Home › Cell Biology › Evaluation of Muscle Function of the Extensor Digitorum Longus Muscle Ex vivo and Tibialis Anterior Muscle In situ in Mice
Cell Biology JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Evaluation of Muscle Function of the Extensor Digitorum Longus Muscle Ex vivo and Tibialis Anterior Muscle In situ in Mice

DOI: 10.3791/50183-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Dissect and isolate murine extensor digitorum longus muscle for ex vivo analysis
  • ✓ Measure contractile properties including force generation and twitch kinetics
  • ✓ Assess passive mechanical properties and muscle stiffness in isolated muscle
  • ✓ Evaluate tibialis anterior muscle function using in situ physiological recordings
Protocol

Biopharma Insights Changes in limb muscle contractile and passive mechanical properties are important biomarkers for muscle diseases. This manuscript describes physiological assays to measure these properties in the murine extensor digitorum longus and tibialis anterior muscles.

Difficulty
advanced
Total time
~2-3 hours per mouse (dissection, setup, and complete functional assessment)
Model organism
Mouse (strain unspecified)

Steps

1
Prepare equipment and dissect extensor digitorum longus

Set up physiological recording apparatus and surgical instruments. Carefully isolate and prepare the extensor digitorum longus muscle from the mouse hindlimb under magnification.

▶ 01:57
2
Measure contractile and passive EDL properties

Mount isolated extensor digitorum longus in the apparatus and perform electrical stimulation protocols to quantify isometric force, twitch kinetics, and passive tension-length relationships.

▶ 05:50
3
Evaluate tibialis anterior in situ contractile properties

With the tibialis anterior intact in the hindlimb, stimulate the nerve and measure muscle force production and contractile parameters in the physiological context.

▶ 08:44
4
Analyze representative contractile and passive measurements

Review typical output traces and data plots demonstrating force-frequency relationships, passive stiffness curves, and twitch characteristics from both muscle preparations.

▶ 11:52
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