Ca2+concentration, eliciting half-maximal activation. The ESOP sit had no effect on the maximal shortening velocity ( V o) of any fiber type. V o of the hybrid fibers was only slightly higher than that of slow type I fibers. This result supports the hypothesis that in hybrid fibers the slow myosin heavy chain would be expected to have a disproportionately greater influence on V o.


Author(s):  
G.M. Kent ◽  
W. Zingg ◽  
D. Armstrong

SUMMARY:Spinal curves may be produced in fetal lambs with three surgical techniques. These procedures vary from mere exposure of the costo-vertebral junction of three ribs through a paravertebral incision, to resection of the head and part of the adjacent shaft of three ribs. The fetal age varies from forty-nine to seventy-three days. The degree of curvature present at birth seems to increase in severity with decreasing fetal age at the time of surgery, but the type of surgical procedure does not appear to influence the severity of the curve, suggesting that the mechanical presence of the ribs does not prevent the development of scoliosis in these animals.Histological studies of the m. longissimus dorsi at the apices of the curves reveal two main types of abnormality in the muscle fibers. Both Type I and Type II fibers were significantly reduced in size in the biopsies taken from the side on which the surgery was performed, and there was marked alteration in the proportion of one fiber type to the other in most biopsies taken from both operated sides when compared with biopsies from unoperated twin animals.The fetal age and amount of surgical trauma appeared to play no role in the degree of muscle alteration, suggesting that even minimal surgical trauma to the paraspinal region at any fetal age between 49–73 days is sufficient to produce significant muscle fiber abnormality and spinal curvature.A parallel is drawn between these muscle findings and those in a number of human musculoskeletal diseases, and suggests the possibility of a developmental defect in the pathogenesis of these diseases.


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 558-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. F. Gardiner ◽  
B. J. Jasmin ◽  
P. Corriveau

Our aim was to quantify the overload-induced hypertrophy and conversion of fiber types (type II to I) occurring in the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle (MG). Overload of MG was induced by a bilateral tenotomy/retraction of synergists, followed by 12–18 wk of regular treadmill locomotion (2 h of walking/running per day on 3 of 4 days). We counted all type I fibers and determined type I and II mean fiber areas in eight equidistant sections taken along the length of control and overloaded MG. Increase in muscle weights (31%), as well as in total muscle cross-sectional areas (37%) and fiber areas (type I, 57%; type II, 34%), attested to a significant hypertrophic response in overloaded MG. An increase in type I fiber composition of MG from 7.0 to 11.5% occurred as a result of overload, with the greatest and only statistically significant changes (approximately 70–100%) being found in sections taken from the most rostral 45% of the muscle length. Results of analysis of sections taken from the largest muscle girth showed that it significantly underestimated the extent of fiber conversion that occurred throughout the muscle as a whole. These data obtained on the MG, which possesses a compartmentalization of fiber types, support the notion that all fiber types respond to this model with a similar degree of hypertrophy. Also, they emphasize the complex nature of the adaptive changes that occur in these types of muscles as a result of overload.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. eabd8637
Author(s):  
Jemma L. Webber ◽  
John C. Clancy ◽  
Yingjie Zhou ◽  
Natalia Yraola ◽  
Kazuaki Homma ◽  
...  

Hearing involves a stereotyped neural network communicating cochlea and brain. How this sensorineural circuit assembles is largely unknown. The cochlea houses two types of mechanosensory hair cells differing in function (sound transmission versus amplification) and location (inner versus outer compartments). Inner (IHCs) and outer hair cells (OHCs) are each innervated by a distinct pair of afferent and efferent neurons: IHCs are contacted by type I afferents receiving axodendritic efferent contacts; OHCs are contacted by type II afferents and axosomatically terminating efferents. Using an Insm1 mouse mutant with IHCs in the position of OHCs, we discover a hierarchical sequence of instructions in which first IHCs attract, and OHCs repel, type I afferents; second, type II afferents innervate hair cells not contacted by type I afferents; and last, afferent fiber type determines if and how efferents innervate, whether axodendritically on the afferent, axosomatically on the hair cell, or not at all.


