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Hypertrophic muscle fibers with fissures in power-lifters; fiber splitting or defect regeneration?

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Abstract

Power-lifters have hypertrophic muscle fibers with fissures seen in cross-sections, called as fiber splitting.Whether this phenomenon is due to real splitting or defective regeneration has not been settled. To elucidate this matter,we have examined biopsies from the trapezius and vastus lateralis of power lifters (P group) and power lifters self-administrating anabolic steroids (PAS group). For this purpose, immunohistochemical staining of serial cross -sections was used. The PAS group had significantly more fibers with fissures than the P group in the vastus lateralis (1.2%±0.95% vs 0.35±0.34, P<0.05) but not in the trapezius muscle (1.7% in both groups). Serial sections revealed that the fibers with fissures changed their profile profoundly over short distances. Some such fibers had a mature staining profile, whereas other fibers indicated recent degeneration and/or regeneration. Activation of satellite cells and formation of aberrant segments were also evident. We conclude that the so-called split fibers are due to defect regeneration. Some fibers with fissures are the results of old events of segmental muscle fiber damage, whereas the others reflect an ongoing process. The normal regenerative process is most likely disturbed in power-lifters by their continuous training with repeated high mechanical stress on the muscles.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Margaretha Enerstedt and Anna-Karin Olofsson for excellent technical assistance, Fatima Pedrosa Domellöf and Christer Malm for valuable comments on the manuscript and Fawzi Kadi for providing data on the number of internal nuclei in the trapezius. This study was supported by grants from the Swedish National Centre for research in sports CIF (109/05), the Swedish Research Council (12X-3934) and the Medical Faculty of Umeå University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Section for Anatomy, Umea University, 901 87, Umea, Sweden

    Anders Eriksson, Mona Lindström, Lena Carlsson & Lars-Eric Thornell

  2. Department of Health Science, Section for Medical Science, Lulea University of Technology, 961 36, Boden, Sweden

    Anders Eriksson

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  1. Anders Eriksson
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  2. Mona Lindström
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  3. Lena Carlsson
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  4. Lars-Eric Thornell
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Correspondence to Lars-Eric Thornell.

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Eriksson, A., Lindström, M., Carlsson, L. et al. Hypertrophic muscle fibers with fissures in power-lifters; fiber splitting or defect regeneration?. Histochem Cell Biol 126, 409–417 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-006-0176-3

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