Compensatory effects of chronic electrostimulation on unweighted rat soleus muscle

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of electrostimulation in counteracting the transformation of the unweighted rat soleus muscle. The stimulation resembled the firing patterns of normal slow motor units and was imposed during hindlimb suspension. For the 10-day hindlimb suspended rats, the transformation of the slow soleus muscle towards a faster type was characterized by a decrease in the time to peak tension and the half-relaxation time of the twitch, a reduction in the P20/P0 index, i.e. the ratio of the subtetanic tension at 20 Hz relative to the tetanic tension, and a decrease in the percentage distributions of type I fibres accompanied by an increase of type IIa and IIc fibres. These changes were prevented by electrostimulation since, for the parameters mentioned above, no significant difference was observed in the soleus of the suspended rats that received electrostimulation when compared with the control rats. Nevertheless, neither the loss of mass nor the decrease in force output in the suspended rats were prevented by electrostimulation. The present results suggest a positive compensation of the suspension-induced alterations in the contractile and histochemical properties of the soleus muscle by means of chronic electrostimulation, which, however, do not prevent atrophy or the loss of contractile force.