Characterization of human oro-facial and masticatory muscles with respect to fibre types, myosins and capillaries. Morphological, enzyme-histochemical, immuno-histochemical and biochemical investigations.

This study provides a comparative characterization of four human oro-facial muscles, one masticatory muscle (the masseter) and two limb muscles, with respect to muscle fibre types, myosin isoforms and capillary supply. Enzyme-histochemical methods were used to evaluate the myofibrillar ATPase fibre type composition. Immuno-histochemical techniques were used to determine the expression of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms in the different fibre types. The contents of MHCs and myosin light chains (MLC) in different muscles were analysed with electrophoretic methods. In addition, the capillary bed of the muscles was evaluated using both enzyme- and immuno-histochemical techniques. The fibre type compositions of the oro-facial and masseter muscles were found to be qualitatively and quantitatively different from each other and from those of limb muscles. In general, the oro-facial muscles contained a predominance of unusually high oxidative type II fibres, with a staining reaction for ATPase in between that of type IIA and type IIB fibres, termed type IIAB. In fact, one of the oro-facial muscles, the zygomatic minor, showed the highest type II fibre proportion ever reported in humans. This fibre type pattern is in contrast to that of the masseter muscle, which contains a majority of type I fibres, small diameter low oxidative type IIB fibres and a significant proportion of ATPase-intermediately stained fibres, termed IM, and IIC. Inter- and intra-muscular variability in fibre size and shape was considerable in both the oro-facial and masseter muscles. The oro-facial muscles were devoid of muscle spindles. The immuno-histochemical and biochemical analyses showed a characteristic myosin composition of each muscle. Notably, the results indicated the presence of a previously undetected fast MHC isoform in the oro-facial muscles, tentatively termed "fast F". The masseter contained unusual myosin isoforms, such as fetal and alpha-cardiac MHCs, and unique combinations of MHC isoforms which were not found in the limb or oro-facial muscles. The type IM and IIC fibres co-expressed slow and fast A MHCs in the oro-facial and limb muscles, but slow and a "fast B like" MHC in the masseter. Individual fibres in the oro-facial and limb muscles contained one or two MHC isoforms, whereas individual fibres in the masseter co-expressed up to four different MHC isoforms. On the basis of their pattern of expression of MHC isoforms, up to five fibre types could be distinguished in the oro-facial and limb muscles and eight in the masseter.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)