ADHESION IN SKELETAL-MUSCLE DURING REGENERATION

Adhesion molecules were studied in regenerating skeletal muscle immunohistochemically and ultrastructurally after a standardized trauma. In normal muscle, extracellular matrix (ECM) protein tenascin was restricted to myotendinous junctions (MTJ), while the integrin beta-1-subunit was present also on the sarcolemma. After injury, tenascin increased on the outer surface of regenerating myofibers, where cellular fibronectin also accumulated. Later, tenascin concentrated at the tips of regenerating myofibers, where new MTJs were formed. The beta-1-subunit disappeared on necrotized myofibers and reappeared on regenerating fibers in a thicker layer. The regenerating myofibers were invested by a basal lamina, except for the growth cones at the distal ends, which were laminin-negative until the formation of MTJs occurred. These results indicate that regenerating muscle cells are attached to the ECM in a way that allows both growth of the muscle cells across the scar and their use before the regeneration is completed.