Variation in Normalized Isometric Tetanic Force of Isolated Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibres of Rana Temporaria

The origin of the threefold variation found previously in isometric force normalized to cross-sectional area of single fast-twitch tibialis anterior muscle fibres of the frog Rana temporaria was studied by using (1) a strictly defined stimulus protocol, and (2) influencing the condition of the frog using artificial hibernation. Variation in normalized force was found to be influenced by the length of the rest period between tetani. After a long rest (> 6h), tetanic force production was less than for a tetanus produced after 1 h. The length of the rest period accounted for a factor of 1.24 of the total variation in normalized force. The condition of the frog also influenced normalized force production. Little variation in normalized force was observed between different fibres from the same animal, whereas a significant difference was found between animals. After artificial hibernation, force normalized to cross-sectional area remained unchanged, but force normalized to dry mass per unit length increased; the total variation increased from a factor of 1.37 to a factor of 1.64. Force normalized to muscle protein mass per unit length, however, was not affected by artificial hibernation. We conclude that variation in normalized tetanic force can be partly reduced by standardization of the stimulation protocol and normalization to protein content per unit length.