Cytochemical studies of adenosine triphosphatases in skeletal muscle fibers

Automated methods for the analysis of skeletal muscle fiber size and metabolic type

It is of interest to quantify the size, shape, and metabolic subtype of skeletal muscle fibers in many areas of biomedical research. To do so, skeletal muscle samples are sectioned transversely to the length of the muscle and labeled for extracellular or membrane proteins to delineate the fiber boundaries and additionally for biomarkers related to function or metabolism. The samples are digitally photographed and the fibers "outlined" for quantification of fiber cross-sectional area (CSA) using pointing devices interfaced to a computer, which is tedious, prone to error, and can be nonobjective. Here, we review methods for characterizing skeletal muscle fibers and describe new automated techniques, which rapidly quantify CSA and biomarkers. We discuss the applications of these methods to the characterization of mitochondrial dysfunctions, which underlie a variety of human afflictions, and we present a novel approach, utilizing images from the online Human Protein Atlas to predict relationships between fiber-specific protein expression, function, and metabolism.

NUCLEOSIDE PHOSPHATASE ACTIVITIES IN RAT CARDIAC MUSCLE

Localizations of aldehyde-resistant nucleoside phosphatase activities in frozen sections of rat cardiac muscle have been studied by electron microscopy. Activities are higher after fixation with formaldehyde than with glutaraldehyde. After incubation with adenosine triphosphate or inosine diphosphate at pH 7.2, reaction product is found in the "terminal cisternae" or "transverse sacs" of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which, together with the "intermediary vesicles" (T system), constitute the "dyads" or "triads". Reaction product is also present at the membranes of micropinocytotic vacuoles which apparently form from the plasma membrane of capillary endothelial cells and from the sarcolemma. In certain regions of the intercalated discs, reaction product is found within the narrow spaces between sarcolemmas of adjacent cells and within micropinocytotic vacuoles that seem to form from the sarcolemma. With inosine diphosphate, reaction product is also found in other parts of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. After incubation with cytidine monophosphate at pH 5, reaction product is present in the transverse sacs of sarcoplasmic reticulum, in micropinocytotic vacuoles in capillary endothelium, and in lysosomes of muscle fibers and capillaries. The possible significance of the sarcoplasmic reticulum phosphatases is discussed in relation to the role the reticulum probably plays in moving calcium ions and thereby controlling contraction and relaxation of the muscle fiber.

EVIDENCE FOR EXTRACELLULAR ENZYMIC ACTIVITY OF THE ISOLATED PERFUSED RAT HEART

1. The dissimilation of a number of externally added hexose phosphates and 5'-nucleotides by the perfused rat heart is described, and non-specific esterase and 5'-nucleotidase activity associated with the superficial cell membrane or vascular system has been demonstrated. 2. The rate of production of (14)CO(2) from [U-(14)C]glucose 6-phosphate suggests that oxidation occurred after hydrolysis to glucose. The incorporation of isotope from [U-(14)C]glucose 6-phosphate into glycogen was small, and similar to that obtained with [U-(14)C]glucose as substrate. 3. Glucose 6-phosphate was also partially isomerized to fructose 6-phosphate. Similarly, fructose 6-phosphate was converted mainly into glucose 6-phosphate, but also into glucose and inorganic phosphate. When fructose 1,6-diphosphate was added to the perfusate, a mixture of glucose 6-phosphate, fructose 6-phosphate and triose phosphates accumulated in the medium approximately in the equilibrium proportions of the phosphohexose-isomerase and triose phosphate-isomerase reactions, together with inorganic phosphate and some glucose. Glucose 1-phosphate was hydrolysed to glucose, but was not converted into glucose 6-phosphate. Leakage of enzymes out into the perfusion fluid did not occur. 4. This demonstration that phosphohexose isomerase, triose phosphate isomerase and aldolase may react with extracellular substrates at an appreciable rate suggests that these enzymes are attached to the cell membrane.

