The authors express their gratitude to Professor Robinson Ram&#237;rez from UdeA for help with animals and some photos and to Carolina Palacios for technical support. Johan Pineda from Kaika helped us to set up the color and fluorescence cameras. Shyuan Ngo, from the University of Queensland, kindly proofread the manuscript. This study was funded by the CODI-UdeA (2020-34909 from February 22nd, 2021, and 2021-40170 from March 31st, 2022, SIU), and Planning Office-UdeA (E01708-K and ES03180101), Medell&#237;n, Colombia, to JCC. Funders did not participate in data collection and analysis, manuscript writing or submission.

Enzymatic Isolation and Characterization of Variable Length Mouse Muscle Fibers

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

To complement the models available for studying mature skeletal muscle biology, here we demonstrate the successful enzymatic dissociation of a range of mouse muscles with short, intermediate, and long fibers. These fibers allow for the demonstration of the generalizability of the MT-II kinetics of the Ca2+ transients in skeletal muscle. Further, the fiber types in the intact, whole muscles were classified. Given that the FDB is the most used muscle for physiological experiments, the types of fibers present in ...

The mature skeletal muscle of mammals is a multifunctional tissue. It heavily regulates metabolism, is the main source of heat production, and its dynamical properties confer upon it a key role in respiration, movement of body segments, or displacement from one point to another1,2,3. Skeletal muscle is also relevant for the pathophysiology of many illnesses, including inherited and chronic conditions, such as myopathies, dystrophies, or sarcopenia, as well as many non-muscle chronic conditions, such as cardiometabolic diseases3,4,5,6,7,8.
The ex vivo study of the structural and functional properties of mature skeletal muscle in the context of health and disease has been possible mainly through two experimental models: whole muscle and isolated fibers. In the 20th century, researchers exploited the properties of the whole, intact extensor digitorum longus (EDL), soleus, tibialis anterior, and gastrocnemius muscles of different small species as pivotal models to learn about motor units, fiber types, and dynamic properties such as force and kinetics of contraction and relaxation9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16. However, the advent of more refined cell biology studies moved the area toward the study of single muscle fibers. Pioneering work then enabled the isolation of intact flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) fibers of rats by enzymatic dissociation for subsequent characterization17,18,19. Although FDB fibers can also be obtained by manual dissection20, the ease and high throughput of enzymatic dissociation of murine muscles, in addition to their suitability for a variety of experimental approaches, have made the latter model widely used during the last two decades.
The short FDB fibers are suitable for electrophysiological and other biophysical studies, biochemical, metabolic, and pharmacological analyses, electron and fluorescence microscopy experiments, transfection for cell biology approaches, or as a source of stem cells in myogenesis studies5,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32. However, using only FDB fibers in muscle experiments narrows the scope of research dealing with fiber types and limits the amount of biological material available for some methodological techniques or for gaining more information from one animal. These limitations hinder a clear correlation of cellular physiological phenomena with previous biochemical and dynamical studies performed in different whole, intact, muscles (e.g., EDL, soleus, peronei).
Overcoming these limitations, some groups succeeded in dissociating the longer EDL and soleus muscles24,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40, opening the door to further extend the method to other relevant muscles. However, the use of EDL and soleus fibers is still scarce, likely due to the lack of methodological details for getting them as intact fibers. Here, we describe in detail how to isolate fibers of different lengths and types from six muscles: three of them already described (FDB, EDL, and soleus) and three of them successfully dissociated for the first time (extensor hallucis longus [EHL], peroneus longus [PL], and peroneus digiti quarti [PDQA]). The results of the present work confirm that the model of enzymatically dissociated fibers is apt for a wide range of studies and future correlations with previously published data, thus increasing the availability of models for mature skeletal muscle studies.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Reagents</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Absolute ethanol</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>32221</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Acetone</td>
			<td>Merck</td>
			<td>179124</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Acrylamide</td>
			<td>Gibco BRL</td>
			<td>15512-015</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ammonium persulfate</td>
			<td>Panreac</td>
			<td>141138.1610</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti myosin I antibody</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>M4276</td>
			<td>Primary antibody</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti myosin II antibody</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>M8421</td>
			<td>Primary antibody</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti myosin IIA antibody</td>
			<td>American Type Culture Collection</td>
			<td>SC-71</td>
			<td>Primary antibody. Derived from HB-277 hybridoma</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti myosin IIB antibody</td>
			<td>Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank</td>
			<td>BF-F3-c&#160;</td>
			<td>Primary antibody</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bis-acrylamide</td>
			<td>AMRESCO</td>
			<td>0172</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bovine serum albumin</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>B14</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bradford reagent</td>
			<td>Merck</td>
			<td>1.10306.0500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bromophenol blue</td>
			<td>Carlo Erba</td>
			<td>428658</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Calcium carbonate</td>
			<td>Merck</td>
			<td>102066</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Calcium dichloride (CaCl2)</td>
			<td>Merck</td>
			<td>2389</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Chloroform</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>319988</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collagenase type 2</td>
			<td>Worthington</td>
			<td>CLS-2/LS004176</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Consul-Mount</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>9990440</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Coomassie Brilliant blue R 250&#160;</td>
			<td>Merck</td>
			<td>112553</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>D2650</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dithiothreitol (DTT)</td>
			<td>AMRESCO</td>
			<td>0281</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Edetic acid (EDTA</td>
