FUNCTION OF RAT SKELETAL-MUSCLES AFTER STORAGE AT 10-DEGREES-C IN VARIOUS PRESERVATION SOLUTIONS

1, The purpose of this study was to assess the potential of various pr eservation solutions, originally designed for solid organs, to protect muscle function during cold storage, 2, The soleus (SOL) and the cuta neous trunci (CT) muscle from the rat were isolated and stored for 2, 4 or 8 h at 10 degrees C, The solutions used, listed in order from an intracellular to an extracellular-like composition, were: University o f Wisconsin (UW), Euro-Collins (EC), HTK-Bretschneider (HTK), reversed St, Thomas' Hospital (ST2) and Krebs-Henseleit (KH), After cold stora ge, the muscles were tested by direct electrical stimulation to obtain the maximum twitch tension (P-t) and the maximum tetanus tension (P-0 ), Subsequently, the muscles were prepared for morphological analysis, 3, In general, storage at 10 degrees C caused a gradual decrease of P -t and P-0 with time, After 8 h of storage in the extracellular-like s olutions KH and ST2, the P-0 was about 50% (SOL) and 35% (CT) of contr ol, Eight hours of storage in intracellular-like solutions resulted in a P-0 of 50% of control for HTK, in a P-0 of 40% (SOL) and 67% (CT) f or UW, but in a P-0 of 5% (SOL) and 26% (CT) for EC, These findings co rresponded well with the morphological observations, 4, It is conclude d that the effects of 10 degrees C storage on skeletal muscle function are not predominantly determined by the intra-or extracellular-like c omposition of the solutions used, Both UW and HTK were most effective (P-0>50% of control) in preserving muscle function.