Described here is a method to measure contractility of isolated skeletal muscles. Parameters such as muscle force, muscle power, contractile kinetics, fatigability, and recovery after fatigue can be obtained to assess specific aspects of the excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) process such as excitability, contractile machinery and Ca2+ handling ability. This method removes the nerve and blood supply and focuses on the isolated skeletal muscle itself. We routinely use this method to identify genetic components that alter the contractile property of skeletal muscle though modulating Ca2+ signaling pathways. Here, we describe a newly identified skeletal muscle phenotype, i.e., mechanic alternans, as an example of the various and rich information that can be obtained using the in vitro muscle contractility assay. Combination of this assay with single cell assays, genetic approaches and biochemistry assays can provide important insights into the mechanisms of ECC in skeletal muscle.
18 Related JoVE Articles!
Force Measurement During Contraction to Assess Muscle Function in Zebrafish Larvae
Institutions: University of Michigan , University of Michigan , University of Michigan , University of Michigan .
Zebrafish larvae provide models of muscle development, muscle disease and muscle-related chemical toxicity, but related studies often lack functional measures of muscle health. In this video article, we demonstrate a method to measure force generation during contraction of zebrafish larval trunk muscle. Force measurements are accomplished by placing an anesthetized larva into a chamber filled with a salt solution. The anterior end of the larva is tied to a force transducer and the posterior end of the larva is tied to a length controller. An isometric twitch contraction is elicited by electric field stimulation and the force response is recorded for analysis. Force generation during contraction provides a measure of overall muscle health and specifically provides a measure of muscle function. Although we describe this technique for use with wild-type larvae, this method can be used with genetically modified larvae or with larvae treated with drugs or toxicants, to characterize muscle disease models and evaluate treatments, or to study muscle development, injury, or chemical toxicity.
Developmental Biology, Issue 77, Anatomy, Physiology, Biophysics, Biomedical Engineering, Neurobiology, Neuroscience, Muscle, contraction, force, zebrafish, larvae, muscle function, muscle health, force generation, animal model
Proprioception and Tension Receptors in Crab Limbs: Student Laboratory Exercises
Institutions: University of Kentucky, University of Kentucky, University of Oregon.
The primary purpose of these procedures is to demonstrate for teaching and research purposes how to record the activity of living primary sensory neurons responsible for proprioception as they are detecting joint position and movement, and muscle tension. Electrical activity from crustacean proprioceptors and tension receptors is recorded by basic neurophysiological instrumentation, and a transducer is used to simultaneously measure force that is generated by stimulating a motor nerve. In addition, we demonstrate how to stain the neurons for a quick assessment of their anatomical arrangement or for permanent fixation. Staining reveals anatomical organization that is representative of chordotonal organs in most crustaceans. Comparing the tension nerve responses to the proprioceptive responses is an effective teaching tool in determining how these sensory neurons are defined functionally and how the anatomy is correlated to the function. Three staining techniques are presented allowing researchers and instructors to choose a method that is ideal for their laboratory.
Neuroscience, Issue 80, Crustacean, joint, Muscle, sensory, teaching, educational, neuroscience
Ex vivo Mechanical Loading of Tendon
Institutions: University of California, Berkeley , University of California, San Francisco.
Injuries to the tendon (e.g., wrist tendonitis, epicondyltis) due to overuse are common in sports activities and the workplace. Most are associated with repetitive, high force hand activities. The mechanisms of cellular and structural damage due to cyclical loading are not well known. The purpose of this video is to present a new system that can simultaneously load four tendons in tissue culture. The video describes the methods of sterile tissue harvest and how the tendons are loaded onto a clamping system that is subsequently immersed into media and maintained at 37°C. One clamp is fixed while the other one is moved with a linear actuator. Tendon tensile force is monitored with a load cell in series with the mobile clamp. The actuators are controlled with a LabView program. The four tendons can be repetitively loaded with different patterns of loading, repetition rate, rate of loading, and duration. Loading can continue for a few minutes to 48 hours. At the end of loading, the tendons are removed and the mid-substance extracted for biochemical analyses. This system allows for the investigation of the effects of loading patterns on gene expression and structural changes in tendon. Ultimately, mechanisms of injury due to overuse can be studies with the findings applied to treatment and prevention.