			<td>AMRESCO</td>
			<td>0322</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Eosin Y</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>E4009</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glycerol</td>
			<td>Panreac&#160;</td>
			<td>1423291211</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glycine</td>
			<td>Panreac</td>
			<td>151340.1067</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Goat serum</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>G9023</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hematoxylin</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>6765015</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HEPES</td>
			<td>AMRESCO</td>
			<td>0511</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hoechst 33258</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>861405</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Imidazole</td>
			<td>AMRESCO</td>
			<td>M136</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isopentane</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>M32631</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Laminin</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>L2020</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mag-Fluo-4, AM</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>M14206</td>
			<td>Prepared only in DMSO. Pluronic acid is not required and should not be used to avoid fiber deterioration.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mercaptoethanol</td>
			<td>Applichem</td>
			<td>A11080100</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Methanol</td>
			<td>Protokimica</td>
			<td>MP10043</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mice</td>
			<td>Several</td>
			<td>Several</td>
			<td>For this manuscript, we only used C57BL/6 mice. However, some preliminary results have shown that the protocol works well for Swiss Webster mice of the same age and weight.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mowiol 4-88</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>81381</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>N,N,N&#39;,N&#39;-tetramethylethane-1,2-diamine (TEMED)</td>
			<td>Promega</td>
			<td>V3161</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>N-benzyl-p-toluene sulphonamide (BTS)</td>
			<td>Tocris</td>
			<td>1870</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Optimal cutting compound (OCT)</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>6769006</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Secondary antibody</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>A-11001</td>
			<td>Goat anti-mouse IgG (H+L) Cross-Adsorbed Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 488</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium dodecil sulfate</td>
			<td>Panreac&#160;</td>
			<td>1323631209</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TRIS 0.5 M, pH 6.8&#160;</td>
			<td>AMRESCO</td>
			<td>J832</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tris(Hydroxymethyl)aminomethane</td>
			<td>AMRESCO</td>
			<td>M151</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Triton X-100</td>
			<td>AMRESCO</td>
			<td>M143</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Materials</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dissection chamber</td>
			<td>Custom-made</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Charged slides</td>
			<td>Erie Scientific</td>
			<td>5951PLUS</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Experimental bath chamber</td>
			<td>Warner Instruments</td>
			<td>RC-27NE2</td>
			<td>Narrow Bath Chamber with Field Stimulation, ensembled on a heated platform PH-6</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fine forceps</td>
			<td>World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td>500338, 500230</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fine scissors</td>
			<td>World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td>Vannas Scissors 501778</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass Pasteur pipettes</td>
			<td>Several</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Fire-polished tips</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass vials with cap</td>
			<td>Several</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>2-3 mL volumen</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Operating scissors</td>
			<td>World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td>501223-G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Equipment</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Centrifuge</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>SL 8R</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Confocal microscope</td>
			<td>Olympus</td>
			<td>FV1000</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cryostat</td>
			<td>Leica</td>
			<td>CM1850</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Digital camera</td>
			<td>Zeiss</td>
			<td>Erc 5s and Axio 305</td>
			<td>Axio 305, coupled to the Stemi 508 stereoscope, was used to take pictures during dissection; while Erc 5s or Axio 208, coupled to the Axio Observer A1 microscope, were used to take images of the isolated fibers and the immunofluorescence assays</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Digitizer</td>
			<td>Molecular Devices</td>
			<td>1550A Digidata</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Electrophoresis chamber</td>
			<td>Bio Rad</td>
			<td>Mini-Protean IV</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Inverted microscope coupled to fluorescence</td>
			<td>Zeiss</td>
			<td>Axio Observer A1</td>
			<td>Coupled to an appropriate light source, filters and objectives for fluorescence</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Photomultiplier</td>
			<td>Horiba</td>
			<td>R928 tube, Hamamatsu, in a D104 photometer, Horiba</td>
			<td>Coupled to the lateral port of the fluorescence microscope</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stereoscope</td>
			<td>Zeiss</td>
			<td>Stemi 508</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stimulator&#160;</td>
			<td>Grass Instruments&#160;</td>
			<td>S6</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Water bath&#160;</td>
			<td>Memmert</td>
			<td>WNE-22</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Xilol</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>808691</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Software</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Free software for electrophoreses analyses</td>
			<td>University of Kentucky</td>
			<td>GelBandFitter v1.7</td>
			<td>http://www.gelbandfitter.org</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Free software for image analysis and morphometry</td>
			<td>National Institutes of Health</td>
			<td>ImageJ v1.54</td>
			<td>https://imagej.nih.gov/ij/index.html</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Licensed software for Ca2+ signals acquisition and analyses</td>
			<td>Molecular Devices</td>
			<td>pCLAMP v10.05</td>
			<td>https://www.moleculardevices.com</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Licensed software for statistical analyses and graphing</td>
			<td>OriginLab</td>
			<td>OriginPro 2019</td>
			<td>https://www.originlab.com/</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

