Effect of gender on rat upper airway muscle contractile properties

Obstructive sleep apnoea arises due to upper airway (UA) collapse which is normally counteracted by contraction of UA muscles such as the sternohyoids and geniohyoids. The disorder has a marked male predominance but the effect of gender on UA muscle contractile properties is unknown and these properties have not been compared for the sternohyoid and geniohyoid muscles in the same species. Isometric contractile characteristics were determined using strips of sternohyoid and geniohyoid muscle from male and female rats in Krebs solution at 30 degrees C. For both muscles, there were no differences between male and female contractile kinetics, twitch or tetanic tension, tension-length or tension-frequency relationship or endurance. In both males and females, sternohyoid twitch and tetanic tension was greater than geniohyoid. Sternohyoid endurance was less than geniohyoid but contractile kinetics, tension-length and tension-frequency relationships were similar. Therefore, gender does not affect UA muscle contractile properties and sternohyoid tension is greater and endurance less than that of the geniohyoid.