A simplified immunohistochemical classification of skeletal muscle fibres in mouse

• Published in: European journal of histochemistry Vol. 58; no. 2; p. 2254
• Main Authors: Kammoun, M, Cassar-Malek, I, Meunier, B, Picard, B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Italy PAGEPress Publications 24-06-2014; PAGEpress; PAGEPress Publications, Pavia, Italy
• Subjects: Animals; Computer Science; electrophoresis; Humanities and Social Sciences; image analysis; immunohistochemistry; Immunohistochemistry - methods; Life Sciences; Male; Mice; mouse; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal - classification; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal - cytology; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal - metabolism; myosin heavy chain; Myosin Heavy Chains - metabolism; Skeletal muscle; Technical Note; myosin heavy chain; mouse; immunohistochemistry; skeletal muscle; electrophoresis; image analysis
• ISSN: 1121-760X; 2038-8306
• DOI: 10.4081/ejh.2014.2254

The classification of muscle fibres is of particular interest for the study of the skeletal muscle properties in a wide range of scientific fields, especially animal phenotyping. It is therefore important to define a reliable method for classifying fibre types. The aim of this study was to establish a simplified method for the immunohistochemical classification of fibres in mouse. To carry it out, we first tested a combination of several anti myosin heavy chain (MyHC) antibodies in order to choose a minimum number of antibodies to implement a semi-automatic classification. Then, we compared the classification of fibres to the MyHC electrophoretic pattern on the same samples. Only two anti MyHC antibodies on serial sections with the fluorescent labeling of the Laminin were necessary to classify properly fibre types in Tibialis Anterior and Soleus mouse muscles in normal physiological conditions. This classification was virtually identical to the classification realized by the electrophoretic separation of MyHC. This immunohistochemical classification can be applied to the total area of Tibialis Anterior and Soleus mouse muscles. Thus, we provide here a useful, simple and time-efficient method for immunohistochemical classification of fibres, applicable for research in mouse.