intact short, intermediate, and long skeletal muscle fibers obtained by enzymatic dissociation of six hindlimb muscles of mice: beyond flexor digitorum brevis

Skeletal muscle fibers obtained by enzymatic dissociation of mouse muscles are a useful model for physiological experiments. However, most papers deal with the short fibers of the flexor digitorum brevis (FDB), which restrains the scope of results dealing with fiber types, limits the amount of biological material available, and impedes a clear connection between cellular physiological phenomena and previous biochemical and dynamical knowledge obtained in other muscles.
This paper describes how to obtain intact fibers from six muscles with different fiber type profiles and lengths. Using C57BL/6 adult mice, we show the muscle dissection and fiber isolation protocol and demonstrate the suitability of the fibers for Ca2+ transient studies and their morphometric characterization. The fiber type composition of the muscles is also presented. When dissociated, all muscles rendered intact, living fibers that contract briskly for more than 24 h. FDB gave short (&#60;1 mm), peroneus digiti quarti (PDQA) and peroneus longus (PL) gave intermediate (1-3 mm), while extensor digitorum longus (EDL), extensor hallucis longus (EHL), and soleus muscles released long (3-6 mm) fibers.
When recorded with the fast dye Mag-Fluo-4, Ca2+ transients of PDQA, PL, and EHL fibers showed the fast, narrow kinetics reminiscent of the morphology type II (MT-II), known to correspond to type IIX and IIB fibers. This is consistent with the fact that these muscles have over 90% of type II fibers compared with FDB (~80%) and soleus (~65%). Moving beyond FDB, we demonstrate for the first time the dissociation of several muscles, which render fibers spanning a range of lengths between 1 and 6 mm. These fibers are viable and give fast Ca2+ transients, indicating that the MT-II can be generalized to IIX and IIB fast fibers, regardless of their muscle source. These results increase the availability of models for mature skeletal muscle studies.

