Chronic stimulation of mammalian muscle: changes in metabolite concentrations in individual fibers

Single fibers were analyzed from rabbit fast-twitch tibialis anterior muscles freeze-clamped during continuous stimulation at 10 Hz for up to 8 wk. ATP declined after 1 wk to a stable level approximately 30% below controls. Phosphocreatine decreased earlier and to a greater extent (approximately 50%). Glycogen varied considerably among stimulated fibers and decreased on average approximately 75% by 8 wk. Glucose, lactate, citrate, and malate had changed little in the first 30 h and then increased four-, two-, four-, and sevenfold, respectively, over the next 5 wk. Glucose 6-phosphate showed the most unexpected behavior: with an overall upward trend, it descended to extremely low values (10% of control) after approximately 1 wk of stimulation. As long as high- and low-oxidative fibers were present, the former showed slightly higher levels of ATP, lactate, and malate; other metabolites did not differ in a consistent way. These unexpected observations, which differ strikingly from data for acute stimulation, shed light on adaptations that enable a chronically stimulated muscle to sustain a continuous high level of ATP utilization.