1975 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 808-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
M M Jaweed ◽  
G J Herbison ◽  
J F Ditunno

A histochemical study, using myosin-adenosine triphosphatase activity at pH 9.4, was conducted in soleus and plantaris muscles of adult rats, after bilateral crushing of the sciatic nerve at the sciatic notch. The changes in fiber diameter and per cent composition of type I and type II fibers plus muscle weights were evaluated along the course of denervation-reinnervation curve at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 weeks postnerve crush. The study revealed that in the early denervation phase (up to 2 weeks postcrush) both the slow and fast muscles, soleus and plantaris, resepctively, atrophied similarly in muscle mass. Soleus increased in the number of type II fibers, which may be attributed to "disuse" effect. During the same period, the type I fibers of soleus atrophied as much or slightly more than the type II fibers; whereas the type II fibers of plantaris atrophied significantly more than the type I fibers, reflecting that the process of denervation, in its early stages, may affect the two fiber types differentially in the slow and fast muscles. It was deduced that the type I fibers of plantaris may be essentially different in the slow (soleus) and fast (plantaris) muscles under study. The onset of reinnervation, as determined by the increase in muscle weight and fiber diameter of the major fiber type, occurred in soleus and plantaris at 2 and 3 weeks postcrush, respectively, which confirms the earlier hypotheses that the slow muscles are reinnervated sooner than the fast muscles. It is suggested that the reinnervation of muscle after crush injury may be specific to the muscle type or its predominant fiber type.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (1) ◽  
pp. E151-E157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lex B. Verdijk ◽  
René Koopman ◽  
Gert Schaart ◽  
Kenneth Meijer ◽  
Hans H. C. M. Savelberg ◽  
...  

Satellite cells (SC) are essential for skeletal muscle growth and repair. Because sarcopenia is associated with type II muscle fiber atrophy, we hypothesized that SC content is specifically reduced in the type II fibers in the elderly. A total of eight elderly (E; 76 ± 1 yr) and eight young (Y; 20 ± 1 yr) healthy males were selected. Muscle biopsies were collected from the vastus lateralis in both legs. ATPase staining and a pax7-antibody were used to determine fiber type-specific SC content (i.e., pax7-positive SC) on serial muscle cross sections. In contrast to the type I fibers, the proportion and mean cross-sectional area of the type II fibers were substantially reduced in E vs. Y. The number of SC per type I fiber was similar in E and Y. However, the number of SC per type II fiber was substantially lower in E vs. Y (0.044 ± 0.003 vs. 0.080 ± 0.007; P < 0.01). In addition, in the type II fibers, the number of SC relative to the total number of nuclei and the number of SC per fiber area were also significantly lower in E. This study is the first to show type II fiber atrophy in the elderly to be associated with a fiber type-specific decline in SC content. The latter is evident when SC content is expressed per fiber or per fiber area. The decline in SC content might be an important factor in the etiology of type II muscle fiber atrophy, which accompanies the loss of skeletal muscle with aging.


2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (18) ◽  
pp. 3201-3208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Fitts ◽  
Danny R. Riley ◽  
Jeffrey J. Widrick

SUMMARY Our purpose is to summarize the major effects of space travel on skeletal muscle with particular emphasis on factors that alter function. The primary deleterious changes are muscle atrophy and the associated decline in peak force and power. Studies on both rats and humans demonstrate a rapid loss of cell mass with microgravity. In rats, a reduction in muscle mass of up to 37% was observed within 1 week. For both species, the antigravity soleus muscle showed greater atrophy than the fast-twitch gastrocnemius. However, in the rat, the slow type I fibers atrophied more than the fast type II fibers, while in humans, the fast type II fibers were at least as susceptible to space-induced atrophy as the slow fiber type. Space flight also resulted in a significant decline in peak force. For example, the maximal voluntary contraction of the human plantar flexor muscles declined by 20–48% following 6 months in space, while a 21% decline in the peak force of the soleus type I fibers was observed after a 17-day shuttle flight. The reduced force can be attributed both to muscle atrophy and to a selective loss of contractile protein. The former was the primary cause because, when force was expressed per cross-sectional area (kNm−2), the human fast type II and slow type I fibers of the soleus showed no change and a 4% decrease in force, respectively. Microgravity has been shown to increase the shortening velocity of the plantar flexors. This increase can be attributed both to an elevated maximal shortening velocity (V0) of the individual slow and fast fibers and to an increased expression of fibers containing fast myosin. Although the cause of the former is unknown, it might result from the selective loss of the thin filament actin and an associated decline in the internal drag during cross-bridge cycling. Despite the increase in fiber V0, peak power of the slow type I fiber was reduced following space flight. The decreased power was a direct result of the reduced force caused by the fiber atrophy. In addition to fiber atrophy and the loss of force and power, weightlessness reduces the ability of the slow soleus to oxidize fats and increases the utilization of muscle glycogen, at least in rats. This substrate change leads to an increased rate of fatigue. Finally, with return to the 1g environment of earth, rat studies have shown an increased occurrence of eccentric contraction-induced fiber damage. The damage occurs with re-loading and not in-flight, but the etiology has not been established.


