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Department of Physiology II, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

1. The importance of reduced maximum force-generating capacity in the development of skeletal muscle fatigue has been studied using potassium and caffeine contractures as tools. 2. Single, intact fibres isolated from the lumbrical and iliofibularis muscles of Xenopus were fatigued by repeated tetanic stimulations until they produced close to 40% of the original tetanic tension (P0). Using this stimulation scheme three major types of fibres can be distinguished: easily fatigued (type 1), fatigue resistant (type 2), and very fatigue-resistant (type 3) fibres (Westerblad & Lännergren, 1986). 3. When activated by 8-15 mM-caffeine-Ringer solutions fatigued fibres of all three types developed tensions similar to those of controls (81.0 +/- 6.6 vs. 83.9 +/- 4.2% of P0, respectively; means +/- S.D.). 4. Tension output also increased markedly when fatigued fibres were depolarized by 190 mM-K+ solution. The tension produced was in this case fibre type dependent: 71.4 +/- 6.6, 81.3 +/- 2.5 and 95.0 +/- 4.4% of P0 in fibre types 1, 2 and 3, respectively. 5. Force-velocity measurements were performed during caffeine contractures in fatigued iliofibularis fibres (types 1 and 2) to obtain more information about the functional state of cross-bridges. 6. In fatigued type 1 fibres the shortening velocity was reduced to about 25% of that in controls, while it was not significantly depressed in type 2 fibres. 7. It is concluded that cross-bridges of fatigued fibres can produce nearly full tension, but they may work at a much slower rate in this state. 8. Fibre types 1 and 2 mostly display a long-lasting, reversible state of severely depressed tension production during the recovery period, which has been named post-contractile depression, PCD (Westerblad & Lännergren, 1986). Fibres tested in this state generated full caffeine-activated tension and the shortening velocity was not significantly reduced. The tension output during K+ contractures was, however, markedly depressed (12.4 +/- 4.1% of P0). 9. In conclusion, cross-bridges are able to produce close to full tension during PCD as well as in the fatigued state if they are fully activated. The form of functional impairment seems, however, not to be the same in the two cases.

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