Developmental biology, issue 4, tendon, tension
In Vivo Canine Muscle Function Assay
Institutions: Wake Forest University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
We describe a minimally-invasive and reproducible method to measure canine pelvic limb muscle strength and muscle response to repeated eccentric
contractions. The pelvic limb of an anesthetized dog is immobilized in a stereotactic frame to align the tibia at a right angle to the femur. Adhesive wrap affixes the
paw to a pedal mounted on the shaft of a servomotor to measure torque. Percutaneous nerve stimulation activates pelvic limb muscles of the paw to either push (extend) or
pull (flex) against the pedal to generate isometric torque. Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation activates tibiotarsal extensor muscles. Repeated eccentric (lengthening)
contractions are induced in the tibiotarsal flexor muscles by percutaneous peroneal nerve stimulation. The eccentric protocol consists of an initial isometric contraction
followed by a forced stretch imposed by the servomotor. The rotation effectively lengthens the muscle while it contracts, e.g., an eccentric
stimulation flexor muscles are subjected to an 800 msec isometric and 200 msec eccentric contraction. This procedure is repeated every 5 sec. To avoid fatigue, 4 min rest
follows every 10 contractions with a total of 30 contractions performed.
Medicine, Issue 50, dog, muscle strength, muscle force, exercise, eccentric contraction, muscle damage, stretch
Endurance Training Protocol and Longitudinal Performance Assays for Drosophila melanogaster
Institutions: University of Michigan Medical School.
One of the most pressing problems facing modern medical researchers is the surging levels of obesity, with the consequent increase in associated disorders such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease 1-3
. An important topic of research into these associated health problems involves the role of endurance exercise as a beneficial intervention.
Exercise training is an inexpensive, non-invasive intervention with several beneficial results, including reduction in excess body fat 4
, increased insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle 5
, increased anti-inflammatory and antioxidative responses 6
, and improved contractile capacity in cardiomyocytes 7
. Low intensity exercise is known to increase mitochondrial activity and biogenesis in humans 8
and mice, with the transcriptional coactivator PGC1-α as an important intermediate 9,10
Despite the importance of exercise as a tool for combating several important age-related diseases, extensive longitudinal genetic studies have been impeded by the lack of an endurance training protocol for a short-lived genetic model species. The variety of genetic tools available for use with Drosophila
, together with its short lifespan and inexpensive maintenance, make it an appealing model for further study of these genetic mechanisms. With this in mind we have developed a novel apparatus, known as the Power Tower, for large scale exercise-training in Drosophila melanogaster 11
. The Power Tower utilizes the flies' instinctive negative geotaxis behavior to repetitively induce rapid climbing. Each time the machine lifts, then drops, the platform of flies, the flies are induced to climb. Flies continue to respond as long as the machine is in operation or until they become too fatigued to respond. Thus, the researcher can use this machine to provide simultaneous training to large numbers of age-matched and genetically identical flies. Additionally, we describe associated assays useful to track longitudinal progress of fly cohorts during training.
Physiology, Issue 61, Drosophila, endurance, exercise, training
Magnetic Tweezers for the Measurement of Twist and Torque
Institutions: Delft University of Technology.
Single-molecule techniques make it possible to investigate the behavior of individual biological molecules in solution in real time. These techniques include so-called force spectroscopy approaches such as atomic force microscopy, optical tweezers, flow stretching, and magnetic tweezers. Amongst these approaches, magnetic tweezers have distinguished themselves by their ability to apply torque while maintaining a constant stretching force. Here, it is illustrated how such a “conventional” magnetic tweezers experimental configuration can, through a straightforward modification of its field configuration to minimize the magnitude of the transverse field, be adapted to measure the degree of twist in a biological molecule. The resulting configuration is termed the freely-orbiting magnetic tweezers. Additionally, it is shown how further modification of the field configuration can yield a transverse field with a magnitude intermediate between that of the “conventional” magnetic tweezers and the freely-orbiting magnetic tweezers, which makes it possible to directly measure the torque stored in a biological molecule. This configuration is termed the magnetic torque tweezers. The accompanying video explains in detail how the conversion of conventional magnetic tweezers into freely-orbiting magnetic tweezers and magnetic torque tweezers can be accomplished, and demonstrates the use of these techniques. These adaptations maintain all the strengths of conventional magnetic tweezers while greatly expanding the versatility of this powerful instrument.
