Electrical Stimulation of Denervated Rat Skeletal Muscle Retards Capillary and Muscle Loss in Early Stages of Disuse Atrophy

• Main Authors: Kouki Nakagawa, Hiroyuki Tamaki, Keishi Hayao, Kengo Yotani, Futoshi Ogita, Noriaki Yamamoto, Hideaki Onishi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2017-01-01
• Series: BioMed Research International
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/5695217

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of low-frequency electrical muscle stimulation (ES) on the decrease in muscle mass, fiber size, capillary supply, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) immunoreactivity in the early stages of denervation-induced limb disuse. Direct ES was performed on the tibialis anterior muscle following denervation in seven-week-old male rats. The rats were divided into the following groups: control (CON), denervation (DN), and denervation with direct ES (DN + ES). Direct ES was performed at an intensity of 16 mA and a frequency of 10 Hz for 30 min per day, six days a week, for one week. We performed immunohistochemical staining to determine the expression of dystrophin, CD34, and MMP-2 in transverse sections of TA muscles. The weight, myofiber cross-sectional area (FCSA), and capillary-to-fiber (C/F) ratio of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle were significantly reduced in the DN group compared to the control and DN + ES groups. The MMP-2 positive area was significantly greater in DN and DN + ES groups compared to the control group. These findings suggest beneficial effects of direct ES in reducing muscle atrophy and capillary regression without increasing MMP-2 immunoreactivity in the early stages of DN-induced muscle disuse in rat hind limbs.