Postnatal muscle fibre histochemistry in the rat

Histochemical techniques were used to study the postnatal muscle fibre differentiation patterns in the plantaris and soleus muscles of male Sprague-Dawley rats. Nine groups of animals (n = 6/group) were killed at 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, 31, 36, and 140 days of age. Serial transverse sections of the two muscles were stained with H & E, NADH-D, and myofibrillar ATPase with acid (pH 4·35) or alkali (pH 10·4) preincubation. In each of the age groups, all available fibres across the muscle sections were classified. Obtained data show that fibre types are basically undifferentiated at birth in both muscles. In the plantaris muscle there are about 99% type IIA and less than 1% type I fibres at 6 days of age. Type IIB fibres can be identified at 11 days of age. There are increases in the percentages of type I fibres (from 0·7% to 3·5%) and type IIB fibres (from 1·1% to 6·5%) between 6 and 11 days and between 16 and 21 days respectively. By 36 days of age the relative numbers of type IIA, IIB, and type I fibres in the plantaris are approximately 80%, 14%, and 6%, respectively. A gradual change in fibre-type composition continues until it becomes 47% for type IIA, 43% for type IIB, and 10% for type I at 140 days of age. In the soleus muscle there are approximately 73% type IIA and 26% type I fibres at both 6 and 11 days of age. However, type IIA fibres decrease to 44% and type I fibres increase to 56% at 16 days of age. This rapid shift in fibre composition continues up to 31 days of age when the distribution becomes 25% for type IIA and 74% for type I fibres. Thereafter, the differentiation rate is much slower. At 140 days of age, there are 17% type IIA and 83% type I fibres in the soleus muscle. The results of this study show that the fibre populations in the plantaris and soleus muscles of the rat undergo a postnatal differentiation process. In both muscles the adult fibre population is established by 140 days of age. Although relatively rapid increases of type I and type IIB fibres occur in the plantaris during the second and third weeks of life, differentiation in that muscle appears to be an essentially continuous process. There is a notable shift in the fibre composition of the soleus muscle during the second postnatal week. Differences between the patterns of differentiation in the two muscles are apparent.