Effects of age on aneural regeneration of soleus muscle in rat

1. The ability of autografted soleus muscles to regenerate without innervation was investigated in young (two groups: 17 days or 35 g and 5 weeks or 100 g) and old (10 weeks or 300 g and 19 months or 700 g) rats. 2. Tetanic force and fibre area of the regenerated muscles were followed in 35, 100 and 300 g rats and found to reach a maximum 10-15 days after the operation and then declined. 3. Maximal tetanic force and fibre area were greater in old than in young rats; the largest increase was seen between 100 and 300 g rats. The relaxation phase of the twitch became shorter in the 700 g animals. The force per cross-sectional area appeared to fall with age. The length of the new fibres, inferred from the width of the length-force curve, increased only slightly with age. 4. Ten days after grafting, autophagocytosis of necrotic fibres was completed in young but not in old rats. The new fibres in young rats had one central nucleus per cross-section and fibre size was unimodally distributed; fibres in old rats had multiple internal nuclei and the size distribution was bimodal due to the presence of large fibres. 5. Previous results indicating greater muscle regeneration in young than in old rats may reflect more vigorous reinnervation in young animals rather than a greater myogenic potential. Increased fibre size of regenerated muscles of old compared with young rats may be attributed to the larger amount of necrotic material which is mitogenic for satellite cells, or to age-dependent changes of the expression of cell adhesion molecules. Enhanced lateral fusion of myotubes would give rise to large fibres with multiple internal nuclei.