Research Paper Volume 8, Issue 12 pp 3468—3485
Naked mole-rats maintain healthy skeletal muscle and Complex IV mitochondrial enzyme function into old age
Figure 2. Naked mole-rats do not undergo changes in skeletal muscle integrity during aging. Quadriceps muscle tissue sections were subjected to Gomori Trichrome Staining to reveal ragged red fibers; no such fibers were observed at any age (A-C). Quadriceps muscle tissue sections were immunohistochemically labelled with myosin heavy chain-specific antibodies to assess the relative numbers of fast-twitch and slow-twitch fiber types across the lifespan (D-I). No change in number was observed for either fiber type with age (J-K). Approximately 10% of muscle fibers in the naked mole-rat are MHCs+ at all ages studied, similar to the rat.