High endocytotic activity occurs periodically in the endplate region of denervated mouse striated muscle fibers.

High endocytotic activity after denervation of skeletal muscle occurs in a proportion of muscle fibers (both slow and fast fiber types) in the endplate region. The present study was performed in order to examine if a periodicity in the endocytotic activity could explain why the process is not observed in all fibers at a given time. Three markers, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), rhodamine B isothiocyanate-labeled dextran, and fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled dextran were used to demonstrate endocytotic activity of muscle fibers of the denervated mouse hemidiaphragm in vivo. Acetylcholine esterase staining was used in conjunction with HRP uptake to determine the proportion of denervated muscle fibers with endocytotic activity in the endplate region at any one time. The results show that 25-50% of the muscle fibers display high endocytotic activity in the endplate region at a given time 10 days after denervation. The existence of a periodicity in this endocytotic activity is suggested by results obtained using two different endocytotic markers administered at time intervals of 0-7 days. We conclude that loss of contact with the innervating motorneuron induces a high endocytotic activity which occurs periodically in the perisynaptic region of skeletal muscle fibers.