New experimental setup for studying strictly noninvasively skeletal muscle function in rat using 1H-magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and 31P-MR spectroscopy.
Traditional setups for in situ MR investigation of skeletal muscle function in animals use invasive systems for muscle stimulation and force measurement. These systems require surgical preparation and therefore exclude repetitive investigations on the same animal. This article describes a new experimental setup allowing strictly noninvasive MR investigations of muscle function in contracting rat gastrocnemius muscle using 1H-MR imaging and 31P-MR spectroscopy. The novelty of this setup is the integration of two noninvasive systems allowing muscle contraction by transcutaneous stimulation and force measurement with a dedicated ergometer. Muscle function was investigated in 20 rats (275-300 g) through a fatiguing stimulation protocol, either with this noninvasive setup (n = 10) or with a traditional MR setup (n = 10). T2-weighted images demonstrated that transcutaneous stimulation activated mainly the gastrocnemius muscle. Moreover, the changes in force development and in energy metabolism obtained with the noninvasive setup were qualitatively and quantitatively similar to those obtained with the traditional setup. This noninvasive setup is thus suitable for investigating skeletal muscle function in situ. It offers the possibility to repeat investigations in the same animal, avoiding individual variability and enabling longitudinal follow-up studies. This opens up new perspectives in various research areas including pharmaceutical research.
Giannesini
Benoit
B
Centre de Résonance Magnétique Biologique et Médicale (CRMBM), UMR CNRS 6612, Faculté de Médecine de Marseille, Marseille, France.
Izquierdo
Marguerite
M
Le Fur
Yann
Y
Cozzone
Patrick J
PJ
Fingerle
Jürgen
J
Himber
Jacques
J
Künnecke
Basil
B
Von Kienlin
Markus
M
Bendahan
David
D
D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D007537:Isometric Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D010725:Phosphocreatine / Q000378:metabolism; D010759:Phosphorus Isotopes; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011522:Protons; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014159:Transducers
D010759:Phosphorus Isotopes; D011522:Protons; D010725:Phosphocreatine; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate