Morphometric analyses of human muscle fiber types

Abstract

Fibers from the m. vastus lateralis of 10 middle-aged men were classified at ultrastructural level according to the appearance of the sarcomeric M-band. The Z-band widths had a two-peak distribution. One peak was due to type 1 fibers (mean 125 +/- 11 nm), the other to type 2 fibers. This latter could be separated into type 2A (101 +/- 9 nm) and type 2B (86 +/- 8 nm). About 83% of the fibers would have been correctly classified on the basis of the Z-band width alone. Mitochondrial volumes differed (type 1 5.6 +/- 0.8, 2A 4.0 +/- 0.8, and 2B 2.8 +/- 0.8%). However, only one third (37%) of the fibers would have been correctly classified if sorted according to this parameter. Mitochondrial volumes in the different fibers were correlated to mitochondrial enzymes, while fiber sizes and numbers were correlated to cytoplasmic variables. The correlations appeared mainly after a training program, suggesting that the relationships between structural and functional parameters are more obvious after adaptation to higher functional demands.