Mouse gastrocnemius muscle regeneration after mechanical or cardiotoxin injury

The goal of our study was to compare the skeletal muscle regeneration induced by two types of injury: either crushing, that causes muscle degeneration as a result of mechanical devastation of myofibers, or the injection of a cardiotoxin that is a myotoxic agent causing myolysis of myofibers leading to muscle degeneration. Regenerating muscles were analyzed at selected intervals, until the 14th day following the injury. We analyzed their weight and morphology. We also studied the expression of different myosin heavy chain isoforms as a molecular marker of the regeneration progress. Histological analysis revealed that inflammatory response and myotube formation in crushed muscles was delayed compared to cardiotoxin-injected ones. Moreover, the expression of myosin heavy chain isoforms was observed earlier in cardiotoxin-injured versus crushed muscles. We conclude that the dynamics of skeletal muscle regeneration depends on the method of injury. (Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica 2012, Vol. 50, No. 1, 144-153)