2000 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 1355-1364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoriko Atomi ◽  
Kyoko Toro ◽  
Tsuyoshi Masuda ◽  
Hideo Hatta

Changes in αB-crystallin content in adult rat soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) were examined after 8 wk of 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine (T3) and propylthiouracil (PTU) treatments. Cellular distributions of αB-crystallin expression related to fiber type, and distribution shifts with these treatments were also examined in detail from the gray level of reactivity to specific anti-αB-crystallin antibody. αB-crystallin content in both soleus and EDL muscles was significantly decreased after T3, and that in EDL was significantly increased over twofold after PTU treatment. In both control soleus and EDL muscles, the gray level of type I fibers was higher than that of type II fibers. αB-crystallin expression among type II subtypes was muscle specific; the order was type I > IIa > IIx > IIb in control EDL muscle and type IIx ≥ IIa in soleus muscle. The relation was basically unchanged in both muscles after T3 treatment and was, in particular, well maintained in EDL muscle. Under hypothyroidism conditions with PTU, the mean αB-crystallin levels of type IIa and IIx fibers were significantly lower than levels under control conditions. Thus the relation between fiber type and the expression manner of stress protein αB-crystallin is muscle specific and also is well regulated under thyroid hormone, especially in fast EDL muscle.


2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (3) ◽  
pp. C673-C681 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. P. Debold ◽  
H. Dave ◽  
R. H. Fitts

Elevated levels of Pi are thought to cause a substantial proportion of the loss in muscular force and power output during fatigue from intense contractile activity. However, support for this hypothesis is based, in part, on data from skinned single fibers obtained at low temperatures (≤15°C). The effect of high (30 mM) Pi concentration on the contractile function of chemically skinned single fibers was examined at both low (15°C) and high (30°C) temperatures using fibers isolated from rat soleus (type I fibers) and gastrocnemius (type II fibers) muscles. Elevating Pi from 0 to 30 mM at saturating free Ca2+ levels depressed maximum isometric force (Po) by 54% at 15°C and by 19% at 30°C ( P < 0.05; significant interaction) in type I fibers. Similarly, the Po of type II fibers was significantly more sensitive to high levels of Pi at the lower (50% decrease) vs. higher temperature (5% decrease). The maximal shortening velocity of both type I and type II fibers was not significantly affected by elevated Pi at either temperature. However, peak fiber power was depressed by 49% at 15°C but by only 16% at 30°C in type I fibers. Similarly, in type II fibers, peak power was depressed by 40 and 18% at 15 and 30°C, respectively. These data suggest that near physiological temperatures and at saturating levels of intracellular Ca2+, elevated levels of Pi contribute less to fatigue than might be inferred from data obtained at lower temperatures.


2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (6) ◽  
pp. C1409-C1417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung Jun Choi ◽  
Jeffrey J. Widrick

Peak Ca2+-activated specific force (force/fiber cross-sectional area) of human chemically skinned vastus lateralis muscle fiber segments was determined before and after a fixed-end contraction or an eccentric contraction of standardized magnitude (+0.25 optimal fiber length) and velocity (0.50 unloaded shortening velocity). Fiber myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform content was assayed by SDS-PAGE. Posteccentric force deficit, a marker of damage, was similar for type I and IIa fibers but threefold greater for type IIa/IIx hybrid fibers. A fixed-end contraction had no significant effect on force. Multiple linear regression revealed that posteccentric force was explained by a model consisting of a fiber type-independent and a fiber type-specific component ( r2 = 0.91). Preeccentric specific force was directly associated with a greater posteccentric force deficit. When preeccentric force was held constant, type I and IIa fibers showed identical susceptibility to damage, while type IIa/IIx fibers showed a significantly greater force loss. This heightened sensitivity to damage was directly related to the amount of type IIx MHC in the hybrid fiber. Our model reveals a fiber-type sensitivity of the myofilament lattice or cytoskeleton to mechanical strain that can be described as follows: type IIa/IIx > type IIa = type I. If these properties extend to fibers in vivo, then alterations in the number of type IIa/IIx fibers may modify a muscle's susceptibility to eccentric damage.


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