Core formation in the muscles of rats intoxicated with triethyltin sulfate

Young adult Osbourne-Mendel rats intoxicated for up to 23 days with triethyltin sulfate (TET) at a dose of 20 mg/liter of drinking water given ad libitum, developed core-like structures in type 1 extrafusal fibers of the soleus muscles. Frozen sections revealed an absence of oxidative enzyme activity (NADH-tetrazolium reductase) and diminished or absent myosin ATPase (pH 9.4) in the core regions. The main electron microscopic features within the cores were loss of mitochondria and streaming of the Z-disks. The histochemical and electron microscopic similarities and differences between the TET-induced cores, other core models, and those reported in some human neuromuscular disorders are discussed. The present experiments do not clarify whether the cores are produced from a direct effect of TET upon skeletal muscle or upon the neural component of the motor unit.