Sarcoplasmic Ca2+ concentration during a twitch 
To demonstrate the feasibility of physiological experiments in the set of dissociated fibers and to extend our previous findings on excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) and fiber types, Ca2+ transients were acquired in fibers from all muscles. First, FDB (n = 5) and EDL (n = 7) showed Ca2+ kinetics known as morphology type II (MT-II). These are fast, spiky signals, whose RT lasts ~1 ms; its decay phase can be fitted w...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Intact Short, Intermediate, and Long Skeletal Muscle Fibers Obtained by Enzymatic Dissociation of Six Hindlimb Muscles of Mice: Beyond Flexor Digitorum Brevis

Author Spotlight: Isolation of Long Muscle Fibers from Mouse Hindlimb Muscles for Studying Excitation-Contraction Coupling Across Fiber Types

We describe a protocol to obtain enzymatically dissociated fibers of different lengths and types from six muscles of adult mice: three of them already described (flexor digitorum brevis, extensor digitorum longus, soleus) and three of them successfully dissociated for the first time (extensor hallucis longus, peroneus longus, peroneus digiti quarti).

Intact Short, Intermediate, and Long Skeletal Muscle Fibers Obtained by Enzymatic Dissociation of Six Hindlimb Muscles of Mice: Beyond Flexor Digitorum Brevis

Skeletal muscle fibers obtained by enzymatic dissociation of mouse muscles are a useful model for physiological experiments. However, most papers deal ...

intact-short-intermediate-long-skeletal-muscle-fibers-obtained

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

1.5K Views.  University of Antioquia. We describe a protocol to obtain enzymatically dissociated fibers of different lengths and types from six muscles of adult mice: three of them already described (flexor digitorum brevis, extensor digitorum longus, soleus) and three of them successfully dissociated for the first time (extensor hallucis longus, peroneus longus, peroneus digiti quarti).

Video: Author Spotlight: Isolation of Long Muscle Fibers from Mouse Hindlimb Muscles for Studying Excitation-Contraction Coupling Across Fiber Types

In vivo Micro-circulation Measurement in Skeletal Muscle by Intra-vital Microscopy

BACKGROUND: Regulatory factors and detailed physiology of in vivo microcirculation have remained not fully clarified after many different modalities of imaging had invented. While many macroscopic parameters of blood flow reflect flow velocity, changes in blood flow velocity and red blood cell (RBC) flux does not hold linear relationship in the microscopic observations. There are reports of discrepancy between RBC velocity and RBC flux, RBC flux and plasma flow volume, and of spatial and temporal heterogeneity of flow regulation in the peripheral tissues in microscopic observations, a scientific basis for the requirement of more detailed studies in microcirculatory regulation using intravital microscopy. METHODS: We modified Jeff Lichtman's method of in vivo microscopic observation of mouse sternomastoid muscles. Mice are anesthetized,
ventilated, and injected with PKH26L-fluorescently labeled RBCs for microscopic observation.RESULT &amp; CONCLUSIONS: Fluorescently labeled RBCs are detected and distinguished well by a wide-field microscope. Muscle contraction evoked by electrical stimulation induced increase in RBC flux. Quantification of other parameters including RBC velocity and capillary density were feasible. Mice tolerated well the surgery, injection of stained RBCs, microscopic observation, and electrical stimulation. No muscle or blood vessel damage was observed, suggesting that our method is relatively less invasive and suited for long-term observations.