Bioengineering, Issue 87, magnetic tweezers, magnetic torque tweezers, freely-orbiting magnetic tweezers, twist, torque, DNA, single-molecule techniques
The Use of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy as a Tool for the Measurement of Bi-hemispheric Transcranial Electric Stimulation Effects on Primary Motor Cortex Metabolism
Institutions: University of Montréal, McGill University, University of Minnesota.
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a neuromodulation technique that has been increasingly used over the past decade in the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders such as stroke and depression. Yet, the mechanisms underlying its ability to modulate brain excitability to improve clinical symptoms remains poorly understood 33
. To help improve this understanding, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1
H-MRS) can be used as it allows the in vivo
quantification of brain metabolites such as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate in a region-specific manner 41
. In fact, a recent study demonstrated that 1
H-MRS is indeed a powerful means to better understand the effects of tDCS on neurotransmitter concentration 34
. This article aims to describe the complete protocol for combining tDCS (NeuroConn MR compatible stimulator) with 1
H-MRS at 3 T using a MEGA-PRESS sequence. We will describe the impact of a protocol that has shown great promise for the treatment of motor dysfunctions after stroke, which consists of bilateral stimulation of primary motor cortices 27,30,31
. Methodological factors to consider and possible modifications to the protocol are also discussed.
Neuroscience, Issue 93, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, transcranial direct current stimulation, primary motor cortex, GABA, glutamate, stroke
Extracellularly Identifying Motor Neurons for a Muscle Motor Pool in Aplysia californica
Institutions: Case Western Reserve University , Case Western Reserve University , Case Western Reserve University .
In animals with large identified neurons (e.g.
mollusks), analysis of motor pools is done using intracellular techniques1,2,3,4
. Recently, we developed a technique to extracellularly stimulate and record individual neurons in Aplysia californica5
. We now describe a protocol for using this technique to uniquely identify and characterize motor neurons within a motor pool.
This extracellular technique has advantages. First, extracellular electrodes can stimulate and record neurons through the sheath5
, so it does not need to be removed. Thus, neurons will be healthier in extracellular experiments than in intracellular ones. Second, if ganglia are rotated by appropriate pinning of the sheath, extracellular electrodes can access neurons on both sides of the ganglion, which makes it easier and more efficient to identify multiple neurons in the same preparation. Third, extracellular electrodes do not need to penetrate cells, and thus can be easily moved back and forth among neurons, causing less damage to them. This is especially useful when one tries to record multiple neurons during repeating motor patterns that may only persist for minutes. Fourth, extracellular electrodes are more flexible than intracellular ones during muscle movements. Intracellular electrodes may pull out and damage neurons during muscle contractions. In contrast, since extracellular electrodes are gently pressed onto the sheath above neurons, they usually stay above the same neuron during muscle contractions, and thus can be used in more intact preparations.
To uniquely identify motor neurons for a motor pool (in particular, the I1/I3 muscle in Aplysia
) using extracellular electrodes, one can use features that do not require intracellular measurements as criteria: soma size and location, axonal projection, and muscle innervation4,6,7
. For the particular motor pool used to illustrate the technique, we recorded from buccal nerves 2 and 3 to measure axonal projections, and measured the contraction forces of the I1/I3 muscle to determine the pattern of muscle innervation for the individual motor neurons.
We demonstrate the complete process of first identifying motor neurons using muscle innervation, then characterizing their timing during motor patterns, creating a simplified diagnostic method for rapid identification. The simplified and more rapid diagnostic method is superior for more intact preparations, e.g.
in the suspended buccal mass preparation8
or in vivo9
. This process can also be applied in other motor pools10,11,12
or in other animal systems2,3,13,14
Neuroscience, Issue 73, Physiology, Biomedical Engineering, Anatomy, Behavior, Neurobiology, Animal, Neurosciences, Neurophysiology, Electrophysiology, Aplysia, Aplysia californica, California sea slug, invertebrate, feeding, buccal mass, ganglia, motor neurons, neurons, extracellular stimulation and recordings, extracellular electrodes, animal model
Oscillation and Reaction Board Techniques for Estimating Inertial Properties of a Below-knee Prosthesis
Institutions: University of Northern Colorado, Arizona State University, Iowa State University.
