Myofibrillar ATPase activity of feline muscle fibers expressing slow and fast myosin heavy chains.

Abstract

The interrelationships among myofibrillar ATPase activity (Quant-mATPase), qualitative myofibrillar ATPase staining after acid (Acid-mATPase) and alkaline (Alk-mATPase) preincubations, and myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition were determined in frozen sections of soleus (Sol) and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle fibers from adult control cats and cats 6 months after complete spinal cord transection (Sp). Fibers were categorized as either fast, slow, or fast and slow (Fast-Slow) based on monoclonal antibody labeling. Slow fibers had low Quant-mATPase activity and stained lightly with Alk-mATPase and darkly with Acid-mATPase. Fast fibers had high Quant-mATPase activity (approximately twice that of slow fibers) and stained darkly with Alk-mATPase and lightly with Acid-mATPase. Fast-Slow fibers had intermediate Quant-mATPase activity and stained intermediately for Acid-mATPase and darkly for Alk-mATPase. There was a positive linear relationship between Alk-mATPase and Quant-mATPase for all fibers of Sol and MG from control and Sp cats. There was a negative linear relationship between Acid-mATPase and Quant-mATPase for all fibers of Sol and MG. However, within the fast fiber population of the MG there was a positive relationship between these two measures of mATPase. In summary, quantitative and qualitative measures of mATPase are highly correlated with the types of MHC expressed by single fibers from control and Sp cat muscles.