A new versatile method for observation of microcirculation is presented. It is considered suitable for long-term observation, and for combination with pharmacophysiological or molecular biological interventions.

BACKGROUND: Regulatory factors and detailed physiology of in vivo microcirculation have remained not fully clarified after many different modalities of ...

Adult and Embryonic Skeletal Muscle Microexplant Culture and Isolation of Skeletal Muscle Stem Cells

Cultured embryonic and adult skeletal muscle cells have a number of different uses. The micro-dissected explants technique described in this chapter is a robust and reliable method for isolating relatively large numbers of proliferative skeletal muscle cells from juvenile, adult or embryonic muscles as a source of skeletal muscle stem cells. The authors have used micro-dissected explant cultures to analyse the growth characteristics of skeletal muscle cells in wild-type and dystrophic muscles. Each of the components of tissue growth, namely cell survival, proliferation, senescence and differentiation can be analysed separately using the methods described here. The net effect of all components of growth can be established by means of measuring explant outgrowth rates. The micro-explant method can be used to establish primary cultures from a wide range of different muscle types and ages and, as described here, has been adapted by the authors to enable the isolation of embryonic skeletal muscle precursors.
Uniquely, micro-explant cultures have been used to derive clonal (single cell origin) skeletal muscle stem cell (SMSc) lines which can be expanded and used for in vivo transplantation. In vivo transplanted SMSc behave as functional, tissue-specific, satellite cells which contribute to skeletal muscle fibre regeneration but which are also retained (in the satellite cell niche) as a small pool of undifferentiated stem cells which can be re-isolated into culture using the micro-explant method.

The micro-dissected explants technique is a robust and reliable method for isolating proliferative skeletal muscle cells from juvenile, adult or embryonic muscles as a source of skeletal muscle stem cells. Uniquely, these cells have been clonally derived to produce skeletal muscle stem cell lines used for in vivo transplantation.

Cultured embryonic and adult skeletal muscle cells have a number of different uses. The micro-dissected explants technique described in this chapter is a ...

Purification of Progenitors from Skeletal Muscle

Skeletal muscle contains multiple progenitor populations of distinct embryonic origins and developmental potential. Myogenic progenitors, usually residing in a "satellite cell position" between the myofiber plasma membrane and the laminin-rich basement membrane that ensheaths it, are self-renewing cells that are solely committed to the myogenic lineage1,2. We have recently described a second class of vessel associated progenitors that can generate myofibroblasts and white adipocytes, which responds to damage by efficiently entering proliferation and provides trophic support to myogenic cells during tissue regeneration3,4. One of the most trusted assays to determine the developmental and regenerative potential of a given cell population relies on their isolation and transplantation5-7. To this end we have optimized protocols for their purification by flow cytometry from enzymatically dissociated muscle, which we will outline in this article. The populations obtained using this method will contain either myogenic or fibro/adipogenic colony forming cells: no other cell types are capable of expanding in vitro or surviving in vivo delivery. However, when these populations are used immediately after the sort for molecular analysis (e.g qRT-PCR) one must keep in mind that the freshly sorted subsets may contain other contaminant cells that lack the ability of forming colonies or engrafting recipients.

Method for the enzymatic dissociation, surface labeling and purification by flow cytometry of fibro/adipogenic and myogenic progenitors from murine skeletal muscle.

Skeletal muscle contains multiple progenitor populations of distinct embryonic origins and developmental potential. Myogenic progenitors, usually residing ...

