Structural diversity in muscle fibres of chicken breast

Summary, in English

Chicken breast muscle is usually considered to be a relatively homogeneous white muscle and has therefore been widely used for studies of muscle proteins. In a previous study, however, we have found different M-region structures in different fibres from this muscle. Because of this result, we have now carried out a combined histochemical and ultrastructural survey of this muscle. In particular, we have made use of large transverse cryo-sections that include most of the muscle cross-section. Although the white region is fairly homogeneous in fibre content according to normal histochemical criteria (mATPase), we have found that there is a gradation of fibre structure across the muscle. The bulk of the muscle stains conventionally for Type-II fibres according to mATPase tests (the "white" part) but, in the small "red" part of the muscle, there are also Type-I fibres together with the Type-II fibres. Superimposed on this division into Type-I and Type-II fibres are variations in fibre size, oxidative and glycolytic staining properties, and variations of Z-band width and M-band structure; there is no strict correlation among any of these parameters. The apparently uniform staining across most of the muscle when tested for myofibrillar ATPase may be a misleading indicator of fibre properties.

• Författare: Anne-Christine Edman; Jan Lexell; Michael Sjöstrom; John M Squire
• Publiceringsår: 1988
• Språk: Engelska
• Sidor: 281-289
• Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie: Cell and Tissue Research
• Volym: 251
• Issue: 2
• Länkar: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00215835
• Dokumenttyp: Artikel i tidskrift
• Förlag: Springer
• Ämne: Cell Biology
• Nyckelord: Striated skeletal muscle; Chicken; Myofibril; Muscle cells; Fibre types
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt: ISSN: 1432-0878