Inhibition reactivation myofibrillar ATPase technique for demonstration of three fiber types in a single cryostat muscle section

An inhibition reactivation technique was used for histochemical staining of human skeletal muscle sections. Myofibrillar ATPase activity was inhibited by sodium hydroxymercuribenzoate (2.5 mM in 0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.2-7.5, 30 min) and successively reactivated by cysteine which was added to incubation solution (10 mM cysteine-HCl, 2.5 mM ATP-disodium salt, 50 mM potassium chloride and 27 mM calcium chloride in barbital buffer, pH 9.4, 35 min at 37 C). This technique allows the distinction of three fiber categories with different staining intensities in single cross-section. Dark, intermediate and light fibers correspond to IIB, I, and IIA types, respectively. Storage of air dried sections in the freezer at -20 C for one month had no influence on staining characteristics.

Adenosine triphosphatase activity of crystalline inclusions in alveolar soft part sarcoma. An ultrahistochemical study of a case

A case of alveolar soft part sarcoma was studied by light and electron microscopy and by electron microscopic enzyme histochemistry of adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and 5'nucleotidase(5'Nase). The tumor showed distinct alveolar pattern and diastase resistant PAS positive crystalline inclusions were found in the cytoplasm. Ultrastructurally, characteristic rhomboid crystals and dense granules were observed and they were positive for Mg++- and Ca++-ATPases but negative for 5'Nase. Tumor cell membrane also showed positive activity of ATPase in addition to 5'Nase. These results would support the myogenous derivation of alveolar soft part sarcoma.

The localization of hexokinase isoenzymes in red and white skeletal muscles of the rat

Maximum assayable hexokinase activities vary with the proportion of red, fast-twitch, oxidative-glycolytic and intermediate, slow-twitch, oxidative fibres in different rat skeletal muscles. The major isoenzymic form, type II hexokinase, is present throughout the intermyofibrillar sarcoplasm in all fibres but a proportion of the total activity appears to be weakly associated with mitochondria. Variations in the histochemical staining intensity between fibre types correlate with their mitochondrial content and seem to be due mainly to differences in mitochondrially-associated hexokinase activity. Changes in the strength of this association may be important in controlling increases in glucose metabolism in response to prolonged increased muscular activity while regulation of the equilibrium between free and loosely-bound forms may be an important control feature in all skeletal muscle. Type I hexokinase is a minor isoenzymic component of skeletal muscle and occurs mainly in blood vessels and nerves in the perimysia and endomysia. The majority of this isoenzyme is tightly bound to mitochondria and is not detectable in homogenates prepared in the absence of Triton X-100.

The nonspecificity of the lead method for the histochemical demonstration of adenosine triphosphatases in human skeletal muscle fibres

The lead method for the histochemical demonstration of presumptive mitochondrial adenosinetriphosphatase was applied to biopsy and autopsy samples of the human vastus lateralis muscle. The effect of p-chloromercuribenzoate and of Triton X-100 was tested microdensitometrically and the activity of 'mitochondrial' ATPase was compared to the activity of enzymes of the oxidative metabolism succinic dehydrogenase and NAD-tetrazolium reductase. It is concluded that the ATPase activity displayed is not mainly mitochondrial. In autopsy material, it seems to be predominantly myofibrillar.

Kinetic behaviour of succinate dehydrogenase of three fibre types in skeletal muscle. I. Effects of temperature and a competitive inhibitor

