Skeletal muscle changes function

Age-related changes in skeletal muscle mitochondrial functionality... 

The growth of animals can be defined as an increase in mass of whole body, tissue(s), organ(s), or ceU(s) with time. This type of growth can be characterized by morphometric measurements eg, skeletal muscle or adipose tissue growth can be described by observing temporal changes in ceU number, ie, hyperplasia, and ceU size, ie, hypertrophy. Growth also includes developmental aspects of function and metaboHsm of cells and tissues from conception to maturity. 

It has been shown that inositol triphosphate (IP3) is involved in the excitation-contraction coupling in smooth muscle (Vergara et al., 1985), but presently no clear evidence has been reported for a similar involvement in skeletal muscle. If IP3 functions as a messenger for Ca release, it would bridge the gap between muscle metabolic changes and Ca release, as ATP is a prerequisite for IP3 regeneration. 

It appears that insulin and certain growth factors may exert their effects by acting through this type of tyrosine kinase receptor-enzyme system.21,44 Insulin, for example, binds to the extracellular component of a protein located on skeletal muscle cells, thereby initiating activation of this protein s enzymatic activity on the inner surface of the cell membrane. This change in enzyme function causes further changes in cell activity, which ultimately result in increased glucose uptake in the muscle cell. The function of insulin receptors and their role in the cause and treatment of diabetes mellitus are discussed in more detail in Chapter 32. 

Fish JS, McKee NH, Kuzon WM, Jr., Plyley MJ. The effect of hypothermia on changes in isometric contractile function in skeletal muscle after tourniquet ischemia. J Hand Surg Am 1993 18 210-7. 

The nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptor is a well-characterized receptor of this type consisting of five subunits. It is present on the skeletal muscle cell end-plate in the neuromuscular junction, at all autonomic ganglia, and in the central nervous system (CNS). The function of this receptor is to convert ACh binding into an electrical signal via increased Na+ or K+ permeability across the cell membrane (i.e., membrane depolarization). When two molecules of ACh bind to the a subunit of the receptor, a conformational change in the receptor induces opening of the channel to at least 0.65 nm for approximately 1-2 ms. 

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