Contractile and biochemical properties of rat soleus and plantaris after hindlimb suspension.

This study examined the relationship between contractile and isomyosin changes occurring in rat soleus (SOL) and plantaris (PLAN) muscles after 28 days of hindlimb suspension. SOL muscles from suspended animals exhibited a 45% decline in muscle weight compared with controls (P less than 0.05) accompanied by a 49% decrease in peak twitch tension (Pt) and a 59% reduction in peak tetanic tension (Po). Smaller reductions were observed in muscle weight, Pt, and Po (12, 43, and 24%, respectively) for the suspended PLAN. Maximal shortening velocity (Vmax) of the suspended SOL and the velocity of unloaded shortening were increased by 36 and 35%, respectively, but there was no suspension-induced change in PLAN Vmax. Suspension induced a 22% increase in SOL myosin adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) activity that was accompanied by a shift in the native myosin isoform distribution characterized by an increase in the relative amounts of intermediate and fast myosin. The more modest changes in the contractile function of suspended PLAN were accompanied by a small (7%) increase in myosin ATPase activity but no significant changes in myosin isoform distribution. The results of this study confirm that hindlimb suspension results in significant speeding of SOL contractile properties and suggest that the shift toward faster myosin isoforms with a higher myosin ATPase activity likely accounts for these mechanical changes.