Effects of aging on capillary number and luminal size in rat soleus and plantaris muscles

To clarify aging-related changes in the capillary network in skeletal muscle, we morphometrically examined the capillary supply to individual muscle fibers and capillary luminal size in young (3-month-old) and old (19-month-old) male Wistar rats. All morphometric parameters for capillary and muscle fiber were determined in the cross sections of the perfusion-fixed soleus (SOL) and plantaris (PL) muscles. The range of fiber size was larger in the old muscles because of hypertrophy and atrophy of fibers. However, the capillary supply to individual muscle fibers, assessed as the mean of capillary contacts around a muscle fiber, did not change with aging in SOL muscle (young rats = 7.8 +/- 0.4 vs old rats = 8.1 +/- 0.8) or PL muscle (young rats = 6.4 +/- 0.3 vs old rats = 7.0 +/- 0.9). The ratio of individual muscle fiber area to the number of capillary contacts around a muscle fiber did not differ between young rats (SOL = 361.7 +/- 76.0; PL = 264.7 +/- 20.9) and old rats (SOL = 350.2 +/- 61.3; PL = 296.8 +/- 44.9). The mean capillary luminal diameter did not differ statistically in young and old rats (SOL, young rats = 5.3 +/- 0.5 vs old rats = 5.1 +/- 0.1; PL, young rats = 5.0 +/- 0.3 vs old rats = 5.4 +/- 0.2). In conclusion, the relationship between capillary supply and muscle fiber size is similar for both young and old rats, and the luminal size of each capillary was maintained with advancing age.