Ex Vivo Assessment of Contractility, Fatigability and Alternans in Isolated Skeletal Muscles

Described here is a method to measure contractility of isolated skeletal muscles. Parameters such as muscle force, muscle power, contractile kinetics, fatigability, and recovery after fatigue can be obtained to assess specific aspects of the excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) process such as excitability, contractile machinery and Ca2+ handling ability. This method removes the nerve and blood supply and focuses on the isolated skeletal muscle itself. We routinely use this method to identify genetic components that alter the contractile property of skeletal muscle though modulating Ca2+ signaling pathways. Here, we describe a newly identified skeletal muscle phenotype, i.e., mechanic alternans, as an example of the various and rich information that can be obtained using the in vitro muscle contractility assay. Combination of this assay with single cell assays, genetic approaches and biochemistry assays can provide important insights into the mechanisms of ECC in skeletal muscle.

Ex Vivo Assessment of Contractility, Fatigability and Alternans in Isolated Skeletal Muscles

We describe a method to directly measure muscle force, muscle power, contractile kinetics and fatigability of isolated skeletal muscles in an in vitro system using field stimulation. Valuable information on Ca2+ handling properties and contractile machinery of the muscle can be obtained using different stimulating protocols.

 
Described here is a method to measure contractility of isolated skeletal muscles. Parameters such as muscle force, muscle power, contractile kinetics, ...

Evaluation of Muscle Function of the Extensor Digitorum Longus Muscle Ex vivo and Tibialis Anterior Muscle In situ in Mice

Body movements are mainly provided by mechanical function of skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle is composed of numerous bundles of myofibers that are sheathed by intramuscular connective tissues. Each myofiber contains many myofibrils that run longitudinally along the length of the myofiber. Myofibrils are the contractile apparatus of muscle and they are composed of repeated contractile units known as sarcomeres. A sarcomere unit contains actin and myosin filaments that are spaced by the Z discs and titin protein. Mechanical function of skeletal muscle is defined by the contractile and passive properties of muscle. The contractile properties are used to characterize the amount of force generated during muscle contraction, time of force generation and time of muscle relaxation. Any factor that affects muscle contraction (such as interaction between actin and myosin filaments, homeostasis of calcium, ATP/ADP ratio, etc.) influences the contractile properties. The passive properties refer to the elastic and viscous properties (stiffness and viscosity) of the muscle in the absence of contraction. These properties are determined by the extracellular and the intracellular structural components (such as titin) and connective tissues (mainly collagen) 1-2. The contractile and passive properties are two inseparable aspects of muscle function. For example, elbow flexion is accomplished by contraction of muscles in the anterior compartment of the upper arm and passive stretch of muscles in the posterior compartment of the upper arm. To truly understand muscle function, both contractile and passive properties should be studied.
The contractile and/or passive mechanical properties of muscle are often compromised in muscle diseases. A good example is Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a severe muscle wasting disease caused by dystrophin deficiency 3. Dystrophin is a cytoskeletal protein that stabilizes the muscle cell membrane (sarcolemma) during muscle contraction 4. In the absence of dystrophin, the sarcolemma is damaged by the shearing force generated during force transmission. This membrane tearing initiates a chain reaction which leads to muscle cell death and loss of contractile machinery. As a consequence, muscle force is reduced and dead myofibers are replaced by fibrotic tissues 5. This later change increases muscle stiffness 6. Accurate measurement of these changes provides important guide to evaluate disease progression and to determine therapeutic efficacy of novel gene/cell/pharmacological interventions. Here, we present two methods to evaluate both contractile and passive mechanical properties of the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle and the contractile properties of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle.

Evaluation of Muscle Function of the Extensor Digitorum Longus Muscle Ex vivo and Tibialis Anterior Muscle In situ in Mice

Changes in limb muscle contractile and passive mechanical properties are important biomarkers for muscle diseases. This manuscript describes physiological assays to measure these properties in the murine extensor digitorum longus and tibialis anterior muscles.

Body  movements are mainly provided by mechanical function of skeletal muscle. Skeletal  muscle is composed of numerous bundles of myofibers that are ...

