The levator ani of the female rat: a suitable model for studying the effects of testosterone on the development of mammalian muscles

Biol Struct Morphog. 1988;1(1):28-33.

Abstract

The present results give evidence by using cytochemical markers of motor end-plates (ChE, AchR) and ultrastructural techniques that the Levator ani (LA) muscle is also present in adult females: it is composed of differentiated and innervated fibres. A significant difference, both on the number of fibres per muscle (n) and on their average cross-sectional area (acsa), was observed between sexes:-male: n = 5300 +/- 687, acsa: 522 +/- 68.6 microns 2;-female: n = 565 +/- 246.9, acsa: 68 +/- 8.6 microns 2. These results suggest that testosterone could control, at least partially, the number and the diameter of muscle fibres during development.

MeSH terms

  • Aging
  • Animals
  • Cholinesterases / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Histocytochemistry
  • Microscopy, Electron
  • Motor Endplate / drug effects
  • Motor Endplate / metabolism*
  • Motor Endplate / ultrastructure
  • Muscle Development*
  • Muscles / metabolism
  • Muscles / ultrastructure
  • Neuromuscular Junction / metabolism*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Inbred Strains
  • Receptors, Cholinergic / metabolism*
  • Reference Values
  • Testosterone / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Receptors, Cholinergic
  • Testosterone
  • Cholinesterases