| 1. |
- Krivickas, Lisa S., et al.
(author)
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Relationship between force and size in human single muscle fibres
- 2011
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In: Experimental Physiology. - : Wiley. - 0958-0670 .- 1469-445X. ; 96:5, s. 539-547
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- When the contractile properties of single muscle fibres are studied, force is typically normalized by fibre cross-sectional area and expressed as specific force. We studied a set of 2725 chemically skinned human single muscle fibres from 119 healthy adults to determine whether specific force is the optimal way to express the relationship between single-fibre force and size. A linear mixed effects model was used to estimate the slope and slope variability among individuals of log-log plots of force and diameter. For type I fibres, the slope estimate was 0.99 (95% confidence interval 0.36-1.62), and for type IIa fibres it was 0.94 (95% confidence interval 0.77-1.11), indicating that force is proportional to fibre diameter, rather than to cross-sectional area. If force were proportional to cross-sectional area, the slope estimate would be 2.0. In future studies using the chemically skinned single fibre preparation, force may be normalized to fibre diameter rather than cross-sectional area. We propose that a new term, 'normalized force', be used for this variable, with units of newtons per metre. We demonstrate using our data set that when populations of single fibres are compared with one another, the determination of whether the size and force relationship is the same or different is dependent upon the method used to account for fibre size (i.e. specific force versus 'normalized force').
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| 2. |
- Ochala, Julien, et al.
(author)
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Single skeletal muscle fiber elastic and contractile characteristics in young and older men
- 2007
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In: The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. - 1079-5006 .- 1758-535X. ; 62:4, s. 375-381
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The current investigation was designed to: (a) assess the impact of aging on elastic characteristics of single skeletal muscle fibers from young (N = 6) and older men (N = 6); and (b) correlate the potential changes, with the fiber contractile properties. Chemically skinned single muscle fibers (n = 235) from vastus lateralis muscle were maximally activated. Maximal force and cross-sectional area were measured, and specific force calculated. The slack test was used to measure maximal unloaded shortening velocity. A quick release of 0.15% of fiber length was applied to determine instantaneous stiffness. The myosin heavy chain isoform composition of each single fiber was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Aging induces changes in both fiber elasticity (i.e., increased instantaneous stiffness) and contractility (i.e., reduced specific force and unloaded shortening velocity) in type I and IIa fibers. However, the changes in fiber stiffness may not directly influence contractile characteristics alterations.
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