Critical evaluation of the validity of contralateral muscle as the control in denervation studies: a correlative histochemical & biochemical study
Talesara, C.L.; Mahant, P.; Ahooja, G.
Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 19(10): 956-960
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-5189 PMID: 7309142 Document Number: 175845
A critical evaluation of the use of normal vs. contralateral muscle in denervation studies was attempted since the latter shows significant changes as a result of compensatory hypertrophy. A correlative histochemical and biochemical study for SDH (succinate dehydrogenase) and m-ATPase (myofibrillar-ATPase) activities was undertaken in normal, denervated, sham-operated oats (Rattus norvegicus) and their respective contralateral muscles. As compared to the normal, all the muscles show significant changes by day 21 postoperatively but these changes level out by day 28 in comparison with the normal muscle except in denervated one which shows a further progressive decline in enzyme activities, followed by a gradual recovery. Since the contralateral and sham-operated muscles themselves show many significant changes, a muscle from normal animals may serve as a better control than the contralateral muscle.