The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) demonstrate a technique that can be used to directly estimate the inertial properties of a below-knee prosthesis, and 2) contrast the effects of the proposed technique and that of using intact limb inertial properties on joint kinetic estimates during walking in unilateral, transtibial amputees. An oscillation and reaction board system was validated and shown to be reliable when measuring inertial properties of known geometrical solids. When direct measurements of inertial properties of the prosthesis were used in inverse dynamics modeling of the lower extremity compared with inertial estimates based on an intact shank and foot, joint kinetics at the hip and knee were significantly lower during the swing phase of walking. Differences in joint kinetics during stance, however, were smaller than those observed during swing. Therefore, researchers focusing on the swing phase of walking should consider the impact of prosthesis inertia property estimates on study outcomes. For stance, either one of the two inertial models investigated in our study would likely lead to similar outcomes with an inverse dynamics assessment.
Bioengineering, Issue 87, prosthesis inertia, amputee locomotion, below-knee prosthesis, transtibial amputee
Isometric and Eccentric Force Generation Assessment of Skeletal Muscles Isolated from Murine Models of Muscular Dystrophies
Institutions: School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.
Critical to the evaluation of potential therapeutics for muscular disease are sensitive and reproducible physiological assessments of muscle function. Because many pre-clinical trials rely on mouse models for these diseases, isolated muscle function has become one of the standards for Go/NoGo decisions in moving drug candidates forward into patients. We will demonstrate the preparation of the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and diaphragm muscles for functional testing, which are the predominant muscles utilized for these studies. The EDL muscle geometry is ideal for isolated muscle preparations, with two easily accessible tendons, and a small size that can be supported by superfusion in a bath. The diaphragm exhibits profound progressive pathology in dystrophic animals, and can serve as a platform for evaluating many potential therapies countering fibrosis, and promoting myofiber stability. Protocols for routine testing, including isometric and eccentric contractions, will be shown. Isometric force provides assessment of strength, and eccentric contractions help to evaluate sarcolemma stability, which is disrupted in many types of muscular dystrophies. Comparisons of the expected results between muscles from wildtype and dystrophic muscles will also be provided. These measures can complement morphological and biochemical measurements of tissue homeostasis, as well as whole animal assessments of muscle function.
Anatomy, Issue 71, Physiology, Cellular Biology, Biophysics, Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Surgery, Muscles, Muscular Diseases, Animal Experimentation, Chemicals and Drugs, muscular dystrophy, muscle function, muscle damage, muscular dystrophies, mouse, animal model
Procedures for Rat in situ Skeletal Muscle Contractile Properties
Institutions: University of Calgary .
There are many circumstances where it is desirable to obtain the contractile response of skeletal muscle under physiological circumstances: normal circulation, intact whole muscle, at body temperature. This includes the study of contractile responses like posttetanic potentiation, staircase and fatigue. Furthermore, the consequences of disease, disuse, injury, training and drug treatment can be of interest. This video demonstrates appropriate procedures to set up and use this valuable muscle preparation.
To set up this preparation, the animal must be anesthetized, and the medial gastrocnemius muscle is surgically isolated, with the origin intact. Care must be taken to maintain the blood and nerve supplies. A long section of the sciatic nerve is cleared of connective tissue, and severed proximally. All branches of the distal stump that do not innervate the medial gastrocnemius muscle are severed. The distal nerve stump is inserted into a cuff lined with stainless steel stimulating wires. The calcaneus is severed, leaving a small piece of bone still attached to the Achilles tendon. Sonometric crystals and/or electrodes for electromyography can be inserted. Immobilization by metal probes in the femur and tibia prevents movement of the muscle origin. The Achilles tendon is attached to the force transducer and the loosened skin is pulled up at the sides to form a container that is filled with warmed paraffin oil. The oil distributes heat evenly and minimizes evaporative heat loss. A heat lamp is directed on the muscle, and the muscle and rat are allowed to warm up to 37°C. While it is warming, maximal voltage and optimal length can be determined. These are important initial conditions for any experiment on intact whole muscle. The experiment may include determination of standard contractile properties, like the force-frequency relationship, force-length relationship, and force-velocity relationship.
With care in surgical isolation, immobilization of the origin of the muscle and alignment of the muscle-tendon unit with the force transducer, and proper data analysis, high quality measurements can be obtained with this muscle preparation.
Physiology, Issue 56, physiological preparation, contractile properties, force-frequency relationship, force-length relationship
Myo-mechanical Analysis of Isolated Skeletal Muscle
Institutions: University of California San Francisco, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco State University, University of California San Francisco , University of California San Francisco.
