Historical Perspectives: Plasticity of mammalian skeletal muscle.
Pette, Dirk.
Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany
APStracts 7:0047A, 2000.
More than 40 years ago, the nerve cross-union experiment of Buller, Eccles, and Eccles
provided compelling evidence for the essential role of innervation in determining the
properties of mammalian skeletal muscle fibers. Moreover, this experiment revealed that
terminally differentiated muscle fibers are not inalterable but are highly versatile entities
capable of changing their phenotype from fast to slow or slow to fast. With the use of
various experimental models, numerous studies have since confirmed and extended the
notion of muscle plasticity. Together, these studies demonstrated that motoneuron-
specific impulse patterns, neuromuscular activity, and mechanical loading play important
roles in both the maintenance and transition of muscle fiber phenotypes. Depending on
the type, intensity, and duration of changes in any of these factors, muscle fibers adjust
their phenotype to meet the altered functional demands. Fiber-type transitions resulting
from multiple qualitative and quantitative changes in gene expression occur sequentially
in a regular order within a spectrum of pure and hybrid fiber types.
APS Manuscript Number A1227-0.
Article publication pending J Appl Physiol
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 2000 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 29 January 2001