The kinetic behaviour of succinate dehydrogenase [EC 1.3.99.1] in three fibre types of rat gastrocnemius was examined by a quantitative histochemical method without disruption of the cellular structure. 2-(2-Benzothiazolyl)-3-(4-phthalhydrazidyl)-5-styryl-t etrazolium chloride (BPST) and phenazine methosulphate were used as electron acceptors. On measurement of the absorbance value at 530 nm of BPST formazan, produced by the succinate dehydrogenase reaction in sections, it was found that the staining intensity of succinate dehydrogenase was linearly proportional to both the incubation time and the thickness of the slice therefore, the initial velocity of the staining could be calculated. By Michaelis-Menten (1913) treatment of the dependence of the initial velocity on the substrate concentration in the absence and the presence of a competitive inhibitor, malonate, the Km and Vmax values for succinate and the Ki value for malonate were obtained. The Km and Ki values of the three fibre types were similar. The ration of the Vmax values of type A, B and C fibres was 1.0:2.0:3.3. The temperature dependence of the kinetic parameters was very similar in the three fibre types. These findings confirm that the differences in the staining intensity of the three fibre types reflect differences in the amounts, but not the properties, of succinate dehydrogenase.

Histochemical and biochemical characteristics of the transient hypertrophy of the denervated rat hemidiaphragm

A systematic study of the different fiber types of rat diaphragm muscle in the first 10 days after unilateral denervation showed approximately a 10% decrease in diameter of the white fibers, 25% increase in that of intermediate fibers, and 35% increase in that of red fibers together with diminished differential staining properties both for myosin ATPase and Sudan black. There was also a doubling of the amount of connective tissue. A reduction in total lipid concentration of the tissue included decreases in both triacylglycerol and phospholipid, but not cholesterol. Magnesium concentration in the tissue also declined, as did activity of Ca2+-activated, though not Mg2+-activated, myosin ATPase.

Histochemical studies on striated muscle fibres of the beige mutant mouse

A histological study of cylindric structures in skeletal muscle fibres from beige mice with the Chediak-Higashi syndrome was carried out. The muscle tissue was investigated morphologically with a differential interference contrast microscope and stained for glycogen, lipid, and basophile elements. It is suggested that the cylindric structures represent accumulations of glycogen rich lipoprotein membranes.

Actomyosin ATPase. II. Fiber typing by histochemical ATPase reaction

A new method for fiber typing based on staining for actomyosin Ca,Mg-ATPase is presented. Inclusion of ethanol in the medium enhanced the differentiation of type 2A and 2B fibers. With this technique, type 1, 2A, and 2B fibers can be distinguished in a single-step procedure for human biopsy samples.

Three-dimensional electron microscopy of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum in the red muscle fiber of the rat diaphragm

The three-dimensional arrangement of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum in the red muscle fiber was studied both in thick sections of the rat diaphragm fixed in glutaraldehyde and impregnated with uranyl acetate followed by lead and copper citrate, and in thin sections of glutaraldehyde fixed tissue treated with ferrocyanide-reduced osmium. The mitochondria were located either at the periphery of the fiber, where they were spherical, or between the myofibrils, where they formed longitudinal columns of rectangular, slightly flattened elements. From both types of mitochondria, thin, elongated branches arose at right angles that formed transversely oriented mitochondrial pairs at the I band level. At the periphery of the fiber, the endoplasmic reticulum took the appearance of a subsarcolemmal network of tubular cisternae oriented parallel to the cell surface. In the juxtanuclear region, it was made up of spherical masses composed of tightly knitted tubules that were interconnected by more loosely anastomosed tubules. In between the myofibrils, it was composed of longitudinally oriented repetitive units whose structure varied according to their position in from of the A or I bands of the myofibrils. In front of the A band, the endoplasmic reticulum appeared as a single sheet of anastomotic tubules compressed between the adjacent myofibrils, whereas at the I band level, its tubular elements passed in front and behind the transverse expansions of the mitochondria to form an intricate ultilayered network in from of the Z line.

