Distribution of fibronectin in normal and regenerating skeletal muscle.

The distribution of fibronectin in normal and regenerating skeletal muscle (the latter caused by autotransplantation) was investigated by means of indirect immunofluorescent technique. Normal myofibers exhibited a thin, continuous pericellular (endomysium) fibronectin distribution; however, their sarcoplasm was devoid of fibronectin. After autotransplantation, the skeletal muscle fibers underwent a process of degeneration that was followed by regeneration from the premyogenic satellite cells. These cells multiplied, fused to form myotubes, and matured into new myofibers. A decrease and an eventual loss of endomysial fibronectin was seen in the degenerating myofibers. At the same time, fibronectin appeared in the sarcoplasm. No significant fibronectin was expressed in the myogenic zone until the formation of myotubes which possessed a complete, circular fibronectin ring. The sarcoplasm of the myotubes lacked fibronectin. Since fibronectin is a component of basement membrane of several tissues, its disappearance and reappearance can be used to follow the fate of basement membrane. We conclude that fibronectin may not be essential for early myogenesis and that regenerated myotubes form an entirely new or at least certain new molecular components of their basement membrane. The present muscle autotransplantation model can be used to further study the role of fibronectin during myogenesis and cell transformation in vivo.