Differences in the histochemical properties of skeletal muscles of different breeds of horses and dogs.

Histochemical profiles of individual muscle fibres were established using myosin adenosine triphosphatase (myosin ATPase), succinate dehydrogenase (SDHase), and glycogen phosphorylase (GPase) reactions in three muscles (semitendinosus, diaphragm, and pectoralis transversus) of the horse and dog. The major histochemical difference between fibres lies in their myosin ATPase activity; fibres can be subdivided into those with a high and those with a low activity. In horse muscle, all fibres have a high activity of GPase. In the diaphragm and pectoralis transversus, all fibres have a high SDHase activity, but fibres with a low activity of SDHase are also present in samples of the semitendinosus. In dog muscle, all fibres have a high SDHase activity; myosin ATPase low-reacting fibres also have a low activity of GPase. There is a greater fractional area of myosin ATPase high-reacting fibres in the pectoralis transversus and semitendinosus of thoroughbred horses and greyhounds (breeds selected for high speed running) and in the diaphragm of greyhounds. In adults this feature does not appear to be due to training, as are the differences in aerobic and anaerobic capacity (shown in other studies). The preponderance of myosin Atpase high-reacting fibres suggests that there may be differences in the nervous systems of athletes and non-athletes. It is concluded that the proportions of fibre types in muscles are related to the functions of muscles and of their parts. No sex differences or detraining effects were apparent, although the value for the proportion of fibre types (as differentiated by the myosin ATPase reaction) in the limb muscles of thoroughbred crosses lies between those of thoroughbreds and non-thoroughbreds.