Assessment of Calcium Sparks in Intact Skeletal Muscle Fibers

Maintaining homeostatic Ca2+ signaling is a fundamental physiological process in living cells. Ca2+ sparks are the elementary units of Ca2+ signaling in the striated muscle fibers that appear as highly localized Ca2+ release events mediated by ryanodine receptor (RyR) Ca2+ release channels on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membrane. Proper assessment of muscle Ca2+ sparks could provide information on the intracellular Ca2+&#160;handling properties of healthy and diseased striated muscles. Although Ca2+ sparks events are commonly seen in resting cardiomyocytes, they are rarely observed in resting skeletal muscle fibers; thus there is a need for methods to generate and analyze sparks in skeletal muscle fibers.
Detailed here is an experimental protocol for measuring Ca2+ sparks in isolated flexor digitorm brevis (FDB) muscle fibers using fluorescent Ca2+ indictors and laser scanning confocal microscopy. In this approach, isolated FDB fibers are exposed to transient hypoosmotic stress followed by a return to isotonic physiological solution. Under these conditions, a robust Ca2+ sparks response is detected adjacent to the sarcolemmal membrane in young healthy FDB muscle fibers. Altered Ca2+ sparks response is detected in dystrophic or aged skeletal muscle fibers. This approach has recently demonstrated that membrane-delimited signaling involving cross-talk between inositol (1,4,5)-triphosphate receptor (IP3R) and RyR contributes to Ca2+ spark activation in skeletal muscle. In summary, our studies using osmotic stress induced Ca2+ sparks showed that this intracellular response reflects a muscle signaling mechanism in physiology and aging/disease states, including mouse models of muscle dystrophy (mdx mice) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS model).

Described here is a method to directly measure calcium sparks, the elementary units of Ca2+ release from sarcoplasmic reticulum&#160;in intact skeletal muscle fibers. This method utilizes osmotic-stress-mediated triggering of Ca2+ release from ryanodine receptor in isolated muscle fibers. The dynamics and homeostatic capacity of intracellular Ca2+ signaling can be employed to assess muscle function in health and disease.

Maintaining homeostatic Ca2+ signaling is a fundamental physiological process in living cells. Ca2+ sparks are the elementary units of Ca2+ signaling in ...

Isolation of Intact Mitochondria from Skeletal Muscle by Differential Centrifugation for High-resolution Respirometry Measurements

Mitochondria are involved in cellular energy metabolism and use oxygen to produce energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Differential centrifugation at low- and high-speed is commonly used to isolate mitochondria from tissues and cultured cells. Crude mitochondrial fractions obtained by differential centrifugation are used for respirometry measurements. The differential centrifugation technique is based on the separation of organelles according to their size and sedimentation velocity. The isolation of mitochondria is performed immediately after tissue harvesting. The tissue is immersed in an ice-cold homogenization medium, minced using scissors and homogenized in a glass homogenizer with a loose-fitting pestle. The differential centrifugation technique is efficient, fast and inexpensive and the mitochondria obtained by differential centrifugation are pure enough for respirometry assays. Some of the limitations and disadvantages of isolated mitochondria, based on differential centrifugation, are that the mitochondria can be damaged during the homogenization and isolation procedure and that large amounts of the tissue biopsy or cultured cells are required for the mitochondrial isolation.

Here, a quadriceps muscle specimen is taken from an anaesthetized pig and mitochondria are isolated by differential centrifugation. Then, the respiratory rates of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes I, II and IV are determined using high-resolution respirometry.

Mitochondria are involved in cellular energy metabolism and use oxygen to produce energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Differential ...

