A microcalorimetric study of heat production in resting skeletal muscle from human subjects

Different microcalorimetric techniques have been compared for the assessment in vitro of the total metabolic activity of resting skeletal muscle. Human fibre bundles were suspended in Krebs-Ringer-phosphate buffer containing glucose and insulin and the heat evolution was continuously monitored for 2-6 h. Palmitate as substrate was also tested. The power signals declined rapidly when a static calorimetric method (A) was used. Two different perfusion methods (B, C) gave higher power values. Long-lasting steady states were observed with method C, where the sample was contained in a cage acting as a stirrer. Significant differences were found for fibre bundles from different human muscles as well as age- and sex-related differences. The heat production in samples from the rectus abdominis muscle (method B), 0.73 mW/g muscle wet wt., was significantly higher than for the obliquus internus muscle, 0.44 mW/g, and the vastus lateralis muscle, 0.55 mW/g, but not different from the heat production value of vastus medialis, 0.66 mW/g. In method C particularly, the fibre bundles are believed to be in adequate contact with the surrounding medium. With the use of a multi-channel calorimeter it is possible to perform up to four experiments simultaneously, e.g. involving the calorigenic effects of pharmacological substances. The technique provides a new approach for detailed studies of muscle metabolism in physiological and pathological conditions.