TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schleip, Robert
A1  - Gabbiani, Giulio
A1  - Wilke, Jan
A1  - Naylor, Ian
A1  - Hinz, Boris
A1  - Zorn, Adjo
A1  - Jäger, Heike
A1  - Breul, Rainer
A1  - Schreiner, Stephanie
A1  - Klingler, Werner
T1  - Fascia is able to actively contract and may thereby influence musculoskeletal dynamics : a histochemical and mechanographic investigation
T2  - Frontiers in physiology
N2  - Fascial tissues form a ubiquitous network throughout the whole body, which is usually regarded as a passive contributor to biomechanical behavior. We aimed to answer the question, whether fascia may possess the capacity for cellular contraction which, in turn, could play an active role in musculoskeletal mechanics. Human and rat fascial specimens from different body sites were investigated for the presence of myofibroblasts using immunohistochemical staining for α-smooth muscle actin (n = 31 donors, n = 20 animals). In addition, mechanographic force registrations were performed on isolated rat fascial tissues (n = 8 to n = 18), which had been exposed to pharmacological stimulants. The density of myofibroblasts was increased in the human lumbar fascia in comparison to fasciae from the two other regions examined in this study: fascia lata and plantar fascia [H(2) = 14.0, p < 0.01]. Mechanographic force measurements revealed contractions in response to stimulation by fetal bovine serum, the thromboxane A2 analog U46619, TGF-β1, and mepyramine, while challenge by botulinum toxin type C3–used as a Rho kinase inhibitor– provoked relaxation (p < 0.05). In contrast, fascial tissues were insensitive to angiotensin II and caffeine (p < 0.05). A positive correlation between myofibroblast density and contractile response was found (rs = 0.83, p < 0.001). The hypothetical application of the registered forces to human lumbar tissues predicts a potential impact below the threshold for mechanical spinal stability but strong enough to possibly alter motoneuronal coordination in the lumbar region. It is concluded that tension of myofascial tissue is actively regulated by myofibroblasts with the potential to impact active musculoskeletal dynamics.
KW  - myofibroblasts
KW  - connective tissue
KW  - contractility
KW  - contracture
KW  - stiffness
Y1  - 2019
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/50069
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-500694
SN  - 1664-042X
N1  - Copyright © 2019 Schleip, Gabbiani, Wilke, Naylor, Hinz, Zorn, Jäger, Breul, Schreiner and Klingler. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
VL  - 10
IS  - Art. 336
SP  - 1
EP  - 15
PB  - Frontiers Research Foundation
CY  - Lausanne
ER  -