Abstract
Capillary density (CD), capillary to fiber ratio (C/F), fiber cross sectional area (FCSA) and fiber composition were measured in the soleus and the gastrocnemius (medial head) muscles of rats weighing between 99 and 666 g. Muscle samples obtained from the anesthetized animal were rapidly frozen (−130°C) sliced transversely at 16–18 μm, and treated histochemically by the ATPase method after preincubation at pH's of 4.0 and 4.4 to visualize capillaries and typify fibers. In both muscles the FCSA was positively related to body weight (BW) and muscle weight. At a given BW, the FCSA of the soleus was greater than that of the gastrocnemius. In both muscles CD decreased hyperbolically with FCSA (soleus: CD=1.0613 ×106/FCSA+298.71; gastrocnemius: CD=1.0349 ×106/FCSA+240.74). At the same time a positive linear correlation between C/F and FCSA was found (soleus: C/F=3.92×10−4 FCSA+0.82; gastrocnemius: C/F=2.90×10−4 FCSA+0.93). At a given FCSA, CD and C/F were greater in the soleus than in the gastrocnemius because of differences in fiber composition between the two muscles. The soleus had only oxidative fibers (STO and FTOG) whereas the gastrocnemius had 54% glycolytic fibers (FTG). The very large variability in CD and C/F values reported in the literature could, in part, be due to the differences in capillarity observed with maturation. A change in fiber composition with BW was observed in the soleus, but no systematic change occurred in the gastrocnemius.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brodal, P., Ingjer, F., Hermansen, L.: Capillary supply of skeletal muscle fibers in untrained and endurance-trained men. Am. J. Physiol.232, H705-H712 (1977)
Carrow, R. E., Brown, R. E., Van Huss, W. D.: Fiber sizes and capillary to fiber ratios in skeletal muscle of exercised rats. Anat. Rec.159, 33–40 (1967)
Cassin, S. R., Gilbert, D., Bunnell, C. F., Johnson, E. M.: Capillary development during exposure to chronic hypoxia. Am. J. Physiol.220, 448–451 (1971)
Davis, J. E.: The effect of advancing age on the oxygen consumption of rats. Am. J. Physiol.119, 28–33 (1937)
Dubowitz, V., Brooke, M. H.: Muscle biopsy: A modern approach, p. 475. London, Philadelphia, Toronto: W. B. Saunders 1973
Faulkner, J. A., Maxwell, L. C., Brook, D. A., Lieberman, D. A.: Adaptation of guinea pig plantaris muscle fibers to endurance training. Am. J. Physiol.221, 291–297 (1971)
Gauthier, G. F., Lowey, S., Hobbs, A. W.: Fast and slow myosin in developing muscle fibres. Nature274, 25–29 (1978)
Goldspink, G.: Morphological adaptation due to growth and activity. In: Physiology and biochemistry of muscle as food (J. Briskey, R. G. Cassens and B. B. Marsh, eds.), pp. 521–536. Madison: Univ. of Wisc. 1970
Henquell, L., Odoroff, C. L., Honig, C. R.: Coronary intercapillary distance during growth: relation to PtO2 and aerobic capacity. Am. J. Physiol.231, 1852–1859 (1976)
Harmansen, L., Wachtlova, M.: Capilary density of skeletal muscle in well-trained and untrained men. J. Appl. Physiol.30, 860–863 (1971)
Ingjer, F., Brodal, P.: Capillary supply of skeletal muscle fiber in untrained and endurance-trained women. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol.38, 291–299 (1978)
Kugelberg, E.: Adaptive transformation of rat soleus motor units during growth. J. Neurol. Sci.27, 269–289 (1976)
Loats, J. T., Sillau, A. H., Banchero, N.: How to quantify skeletal muscle capillarity. In: Oxygen transport to tissue-II (I. A. Silver, M. Erecinska and H. I. Bicher eds.), pp. 41–48. New York: Plenum Press 1978
Mai, J. V., Edgerton, V. R., Barnard, R.: Capillarity of red, white and intermediate muscle fibers in trained and untrained guinea pigs. Experientia26, 1222–1223 (1970)
Myrhage, R.: Capillary supply of the muscle fibre population in hindlimb muscles of the cat. Acta Physiol. Scand.103, 19–30 (1978)
Padykula, H. A., Herman, E.: The specificity of the histochemical method for adenosine triphosphatase. J. Histochem. Cytochem.3, 170–195 (1955)
Peter, J. B., Barnard, R., Edgerton, V. R., Gillespie, C. A., Stempel, K. E.: Metabolic profiles of three fiber types of skeletal muscle in guinea pigs and rabbits. Biochem.11, 2627–2633 (1972)
Romanul, F. C. A.: Capillary supply and metabolism of muscle fibers. Arch. Neurol.12, 497–509 (1965)
Sillau, A. H., Banchero, N.: Effect of maturation on capillary density, fiber size and composition in rat skeletal muscle. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med.154, 461–466 (1977)
Sillau, A. H., Banchero, N.: Visualization of capillaries in skeletal muscle by the ATPase reaction. Pflügers Arch.369, 269–271 (1977a)
Sillau, A. H., Banchero, N.: Skeletal muscle fiber size and capillarity. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med.158, 288–291 (1978)
Weibel, E. R.: Stereological techniques for electron microscopic morphometry. In: Principles and techniques of electron microscopy biological applications. Vol. 3 (M. A. Hayat, ed.), pp. 237–296. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold 1973
Wittenberg, J. B.: Myoglobin-facilitated oxygen diffusion: Role of myoglobin in oxygen entry into muscle. Physiol. Rev.50, 559–636 (1970)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ripoll, E., Sillau, A.H. & Banchero, N. Changes in the capillarity of skeletal muscle in the growing rat. Pflugers Arch. 380, 153–158 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00582151
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00582151