Glucose and glycogen affects Ca2+ transient during fatigue to a greater extent in the least than in the most fatigue resistant mouse FDB fibers.

The overall objective was to determine how no extracellular glucose and/or low glycogen content affect fatigue kinetics in mouse flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) single muscle fibers. High glycogen content (Hi GLY), near normal in situ level, was obtained by incubating fibers in culture medium containing glucose and insulin while low glycogen content (Lo GLY), at about 19% of normal in situ level, was achieved by incubating fibers without glucose. Neither Lo GLY nor the absence of extracellular glucose (0GLU) affected tetanic [Ca²⁺]_i prior to fatigue. The number of contracting unfatigued fibers versus stimulus strength relationship of Lo GLY-0GLU fibers was shifted to higher voltages compared to Hi GLY fibers exposed to 5.5 mM glucose (5GLU). The relationship for Lo GLY-0GLU fibers was shifted back toward that of Hi GLY-5GLU fibers when glucose was reintroduced, whereas the removal of glucose from Hi GLY-5GLU fibers had no effect. Fatigue was elicited with one 200 ms long tetanic contraction every s for 3 min. Both Lo GLY and 0GLU increased the rate at which intracellular tetanic concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) declined and unstimulated [Ca²⁺]_i increased during fatigue in the order of the least fatigue resistant > mid fatigue resistant > the most fatigue resistant fibers.