Recovery of muscle from tetrodotoxin-induced disuse and the influence of daily exercise. 2. Muscle enzymes and fatigue characteristics.

The fatigue characteristics and the activities of oxidative and glycolytic enzymes were determined in tetrodotoxin (TTX)-induced disuse muscles and in muscles of animals recovering from TTX-induced disuse (TTX-rec). In addition, the effects of additional daily exercise (grid-climbing and swimming) on the fatigue and metabolic profiles of muscles from TTX-rec and control animals were investigated. The activities of citrate synthase (CS), phosphofructokinase (PFK), and alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (alpha-GPD) were depressed following 28 days of inactivity produced by the chronic neural application of TTX. The response of these muscles to a pattern of stimulation that has been used to classify fast-twitch motor units according to their fatigability (6) (330 ms, 40 Hz, l/s, 4 min) was not affected to any great extent by inactivity, except for a loss in the ability to summate or maintain forces during each 330-ms burst, as fatigue developed. After 28 days of recovery, the concentration of CS had returned to normal, whereas the concentrations of PFK and alpha-GPD remained depressed. TTX-rec muscles, on the other hand, appeared more resistant to fatigue than control muscles, based on several indices of muscle fatigue. Control and TTX muscles responded similarly to daily training. Swimming but not climbing increased the activity of CS and the fatigue resistance of the muscle. Neither exercise influenced the activity of PFK and alpha-GPD. Although the activity of CS was influenced by the level of neuromuscular usage, the former did not appear to play a dominant role in determining the fatigue resistance of the muscle, emphasizing the need to consider other factors as primary determinants of muscle fatigue.