Temperature effects on mammalian muscle contraction.
Effects of temperature (range 37 degrees C to 8 degrees C) on isometric twitch and tetanic tensions of mammalian (rat) fast and slow muscles are re-examined. The twitch tension of a fast muscle increased in cooling it 20 degrees C but decreased on further cooling, whereas that of a slow muscle decreased monotonically with cooling. The cooling-potentiation in the fast muscle was evident within a week after birth but the cooling-depression in the slow muscle was not established until about the fourth week. The maximal tetanic tension in either muscle, and at all ages, decreased 10-20% in cooling to 25 degrees C but decreased more markedly in cooling below 20 degrees C; the tension at 10 degrees C was 40-50% of that at 35 degrees C. Preliminary observations made on fast muscle showed that the apparent stiffness/tension ratio was higher at low temperatures. It is postulated that the cooling depression of tetanic tension in mammalian muscle may be due to a direct effect on cross-bridges, whereas twitch tension variation may represent a net outcome of the same effect and the cooling-increase in the calcium sensitivity of myofibrillar activation.
Department of Physiology, Medical School, University of Bristol, England.
K W
KW
Ranatunga
S R
SR
Wylie
D000818:Animals; D003080:Cold Temperature; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013696:Temperature