Summary
A microscope objective and electronic imaging system were used to determine how isolated frog skeletal muscle fibers adjust their volume during an isometric tetanus. Crosssectional area and volume of the middle third of a fiber increased rapidly with the development of active tension, which indicates that contraction produced components of force perpendicular to the long axis. The extreme ends are known to shorten whether or not the middle of a fiber is isometric or stretched. Shortening of the ends may shift water towards the middle, which could account for the volume changes we observed. The cytoskeletal matrices of muscle evidently adjust rapidly during contraction to maintain a dynamic equilibrium between the axial and radial forces that stabilize the whole cell. The Z disks have been shown to expand during active, but not passive, tension development. Z disks might be the elastic elements of the muscle cytoskeleton primarily involved in rapid balancing of the radial components of active force.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Ballard, D. H., and Brown, C. M., 1982, “Computer Vision,” Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Blinks, J. R., 1965, Influence of osmotic strength on cross-section and volume of isolated single muscle fibres, J. Phvsiol. 177, 42.
Blinks, J. R., Rudel, R. and Taylor, S. R., 1978, Calcium transients in isolated amphibian skeletal muscle fibres: Detection with aequorin, J. Phvsiol. 277:291.
Duda, R. O., and Hart, P. E., 1973, Region analysis; extensions, in: “Pattern Classification and Scene Analysis”, John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY.
Edman, K. A. P., and Regianni, C., 1984, Redistribution of sarcomere length during isometric contraction of frog muscle fibres and its relation to tension creep. J. Phvsiol., 351:169.
Edman, K. A. P., Reggiani, C., and te Kronnie, G., 1985, Differences in maximum velocity of shortening along single muscle fibres of the frog, J. Physiol., 365:147.
Eisenberg, B. R., 1983, Quantitative ultrastructure of mammalian skeletal muscle, in: “Handbook of Physiology: Skeletal Muscle”, American Physiological Society, Bethesda, MD.
Funatsu, T., Higuchi, H., and Ishiwata, S., 1990, Elastic filaments in skeletal muscle revealed by selective removal of thin filaments with plasma gelsolin, J. Cell Biol. 110:53.
Goldspink, G., 1983, Alterations in myofibril size and structure during growth, exercise, and changes in environmental temperature, in: “Handbook of Physiology: Skeletal Muscle”, American Physiological Society, Bethesda, MD.
Goldstein, M. A., Michael, L. H., Schroeter, J. P., and Sass, R. L., 1988, Structural states in the Z band of skeletal muscle correlate with states of active and passive tension, J. Gen. Physiol. 92:113.
Gordon, A. M., Huxley, A. F., and Julian, F. J., 1963, Apparatus for mechanical investigations on isolated muscle fibres, J. Phvsiol. 167:42P.
Gonzalez, R. C., and Wintz, P., 1987, “Digital Image Processing”, Addison-Wesley Co. Inc., Reading, MA.
Howell, J. N., and Oetliker, H., 1987, Effects of repetitive activity, ruthenium red, and elevated extracellular calcium on frog skeletal muscle: implications for t-tubule conduction. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 65:691.
Hoyle, G., 1983, Structural architecture of complete cross-striated sarcomeres, in: “Muscles and Their Neural Control”, John Wiley & Sons, NY.
Huxley, A. F., 1980, Uncertainties about “independent force-generators”, in: “Reflections on Muscle,” Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Huxley, A. F., 1988, Prefatory chapter: Muscular contraction, Ann. Rev. Physiol. 50:1.
Huxley, A. F., and Peachey, L. D., 1961, The maximum length for contraction in vertebrate striated muscle, J. Physiol., 156:150.
Inoué, S., 1986, Physiological characteristics of the eye, in: “Video Microscopy,” Plenum Press, New York, NY.
Lännergren, J., 1989, Volume changes of isolated Xenopus muscle fibres associated with repeated tetanic contractions, J. Physiol., 429:116P.
Neering, I. R., Quesenberry, L. A., Morris, V. A., and Taylor, S. R., 1991, Non-uniform volume changes during muscle contraction, Biophys. J., 59:926.
Pierobon-Bormioli, S., Betto, R., and Salviati, G., 1989, The organization of titin (connectin) and nebulin in the sarcomeres: an immunocytolocalization study, J. Musc. Res. Cell Motil., 10:446.
Pollack, G. H., 1990, Generators and sustainers: the tension-length relation, in: “Muscles and Molecules: Uncovering the Principles of Biological Motion,” Ebner and Sons, Seattle, WA.
Quesenberry, L. A., Morris, V. A., Neering, I. R., and Taylor, S. R., 1991, Reduced defocus degradation in a system for high-speed 3D digital microscopy, Proc. Internatl. Soc. Photo-Optical Instr. Eng. 1428:177.
Sato, T. G., 1954, Volume change of a muscle fiber on tetanic contraction, Annot. Zool. JPN. 27:165.
Westerblad, H. and Lännergren, J., 1991, Slowing of relaxation during fatigue in single muscle fibres. J. Phvsiol. 434:323.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Taylor, S.R., Neering, I.R., Quesenberry, L.A., Morris, V.A. (1992). Volume Changes During Contraction of Isolated Frog Muscle Fibers. In: Frank, G.B., Bianchi, C.P., ter Keurs, H.E.D.J. (eds) Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal, Cardiac, and Smooth Muscle. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 311. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3362-7_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3362-7_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6483-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-3362-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive