Exercise-induced focal skeletal muscle fiber degeneration and capillary morphology

The relationship between exercise-induced focal muscle fiber degeneration and changes in capillary morphology was investigated in male Wistar rats. Untrained animals ran on a treadmill for 1 h at submaximal intensity and were killed 0, 6, or 24 h after running. Nonexercised rats served as controls. In situ perfused soleus muscles were prepared for electron microscopy. Micrographed cross sections were quantitatively analyzed for parameters indicative of capillary blood flow or transcapillary exchange. Capillary lumina were ovally rather than circularly shaped, and no indications for obstruction of blood flow at the capillary level were found. Endothelial cells and their organelles had a normal appearance in all groups. However, immediately after exercise, capillaries showed a decreased thickness of their endothelium and basal membrane, probably caused by dehydration. Six hours after exercise, muscle fibers were swollen (28% increase in cross-sectional area), resulting in a slightly increased diffusion distance. This fiber swelling was not associated with an increase in muscle water content, a finding for which no explanation could be found. Twenty-four hours after the animals ran, capillaries located near degenerated muscle fibers had an increased cross-sectional luminal area and an increased luminal circumference. This effect decreased gradually with increasing distance from the degenerated fiber area. The present morphometric results do not support the hypothesis that changes in capillary morphology primarily contribute to exercise-induced focal muscle fiber degeneration.