Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 76, Issue 2 859-866, Copyright © 1994 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Blood flow, mitochondria, and performance in skeletal muscle after denervation and reinnervation

H. A. Eisenberg and D. A. Hood
Department of Physical Education, York University, Ontario, Canada.

Tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of rats underwent bilateral peroneal nerve crush (NC) or denervation (D) and were compared with sham-operated (SO) animals to determine the effect of reinnervation on blood flow, mitochondria, metabolites, and muscle performance. After surgery, animals were left for 2, 7, 21, or 42 days (NC and SO groups) or 2, 7, or 21 days (D group; n = 7-11.day-1.group-1), after which TA muscles were stimulated in situ at 1 Hz. alpha-Motoneuron reinnervation of muscle was complete 21 days after NC. Blood flow increased 10-fold above SO values in nonstimulated TA muscle 7 days after NC and D (P < 0.05). By 21 days, blood flow to nonstimulated TA muscle in NC animals returned to SO values but remained elevated (P < 0.05) in D muscle. Thus restoration of neural control of blood flow to resting muscle likely occurred by 21 days post-NC. Blood flow to stimulated muscle was not affected by NC or D, indicating the probable importance of metabolic factors in regulating blood flow during 1-Hz contractions. Cytochrome-c oxidase activity decreased (P < 0.05) below SO values 7 days after NC and D. By 21 days, cytochrome-c oxidase activity in TA muscles of NC animals returned to SO values, while values in denervated TA muscle continued to decrease. Despite these changes, endurance performance of TA muscle was not affected by D or NC at any time. These results suggest that reinnervation processes controlling blood flow and muscle function occur along similar time courses and that muscle blood flow is more closely related to endurance performance than is muscle oxidative capacity under these contraction conditions.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. L. Muller, W. Song, Y. C. Jang, Y. Liu, M. Sabia, A. Richardson, and H. Van Remmen Denervation-induced skeletal muscle atrophy is associated with increased mitochondrial ROS production Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, September 1, 2007; 293(3): R1159 - R1168. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. J. Adhihetty, M. F. N. O'Leary, B. Chabi, K. L. Wicks, and D. A. Hood Effect of denervation on mitochondrially mediated apoptosis in skeletal muscle J Appl Physiol, March 1, 2007; 102(3): 1143 - 1151. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Bendszus, M. Koltzenburg, C. Wessig, and L. Solymosi Sequential MR Imaging of Denervated Muscle: Experimental Study AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., September 1, 2002; 23(8): 1427 - 1431. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Zernicka, E. Smol, J. Langfort, and M. Gorecka Time course of changes in lipoprotein lipase activity in rat skeletal muscles during denervation-reinnervation J Appl Physiol, February 1, 2002; 92(2): 535 - 540. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Bendszus and M. Koltzenburg Visualization of denervated muscle by gadolinium-enhanced MRI Neurology, November 13, 2001; 57(9): 1709 - 1711. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Matsuura, T. Ikata, S. Takata, S. Kashiwaguchi, M. Niwa, T. Sogabe, and K. Koga Effect of weight bearing on recovery from nerve injury in skeletal muscle J Appl Physiol, November 1, 2001; 91(5): 2334 - 2341. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Yajid, J. G. Mercier, B. M. Mercier, H. Dubouchaud, and C. Prefaut Effects of 4 wk of hindlimb suspension on skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration in rats J Appl Physiol, February 1, 1998; 84(2): 479 - 485. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Hayashi, T. Ikata, H. Takai, S. Takata, T. Sogabe, and K. Koga Time course of recovery from nerve injury in skeletal muscle: energy state and local circulation J Appl Physiol, March 1, 1997; 82(3): 732 - 737. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]