Abstract
Human foetal skeletal muscle was grown in explant cultures and the development of myotubes was monitored morphologically and by the development of membrane potential and acetylcholine sensitivity. Migration of uninucleate cells from the explants occurred in the first day of culture and formation of multinucleated myotubes took place between 7 to 10 days. Early myotubes were variable in appearance, being either flat and nonrefractile or narrow and cylindrical. Some cross-striated cells were observed. Resting membrane potentials were around -25 mV and there was great variation in myotube sensitivity to acetylcholine. After about 6 weeks in culture most myotubes were of the refractile type. Many had hypolemmal nuclei and were cross-striated; some contracted spontaneously. All myotubes had developed high sensitivity to acetylcholine although there had been no increase in resting membrane potential.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 115-122 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of the Neurological Sciences |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 1979 |
Funding
Use of tissue culture techniques would facilitate the study of human skeletal muscle if mature muscle fibres could develop in culture conditions. Earlier reports have concentrated on morphological or biochemical studies (for review see Witkowski 1977). Although it has been claimed that mature human muscle cells develop in culture This study was supported by grants from the Muscular Dystrophy Association Inc. (to ALH) and the Muscular Dystrophy Group of Great Britain (to JAW). The authors thank the Medical Research Council for a training award to JGR and the Smith Kline and French Foundation for an equipment grant (to ALH).
Keywords
- acetylcholine
- fetus
- in vitro study
- muscle
- muscle fiber membrane potential
- normal human
- theoretical study
- cell differentiation
- dose-response relationship, drug