Summary
The muscle-tendon junctions of adult mice show a special arrangement of myofibrils. Essentially, the myofibrils are oriented in an anchor-like manner in the large finger-shaped processes of the muscle fiber, which contain “mitochondrial sacks” (Demmel et al. 1979) in a subsarcolemmal position. Furthermore, the single myofibril frequently branches out into smaller fibrils. It is suggested that due to the three-dimensional arrangement, these processes gain a high rigidity during contraction, thus maintaining their shape and preserving the “mitochondrial sacks”.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Appell H-J, Stang-Voss C (1980) A peculiar fibrillar pattern in the myocardial cells of trabeculae carnea in the right ventricle of the rat, mouse, and rabbit. Cell Tissue Res 208:165–168
Bennett HS (1955) Modern concepts of the structure of striated muscle. Am J Phys Med 34:46–67
Block RJ, Geiger B (1980) The localization of acetylcholine receptor clusters in areas of cellsubstrate contact in cultures of rat myotubes. Cell 21:25–35
Bogusch G, Lindner E (1976) Ultrastruktur von Ringbinden-Muskelfasern. Verb Anat Ges 70:989–996
Challice CE, Viragh S (1973) Ultrastructure of the mammalian heart. Academic Press, New York
Demmel U, Schewe U, Böck P, Gorgas K (1979) Die Feinstruktur der Muskel-Sehnenund Muskel-Epithelverbindungen in der Zunge des Meerschweinchens. Cytobiol 18:460–477
Gans C, Bock WJ (1965) The functional significance of muscle architecture — a theoretical analysis. Ergebnisse der Anatomie und Entwicklungsgeschichte 38:116–142
Gelber D, Moore DH, Ruska H (1960) Observations of the myotendon junction in mammalian skeletal muscle. Z Zellforsch 52:396–400
Horstmann E (1960) Die elektronenmikroskopische Struktur der Haut. Arch Klin Exp Derm 211:18–35
Kefalides NA (1980) Chemistry of basement membranes: structure and synthesis. Adv Microcirc 9:295–322
Lindner E (1968) Submikroskopische Ringbinden — funktioneile Strukturen der “Weichteilmuskulatur”. Z Zellforsch 88:370–386
Mair WGP, Tomé FMS (1972) The ultrastructure of the adult and developing human myotendinous junction. Acta Neuropathol 21: 239–252
Maruyama K, Shimada Y (1978) Fine structure of the myotendinous junction of lathyritic rat muscle with special reference to connectin, a muscle elastic protein. Tiss Cell 10:741–748
Matter A, Forssmann WG (1968) Muskelsehnenverbindungen. 62. Verb Anat Ges, Anat Anz Erg heft 121:73–81
Myklebust R, Jensen H (1978) Leptomeric fibrils and t-tubule desmosomes in the Z-band region of the mouse heart papillary muscle. Cell Tissue Res 188:205–215
Palade GE, Farquhar MG (1965) A special fibril of the dermis. J Cell Biol 27:215–224
Schwarzacher HG (1960) Untersuchungen über die Skeletmuskel-Sehnenverbindung. Acta Anat 40:59–86
Trotter JA, Corbett K, Avner BP (1981) Structure and function of the murine muscle-tendon junction. Anat Rec 201:293–302
Viragh S, Challice CE (1969) Variations in filamentous and fibrillar organization, and associated sarcolemmal structures in cells of the normal mammalian heart. J Ultrastruct Res 28:321–334
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Michna, H. A peculiar myofibrillar pattern in the murine muscletendon junction. Cell Tissue Res. 233, 227–231 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00222246
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00222246