Profiles of connectin (titin) in atrophied soleus muscle induced by unloading of rats

Responses of the properties of connectin molecules in the slow-twitch soleus (Sol) and fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus muscles of rats to 3 days of unloading with or without 3-day reloading were investigated. The wet weight (relative to body wt) of Sol, not of extensor digitorum longus, in the unloaded group was significantly less than in the age-matched control (P < 0.05). Immunoelectron microscopic analyses showed that a monoclonal antibody against connectin (SM1) bound to the I-band region close to the edge of the A band at resting length and moved reversibly away from the Z line as the muscle fibers were stretched. In Sol, the displacement of the SM1-bound dense spots in response to stretching decreased after hindlimb suspension. There were no changes in the molecular weights and the percent distributions of alpha- and beta-connectin in both muscles after hindlimb suspension. A significant increment of percent beta-connectin in Sol was observed after 3 days of reloading after hindlimb suspension (P < 0.05). It is suggested that the elasticity of connectin filaments in the I-band region of the atrophied Sol fibers was reduced relative to that of the control fibers. The lack of the elasticity in atrophied muscle fibers may cause a decrease in contractile function.