To assess the in vivo
effects of therapeutic interventions for the treatment of muscle disease 1,2,3
, 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 4
. This analysis provides a method for quantitative comparison between therapeutic interventions in mouse models of muscle disease 1,2,3,5
, as well as comparison of the effects of genetic modification on muscle function 6,7,8,9
Medicine, Issue 48, muscle, twitch, tetanus, force-frequency, fatigue
Utilization of Microscale Silicon Cantilevers to Assess Cellular Contractile Function In Vitro
Institutions: University of Central Florida.
The development of more predictive and biologically relevant in vitro
assays is predicated on the advancement of versatile cell culture systems which facilitate the functional assessment of the seeded cells. To that end, microscale cantilever technology offers a platform with which to measure the contractile functionality of a range of cell types, including skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle cells, through assessment of contraction induced substrate bending. Application of multiplexed cantilever arrays provides the means to develop moderate to high-throughput protocols for assessing drug efficacy and toxicity, disease phenotype and progression, as well as neuromuscular and other cell-cell interactions. This manuscript provides the details for fabricating reliable cantilever arrays for this purpose, and the methods required to successfully culture cells on these surfaces. Further description is provided on the steps necessary to perform functional analysis of contractile cell types maintained on such arrays using a novel laser and photo-detector system. The representative data provided highlights the precision and reproducible nature of the analysis of contractile function possible using this system, as well as the wide range of studies to which such technology can be applied. Successful widespread adoption of this system could provide investigators with the means to perform rapid, low cost functional studies in vitro,
leading to more accurate predictions of tissue performance, disease development and response to novel therapeutic treatment.
Bioengineering, Issue 92, cantilever, in vitro, contraction, skeletal muscle, NMJ, cardiomyocytes, functional
Assessing Functional Performance in the Mdx Mouse Model
Institutions: Leiden University Medical Center.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe and progressive muscle wasting disorder for which no cure is available. Nevertheless, several potential pharmaceutical compounds and gene therapy approaches have progressed into clinical trials. With improvement in muscle function being the most important end point in these trials, a lot of emphasis has been placed on setting up reliable, reproducible, and easy to perform functional tests to pre clinically assess muscle function, strength, condition, and coordination in the mdx
mouse model for DMD. Both invasive and noninvasive tests are available. Tests that do not exacerbate the disease can be used to determine the natural history of the disease and the effects of therapeutic interventions (e.g
. forelimb grip strength test, two different hanging tests using either a wire or a grid and rotarod running). Alternatively, forced treadmill running can be used to enhance disease progression and/or assess protective effects of therapeutic interventions on disease pathology. We here describe how to perform these most commonly used functional tests in a reliable and reproducible manner. Using these protocols based on standard operating procedures enables comparison of data between different laboratories.
Behavior, Issue 85, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, neuromuscular disorders, outcome measures, functional testing, mouse model, grip strength, hanging test wire, hanging test grid, rotarod running, treadmill running
Bladder Smooth Muscle Strip Contractility as a Method to Evaluate Lower Urinary Tract Pharmacology
Institutions: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
We describe an in vitro
method to measure bladder smooth muscle contractility, and its use for investigating physiological and pharmacological properties of the smooth muscle as well as changes induced by pathology. This method provides critical information for understanding bladder function while overcoming major methodological difficulties encountered in in vivo
experiments, such as surgical and pharmacological manipulations that affect stability and survival of the preparations, the use of human tissue, and/or the use of expensive chemicals. It also provides a way to investigate the properties of each bladder component (i.e.
smooth muscle, mucosa, nerves) in healthy and pathological conditions.
The urinary bladder is removed from an anesthetized animal, placed in Krebs solution and cut into strips. Strips are placed into a chamber filled with warm Krebs solution. One end is attached to an isometric tension transducer to measure contraction force, the other end is attached to a fixed rod. Tissue is stimulated by directly adding compounds to the bath or by electric field stimulation electrodes that activate nerves, similar to triggering bladder contractions in vivo
. We demonstrate the use of this method to evaluate spontaneous smooth muscle contractility during development and after an experimental spinal cord injury, the nature of neurotransmission (transmitters and receptors involved), factors involved in modulation of smooth muscle activity, the role of individual bladder components, and species and organ differences in response to pharmacological agents. Additionally, it could be used for investigating intracellular pathways involved in contraction and/or relaxation of the smooth muscle, drug structure-activity relationships and evaluation of transmitter release.
