Membrane and biochemical alterations after denervation and during reinnervation of mouse skeletal muscle

Denervation of the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle of the mouse by either nerve crush or nerve section produced: a reduction of the resting membrane potential (Em), alterations in the properties of muscle fibre action potentials and the development of tetrodotoxin (TTX)-resistant action potentials. These changes in membrane electrical properties were accompanied by an increase in the endocytic activity of the muscle and an increase in the activities of the lysosomal enzymes cathepsin D and N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAGA). Reinnervation of muscle was indicated at 9 days after nerve crush by the presence of miniature end-plate potentials. The recovery of membrane electrical properties, beginning with the onset of reinnervation, were not temporally related. The Em increased in two stages: an early rapid repolarization and a later slower repolarization. The muscle fibers were sensitive to the blocking action of TTX by 12 days after nerve crush, whereas the rate of rise (dV/dt) of the action potential did not approach values of innervated muscles until 21 days. Reinnervation resulted in a decrease in endocytosis and a decrease in the activities of cathepsin D and NAGA toward innervated values by 21 days after nerve crush. The results suggest that membrane alterations after denervation and during reinnervation may occur by endo- and exocytosis of membrane constituents and that the lysosomal system may play a role in the breakdown and/or recycling of these structures.