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Morphometric analysis of the developing, murine aneural soleus muscle
1Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, PA 15261.
Summary
Spinal cord ablation in mice reduced primary myotube formation in soleus muscles but did not alter basic muscle development patterns. Secondary myotube formation was reduced, suggesting primary myotubes scaffold development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Muscle organogenesis
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Muscle development is a complex process involving innervation.
- The role of neural input in early muscle organogenesis requires further elucidation.
- Soleus muscle development in mice provides a model for studying muscle morphogenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the organogenesis of aneural soleus muscle in mice.
- To quantitatively analyze age-related changes in muscle parameters without neural input.
- To compare the development of aneural muscles with normally innervated muscles.
Main Methods:
- Laser ablation of the lumbosacral spinal cord in 129ReJ mice at 14 days in utero.
- Quantitative evaluation using serial ultrathin sections and computer-assisted morphometric analysis.
- Analysis of aneural muscles at 16- and 18-day gestation and at birth.
Main Results:
- Basic patterns of soleus muscle morphogenesis were preserved in aneural conditions.
- Aneural muscles showed quantitative, not qualitative, developmental differences compared to innervated muscles.
- Primary myotube formation decreased by ~32%, and secondary myotube numbers were significantly reduced.
Conclusions:
- Spinal cord ablation impacts quantitative aspects of muscle organogenesis, particularly primary and secondary myotube formation.
- Reduced primary myotubes may limit secondary myotube development due to loss of scaffolding.
- Innervation has minimal impact on myotube growth until birth, with slight alterations in diameter distribution observed.