title: Myo-mechanical analysis of isolated skeletal muscle.
abstract: To assess the in vivo effects of therapeutic interventions for the treatment of muscle disease, quantitative methods are needed that measure force generation and fatigability in treated muscle. We describe a detailed approach to evaluating myo-mechanical properties in freshly explanted hindlimb muscle from the mouse. We describe the atraumatic harvest of mouse extensor digitorum longus muscle, mounting the muscle in a muscle strip myograph (Model 820MS; Danish Myo Technology), and the measurement of maximal twitch and tetanic tension, contraction time, and half-relaxation time, using a square pulse stimulator (Model S48; Grass Technologies). Using these measurements, we demonstrate the calculation of specific twitch and tetanic tension normalized to muscle cross-sectional area, the twitch-to-tetanic tension ratio, the force-frequency relationship curve and the low frequency fatigue curve. This analysis provides a method for quantitative comparison between therapeutic interventions in mouse models of muscle disease, as well as comparison of the effects of genetic modification on muscle function.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: Peter E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Oishi
authors.forename: Sompob
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cholsiripunlert
authors.forename: Wenhui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Harold S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Bernstein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D006614:Hindlimb; D051379:Mice; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009126:Muscle Relaxation; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000628:therapy