L-carnitine combined with minimal electrical stimulation promotes type transformation of canine latissimus dorsi

In the first part of this study, in four dogs the left latissimus dorsi was equipped to perform in vivo contraction measurements and the right latissimus dorsi served as control. After a control period, the dogs received L-carnitine intravenously for 8 wk. We found that carnitine caused the percentage of type I fibers to increase from 30 to 55% in the left latissimus dorsi but no change in the right latissimus dorsi. In the left latissimus dorsi, the contraction speed (percentage ripple) decreased from 75 to 30% and cytochrome-c oxidase activity increased 1.6-fold. No changes occurred in the right latissimus dorsi. To verify these observations, we performed a second study with placebo control for 8 wk, and only the left latissimus dorsi was subjected to weekly electrical stimulation. In the carnitine-treated dogs, the stimulated muscle showed an increase in the percentage of type I fibers from 16 to 35% and the ripple decreased from 92 to 77%. These measures did not change in the placebo-treated dogs. We concluded that weekly short-term stimulation does not lead to a change in fiber type; however, carnitine combined with minimal stimulation of the muscle leads to a significant shift in muscle fiber type composition toward a muscle with an increased content of type I fibers.