The in vitro
smooth muscle contractility method has been used extensively for over 50 years, and has provided data that significantly contributed to our understanding of bladder function as well as to pharmaceutical development of compounds currently used clinically for bladder management.
Medicine, Issue 90, Krebs, species differences, in vitro, smooth muscle contractility, neural stimulation
An in vivo Rodent Model of Contraction-induced Injury and Non-invasive Monitoring of Recovery
Institutions: University of Maryland School of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Muscle strains are one of the most common complaints treated by physicians. A muscle injury is typically diagnosed from the patient history and physical exam alone, however the clinical presentation can vary greatly depending on the extent of injury, the patient's pain tolerance, etc. In patients with muscle injury or muscle disease, assessment of muscle damage is typically limited to clinical signs, such as tenderness, strength, range of motion, and more recently, imaging studies. Biological markers, such as serum creatine kinase levels, are typically elevated with muscle injury, but their levels do not always correlate with the loss of force production. This is even true of histological findings from animals, which provide a "direct measure" of damage, but do not account for all the loss of function. Some have argued that the most comprehensive measure of the overall health of the muscle in contractile force. Because muscle injury is a random event that occurs under a variety of biomechanical conditions, it is difficult to study. Here, we describe an in vivo
animal model to measure torque and to produce a reliable muscle injury. We also describe our model for measurement of force from an isolated muscle in situ
. Furthermore, we describe our small animal MRI procedure.
Medicine, Issue 51, Skeletal muscle, lengthening contraction, injury, regeneration, contractile function, torque
Assessment of Calcium Sparks in Intact Skeletal Muscle Fibers
Institutions: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Rush University Medical Center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Maintaining homeostatic Ca2+
signaling is a fundamental physiological process in living cells. Ca2+
sparks are the elementary units of Ca2+
signaling in the striated muscle fibers that appear as highly localized Ca2+
release events mediated by ryanodine receptor (RyR) Ca2+
release channels on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membrane. Proper assessment of muscle Ca2+
sparks could provide information on the intracellular Ca2+
handling properties of healthy and diseased striated muscles. Although Ca2+
sparks events are commonly seen in resting cardiomyocytes, they are rarely observed in resting skeletal muscle fibers; thus there is a need for methods to generate and analyze sparks in skeletal muscle fibers.
Detailed here is an experimental protocol for measuring Ca2+
sparks in isolated flexor digitorm brevis (FDB) muscle fibers using fluorescent Ca2+
indictors and laser scanning confocal microscopy. In this approach, isolated FDB fibers are exposed to transient hypoosmotic stress followed by a return to isotonic physiological solution. Under these conditions, a robust Ca2+
sparks response is detected adjacent to the sarcolemmal membrane in young healthy FDB muscle fibers. Altered Ca2+
sparks response is detected in dystrophic or aged skeletal muscle fibers. This approach has recently demonstrated that membrane-delimited signaling involving cross-talk between inositol (1,4,5)-triphosphate receptor (IP3
R) and RyR contributes to Ca2+
spark activation in skeletal muscle. In summary, our studies using osmotic stress induced Ca2+
sparks showed that this intracellular response reflects a muscle signaling mechanism in physiology and aging/disease states, including mouse models of muscle dystrophy (mdx
mice) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS model).
Physiology, Issue 84, flexor digitorm brevis (FDB), sarcoplasmic reticulum, SR Ca2+ release, calcium signaling, ryanodine receptor, confocal imaging, muscle physiology
Measuring the Bending Stiffness of Bacterial Cells Using an Optical Trap
Institutions: Princeton University, Princeton University.
We developed a protocol to measure the bending rigidity of filamentous rod-shaped bacteria. Forces are applied with an optical trap, a microscopic three-dimensional spring made of light that is formed when a high-intensity laser beam is focused to a very small spot by a microscope's objective lens. To bend a cell, we first bind live bacteria to a chemically-treated coverslip. As these cells grow, the middle of the cells remains bound to the coverslip but the growing ends are free of this restraint. By inducing filamentous growth with the drug cephalexin, we are able to identify cells in which one end of the cell was stuck to the surface while the other end remained unattached and susceptible to bending forces. A bending force is then applied with an optical trap by binding a polylysine-coated bead to the tip of a growing cell. Both the force and the displacement of the bead are recorded and the bending stiffness of the cell is the slope of this relationship.
Microbiology, Issue 38, optical trap, cell mechanics, E. coli, cell bending