IMP response: an indicator of metabolic stress in working muscle.

An in vitro system for the combined biochemical and physiologic analysis of striated muscle has been developed. It is hoped that its eventual application will be to the evaluation of human muscle disease. To test the method's usefulness in evaluating metabolic defects, we used iodoacetate to induce a glycolytic defect in animal muscle. This produced the expected effects of precipitous fatigue on repetitive stimulation, increased inosine monophosphate (IMP) and decreased adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine; in addition, the severity of the glycolytic block was directly related to the amount of IMP produced per gram twitch tension.