Quantitative analysis of muscle fibre type and myosin heavy chain distribution in the frog hindlimb: Implications for locomotory design

Gordon J. Lutz, Shannon Bremner, Nahal Lajevardi, Richard L. Lieber, Lawrence C. Rome*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

To investigate the design of the frog muscular system for jumping, fibre type distribution and myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform composition were quantified in the hindlimb muscles of Rana pipiens. Muscles were divided into two groups: five large extensor muscles which were predicted to shorten and produce mechanical power during jumping (JP), and four much smaller muscles commonly used in muscle physiology studies, but that do not shorten or produce power during jumping (NJP). Fibres were classified as one of four different types (type 1, 2, 3 or tonic) or an intermediate type (type 1-2) based on their relative myosin-ATPase reactivity and MHC immunoreactivity in muscle cross-sections according to previous nomenclature established for amphibian skeletal muscle. Type 1 fibres correspond to the fastest and most powerful of the twitch fibres, and type 3 fibres are the slowest and least powerful. Myosin-ATPase histochemistry revealed that the JP muscles were composed primarily of type 1 fibres (89%) with a small percentage of type 2 (7%) and intermediate type 1-2 fibres (4%). The fibre type composition of NJP muscles was more evenly distributed between type 1 (29%), type 2 (46%) and type 1-2 (24%) fibres. Tonic fibres comprised less than 2% of the muscle cross-section in both JP and NJP groups. Similarly, MHC composition determined by quantitative SDS-PAGE revealed that JP muscles were composed predominantly of type 1 MHC (86%), with a balance of type 2 MHC (14%). The opposite pattern was found for MHC composition in the NJP muscles: type 1 (28%), type 2 (66%) and type 3 (6%). These results demonstrate that the large extensor muscles that produce the power required for jumping have a fibre type distribution that enables them to generate high levels of mechanical power, with the type 1 isoform accounting for 85-90% of the total MHC content.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)717-731
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Muscle Research and Cell Motility
Volume19
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1998

Funding

This work was supported by NIH grants AR38404 (LCR) and AR40050 (RLL) and NSF grant IBN-9514383 (LCR). We thank Professor Everett Bandman (UC Davis), Professor Stefano Schiaffino (University of Padova) and Dr Vince Caiozzo (UC Irvine) for the use of their antibodies. We also thank Christina Taylor and Denise Cuizon for technical assistance.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Physiology
  • Cell Biology

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