The ultrahistochemical picture of the so-called reversed ATPase in the gastrocnemius muscle of the rat

The ultrahistochemical localization of the "reversed" ATPase activity was investigated. Red muscle fibres showed permanent sarcomere contraction, enzymatic activity in the inner membrane and matrix of mitochondria, and large, osmiophilic, probably calcium-containing structures within mitochondria and on their outside. White muscle fibre sarcomeres were relaxed, and activity within their sarcoplasmic reticulum was marked, but slight in the mitochondria. The relaxed state of the sarcomere in the white muscle fibres is supposed to be connected with inactivation of myofibrillar ATPase by acid preincubation, whereas red muscle contraction indicates that acid preincubation does not inactivate their myofibrillar ATPase. That the product of its activity failed to become visible in the sarcomeres is probably due to imperfection of the method. Two sub-types of red muscle fibres were distinguished: those showing only enzymatic activity in mitochondria, and those containing large intra- and extramitochondrial osmiophilic structures. The origin and composition of these structures is difficult to explain. A relation seems to exist between their presence within mitochondria and outside.

Ultrastructural fiber typing in normal and diseased human muscle

The differential staining of the 3 fiber types for oxidative enzyme activity at the histochemical level provides the basis of their identification at the ultrastructural level. Type I fibers have the largest and most numerous mitochondria, the Type IIA smaller and less numerous mitochondria, and Type IIB have the smallest and least numerous mitochondria as studied in 4 patients without neuromuscular disease. Type I fibers could be distinguished from Type II fibers on the basis of mean Z-line width and IIA fibers could be distinguished from IIB fibers on the basis of mean M-line width. Type I fibers had wide Z-lines (95 nm) and wide M-lines (89 nm), Type IIA had narrow Z-lines (74 nm) and wide M-lines (79 nm) and Type IIB fibers had narrow Z-lines (69 nm) and narrow M-lines (60 nm). This system of fiber typing based on relative Z-line and M-line widths was applied to several abnormal muscle biopsies each of which showed a deficiency in at least 1 of the major histochemical fiber types. In each case, the same deficiency was revealed at the ultrastructural level by measuring the relative Z-line and M-line widths of the remaining fiber types.

On the specificity of the histochemical technique for sarcoplasmic reticular adenosine triphosphatase: a light and electron microscopic study

The specificity of the histochemical localization of the calcium activated adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) at pH 7.4 was studied using a calcium-citro-phosphate technique. The latter involves the splitting of ATP by ATPase producing phosphate ions which then react with calcium and citrate to form an insoluble reaction product. This reaction product was detected by both light and electron microscopy. Light microscopic examination showed a darkly stained continuous reticular pattern of reaction product which surrounded individual myofibrils. This reticular pattern of reaction product was distinctly dissimilar to that found when the histochemical reactions for mitochondrial or myofibrillar ATPase were performed. Ultrastructural investigations demonstrated the presence of discrete foci of electron dense reaction product in close association with the membranes of the SR in striated muscle fibres. Only occasional flecks were seen in the vicinity of mitochondria or myofilaments. The possibility is considered that the reticular pattern of staining achieved by the calcium-citro-phosphate technique may reflect the distribution of the "extra ATPase" of the SR, an enzyme implicated in the process of calcium uptake and muscle relaxation.

Structure of Limulus striated muscle. The contractile apparatus at various sarcomere lengths

The musculature of the telson of Limulus polyphemus L. consists of three dorsal muscles: the medial and lateral telson levators and the telson abductor, and one large ventral muscle; the telson depressor, which has three major divisions: the dorsal, medioventral, and lateroventral heads. The telson muscles are composed of one type of striated muscle fiber, which has irregularly shaped myofibrils. The sarcomeres are long, with discrete A and I and discontinuous Z bands. M lines are not present. H zones can be identified easily, only in thick (1.0 microm) longitudinal sections or thin cross sections. In lengthened fibers, the Z bands are irregular and the A bands appear very long due to misalignment of constituent thick filaments. As the sarcomeres shorten, the Z lines straighten somewhat and the thick filaments become more aligned within the A band, leading to apparent decrease in A band length. Further A band shortening, seen at sarcomere lengths below 7.4 microm may be a function of conformational changes of the thick filaments, possibly brought about by alterations in the ordering of their paramyosin cores.

Histochemical fibre types in the mammalian diaphragm

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Mitochondrial organization in skeletal muscle of the rat soft palate

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