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Changes in the Satellite Cell Population in Fetal Pig Skeletal Muscle¹

Richard B. Russell Agricultural Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Science and Education Administration, Agricultural Research, Athens, GA 30604.^,2

Abstract

Quantitative changes in the satellite cell population were studied in the peroneus longus and sartorius muscle from fetal pigs at 95 and 110 days of gestation and at 1 day of age. Three pigs were obtained at each age group and two of the three pigs were littermates. With the joints held at a fixed angle, parallel strips of muscle fibers were clamped to prevent shortening, and removed to glutaraldehyde and prepared for electron microscopy. Muscle wet weight, determined on the contralateral muscles, and muscle length and mean minimum fiber diameter increased with age. The peroneus longus muscle weighed more, was shorter in length and tended to have a larger minimum fiber diameter than the sartosius muscle. The mean length of the myonuclei and satellite cell nuclei was similar. The percentage of myofibers with myonuclei present in cross section did not change with age, but this percentage tended to be lower in the sartorius muscle than in the peroneus longus muscle. The percentage of myofibers with satellite cell nuclei present in cross section decreased with age. Satellite cell nuclei also decreased with age when expressed as a percentage of the total nuclei contained within the basal lamina. A greater number of satellite cells were found in the peroneus longus muscle than in the sartorius muscle. The nuclear content was estimated for one fiber in each muscle by using the frequency of nuclei found in cross section, the mean nuclear length and the length of the muscle to determine if the absolute number of satellite cells changed with age. It was concluded that there is an absolute, as well as a relative, decrease in the muscle satellite cell population from 95 days of gestation to 1 day of age.

¹ The authors wish to express their appreciation to the University of Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station Swine Farm for providing the animals used in this study.

² Richard B. Russell Agricultural Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Science and Education Administration, Agricultural Research, Athens, GA 30604.

³ University of Georgia, Athens 30602.