Respiratory muscle stiffness is age- and muscle-specific

We investigated the possible contribution of respiratory muscles to the well documented increase in chest wall stiffness with age. Diaphragm and internal intercostal muscle strips were dissected from male Fischer 344 rats of 3, 6, 12, and 24 months of age. Muscles were subjected, in vitro, to stress-strain and yield point tests. Passive tension data from these tests were normalized to a reference length (Lr), which was defined in terms of absolute stress, 700 Pascals. In general, Lr of diaphragm was found to be 90% of the length (Lo) required for maximal tetanic tension. Within a range of stretch between Lr and 130% Lr, diaphragm muscles from adult rats (6-12 month) were more compliant than those of either young (3 month) or old (24 month) animals. In contrast, intercostal muscles from old rats were stiffer than those of young or adult rats. Yield strength of both muscles was constant with age, but diaphragm muscles were found to have a higher yield strength than intercostal muscles from any age. Thus, only some passive mechanical properties of respiratory muscles vary with age, and this variation in muscle-specific. A surprising finding of this study was that diaphragm muscles of adult animals were more compliant than those of either young or old rats.