Capillaries with fenestrations around regenerating muscle fibers in the soleus muscle of the dystrophic (dy) mouse

Abstract

To investigate the morphological changes in capillaries around regenerating muscle fibers in the dystrophic (dy) mouse, we examined capillaries in the soleus muscles of 30-day-old control and dy mice by electron microscopy. In the control mice, the intramuscular capillaries were continuous. In the dystrophic mice, the muscles contained degenerative muscle fibers and many small muscle fibers regenerating after necrosis; these fibers had centrally located nuclei. The capillaries in the dy mice were mostly continuous, but some had a narrow vascular lumen around regenerating muscle fibers, possibly indicating newly formed capillaries. Moreover, about 20% of the capillaries with a narrow vascular lumen had a small number (less than five) of fenestrae bridged by a single-layered diaphragm. These findings suggest that capillary networks around muscle fibers regenerating after necrosis are remodeled by newly formed capillaries, and some of these capillaries have fenestrae in the endothelium to increase the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the regenerating muscle fibers.