Isolation and Characterization of Exosomes from Skeletal Muscle Fibroblasts

Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles released by virtually all cells and secreted in all biological fluids. Many methods have been developed for the isolation of these vesicles, including ultracentrifugation, ultrafiltration, and size exclusion chromatography. However, not all are suitable for large scale exosome purification and characterization. Outlined here is a protocol for establishing cultures of primary fibroblasts isolated from adult mouse skeletal muscles, followed by purification and characterization of exosomes from the culture media of these cells. The method is based on the use of sequential centrifugation steps followed by sucrose density gradients. Purity of the exosomal preparations is then validated by western blot analyses using a battery of canonical markers (i.e., Alix, CD9, and CD81). The protocol describes how to isolate and concentrate bioactive exosomes for electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and uptake experiments for functional studies. It can easily be scaled up or down and adapted for exosome isolation from different cell types, tissues, and biological fluids.

This protocol illustrates the 1) the isolation and culture of primary fibroblasts from the adult mouse gastrocnemius muscle as well as 2) purification and characterization of exosomes using a differential ultracentrifugation method combined with sucrose density gradients followed by western blot analyses.

Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles released by virtually all cells and secreted in all biological fluids. Many methods have been developed for the ...

Electroporation of Plasmid DNA into Mouse Skeletal Muscle

Transient gene expression modulation in murine skeletal muscle by plasmid electroporation is a useful tool for assessing normal and pathological physiology. Overexpression or knockdown of target genes enables investigators to manipulate individual molecular events and, thus, better understand the mechanisms that impact muscle mass, muscle metabolism, and contractility. In addition, electroporation of DNA plasmids that encode fluorescent tags allows investigators to measure changes in subcellular localization of proteins in skeletal muscle in vivo. A key functional assessment of skeletal muscle includes the measurement of muscle contractility. In this protocol, we demonstrate that whole muscle contractility studies are still possible after plasmid DNA injection, electroporation, and gene expression modulation. The goal of this instructional procedure is to demonstrate the step-by-step method of DNA plasmid electroporation into mouse skeletal muscle to facilitate uptake and expression in the myofibers of the tibialis anterior and extensor digitorum longus muscles, as well as to demonstrate that skeletal muscle contractility is not compromised by injection and electroporation.

Electroporation of plasmid DNA into skeletal muscle is a viable method to modulate gene expression without compromising muscle contractility in mice.

Transient gene expression modulation in murine skeletal muscle by plasmid electroporation is a useful tool for assessing normal and pathological ...

Isolation of Quiescent Stem Cell Populations from Individual Skeletal Muscles

Skeletal muscle harbors distinct populations of adult stem cells that contribute to the homeostasis and repair of the tissue. Skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) have the ability to make new muscle, whereas fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) contribute to stromal supporting tissues and have the ability to make fibroblasts and adipocytes. Both MuSCs and FAPs reside in a state of prolonged reversible cell cycle exit, called quiescence. The quiescent state is key to their function. Quiescent stem cells are commonly purified from multiple muscle tissues pooled together in a single sample. However, recent studies have revealed distinct differences in the molecular profiles and quiescence depth of MuSCs isolated from different muscles. The present protocol describes the isolation and study of MuSCs and FAPs from individual skeletal muscles and presents strategies to perform molecular analysis of stem cell activation. It details how to isolate and digest muscles of different developmental origin, thicknesses, and functions, such as the diaphragm, triceps, gracilis, tibialis anterior (TA), gastrocnemius (GA), soleus, extensor digitorum longus (EDL), and the masseter muscles. MuSCs and FAPs are purified by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and analyzed by immunofluorescence staining and 5-ethynyl-2&#180;-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation assay.

This protocol describes the isolation of muscle stem cells and fibro-adipogenic progenitors from individual skeletal muscles in mice. The protocol involves single muscle dissection, stem cell isolation by fluorescence activated cell sorting, purity assessment by immunofluorescence staining, and quantitative measurement of S-phase entry by 5-ethynyl-2&#180;-deoxyuridine incorporation assay.

Skeletal muscle harbors distinct populations of adult stem cells that contribute to the homeostasis and repair of the tissue. Skeletal muscle stem cells ...