Abstract
It is well known that denervated skeletal muscle differs from the normal not only morphologically and functionally but also in its response to drugs (1, 2). Recently, our colleagues have reported that the recovery of morphologically changed muscle function in denervated muscle can be promoted by the administration with L-methionine (3), and that L-methionine has the effect of increasing the influx of potassium into an anterior tibial muscle (4).
Walker et al. (5) reported in 1966 that in denervated skeletal rat muscle the myofibrils were reduced in number, the nuclei and their near structures had become obscure, lamellar structures had appeared, and the basement membranes of the sarcolemmae and disappeared, and Miledi et al. (6), thereafter, reported in 1968 that in denervated diaphragm muscle especially the mitochondria had become smaller soon after denervation.
In the present experiment, anterior tibial muscles were denervated and their changes, especially those in ATPase activity, were examined by means of both light and electron microscopes.
