Single skeletal muscle fiber elastic and contractile characteristics in young and older men

The current investigation was designed to: (a) assess the impact of aging on elastic characteristics of single skeletal muscle fibers from young (N = 6) and older men (N = 6); and (b) correlate the potential changes, with the fiber contractile properties. Chemically skinned single muscle fibers (n = 235) from vastus lateralis muscle were maximally activated. Maximal force and cross-sectional area were measured, and specific force calculated. The slack test was used to measure maximal unloaded shortening velocity. A quick release of 0.15% of fiber length was applied to determine instantaneous stiffness. The myosin heavy chain isoform composition of each single fiber was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Aging induces changes in both fiber elasticity (i.e., increased instantaneous stiffness) and contractility (i.e., reduced specific force and unloaded shortening velocity) in type I and IIa fibers. However, the changes in fiber stiffness may not directly influence contractile characteristics alterations.