Myosin light chain patterns of individual fast and slow-twitch fibres of rabbit muscles.

Single muscle fibres were isolated by microdissection from freeze-dried samples of rabbit psoas and soleus muscles. The individual fibres were typed according to qualitative histochemical reactions for succinate dehydrogenase or NADH-tetrazolium reductase and for alkaline Ca2+-activated myofibrilla myosin ATPase after acid or alkaline preincubation. Methods are described for electrophoretic analysis by means of polyacrylamide disc electrophoresis in the presence of SDS of total myofibrilla proteins in single fibres after pre-extraction of soluble proteins. Fast-twitch white fibres revealed a myosin light chain pattern characteristic of "fast- type" myosin with three light chains of apparent molecular weights of 22,300 (LC1) 18,400 (LC2) and 16,000 (LC3). Fast-twitch red fibres were indistinguishable in this respect from fast-twist white fibres and showed an identical pattern of myosin light chains. Slow-twitch fibres could be characterized by a myosin light chain pattern typical of myosin of slow-twitch muscles with peptides of the apparent molecular weights of 23,500 (LC1Sa), 23,000 (LC1Sb) and 18,500 (LS2S). Slow-twitch fibres isolated from soleus as well as from psoas muscle were indistinguishable with regard to their myosin light chain patterns, thus suggesting that fibres of the same histochemical type correspond in their myosin light chain patterns irrespective of their origin from different muscles.