Histochemical patterns of dehydrogenase activity in the development of free muscle grafts in the rat.

Patterns of activity of six dehydrogenase enzymes were studied histochemically in 42 free muscle grafts in the rat. Within hours, the surviving peripheral muscle fibers can be distinguished from the central ischemic muscle fibers. The surviving muscle fibers retain their characteristic pattern of staining throughout the post-transplantation period. The central ischemic muscle fibers stain abnormally and by five or six days they lose their enzymatic activity. The zone of regeneration, between the surviving and the ischemic muscle fibers, initially shows little dehydrogenase activity, but as the regenerating muscle fibers mature, they develop first a homogeneous staining pattern and, later, differences in staining intensity among different types of muscle fibers.