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Nerve injury affects the capillary supply in rat slow and fast muscles differently

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Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine the acute effects of permanent denervation on the length density of the capillary network in rat slow soleus (SOL) and fast extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles and the effect of short-lasting reinnervation in slow muscle only. Denervation was performed by cutting the sciatic nerve. Both muscles were excised 2 weeks later. Reinnervation was studied 4 weeks after nerve crush in SOL muscle only. Capillaries and muscle fibres were visualised by triple immunofluorescent staining with antibodies against CD31 and laminin and with fluorescein-labelled Griffonia (Bandeira) simplicifolia lectin. A recently developed stereological approach allowing the estimation of the length of capillaries adjacent to each individual fibre (Lcap/Lfib) was employed. Three-dimensional virtual test grids were applied to stacks of optical images captured with a confocal microscope and their intersections with capillaries and muscle fibres were counted. Interrelationships among capillaries and muscle fibres were demonstrated with maximum intensity projection of the acquired stacks of optical images. The course of capillaries in EDL seemed to be parallel to the fibre axes, whereas in SOL, their preferential direction deviated from the fibre axes and formed more cross-connections among neighbouring capillaries. Lcap/Lfib was clearly reduced in denervated SOL but remained unchanged in EDL, although the muscle fibres significantly atrophied in both muscle types. When soleus muscle was reinnervated, capillary length per unit fibre length was completely restored. The physiological background for the different responses of the capillary network in slow and fast muscle is discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Dr. Katarína Mitrová for her technical assistance with capturing confocal images.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Anatomy, Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Vita Čebašek & Ida Eržen

  2. Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic

    Barbora Radochová & Lucie Kubínová

  3. Institute of Pathophysiology, Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Samo Ribarič

Authors
  1. Vita Čebašek
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  2. Barbora Radochová
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  3. Samo Ribarič
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  4. Lucie Kubínová
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  5. Ida Eržen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vita Čebašek.

Additional information

This study was supported by the Slovenian Research Agency and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic (KONTAKT grant no. 19/2005).

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Čebašek, V., Radochová, B., Ribarič, S. et al. Nerve injury affects the capillary supply in rat slow and fast muscles differently. Cell Tissue Res 323, 305–312 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-005-0071-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-005-0071-6

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