title: Simple method for the identification of oxidative fibers in skeletal muscle.
abstract: Skeletal muscle is composed of several different types of myofiber: slow oxidative (SO), fast glycolytic oxidative and fast glycolytic. However, the classification is usually determined by myosin heavy chain typing rather than by metabolic index. In this study, the oxidative metabolic index was investigated as a possible method of myofiber typing. Myoglobin, which is involved in oxygen transport and storage in myofibers, and mitochondria, which are the central organelles for oxidative metabolism, were studied. High levels of myoglobin and mitochondria are believed to exist in SO fibers, but the current study showed that they are considerably richer in some fast type fibers. As myofiber typing using the oxidative metabolic index is important physiologically, an attempt was made to find a simple method for this purpose. Some mitochondrial proteins have been observed to auto-fluoresce but until now this effect was too faint to detect easily. Owing to the recent advances in cooling charge-coupled device technology, such auto-fluorescence can now be used for myofiber typing, and the simple and rapid method for doing so is reported here.
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise Physiology, Institute of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8574, Japan. takemasa@taiiku.tsukuba.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takemasa
authors.forename: Keiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Mitsunori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Masanao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Machida
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hitomi
authors.forename: Takako
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kizaki
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Shuko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016616:Cryoultramicrotomy / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018657:Muscle Fibers, Slow-Twitch / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009211:Myoglobin / Q000378:metabolism*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D009211:Myoglobin; D010100:Oxygen