Effect of serial cell passaging in the retention of fiber type and mitochondrial content in primary human myotubes.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of passaging on retention of donor phenotypic characteristics in primary human myotubes.

Methods: Primary muscle cultures and serial passaged myotubes from physically active, sedentary lean, and individuals with type 2 diabetes were established. Maximal ATP synthesis capacity (ATPmax) and resting ATP flux (ATPase) in vivo were measured by (31) P magnetic resonance spectroscopy, type-I fibers and intramyocelluar lipid (IMCL) in vastus lateralis tissue were determined using immunohistochemistry techniques, and oxidative phosphorylation complexes (OXPHOS) were measured by Western immunoblotting. Similar in vitro measures for lipid and type-I fibers were made in myotubes, along with mitochondrial content measured by MitoTracker.

Results: Passage 4 and 5 measures for myotubes correlated positively with in vivo measurements for percent type-I fibers (P4: R(2)  = 0.39, p = 0.02; P5: R(2)  = 0.48, p = 0.01), ATPmax (P4: R(2)  = 0.30, p = 0.03; P5: R(2)  = 0.22, p = 0.05), and OXPHOS (P4: R(2)  = 0.44, p = 0.04; P5: R(2)  = 0.59, p = 0.006). No correlations were observed for IMCL. However, passage 4 measures for myotubes correlated with passage 5 measures for percent type-I fibers (R(2)  = 0.49, p = 0.01), IMCL (R(2)  = 0.80, p < 0.001), and mitochondrial content (R(2)  = 0.26, p = 0.03).

Conclusions: Myotubes through the first two passages following immunopurification (referred to as passage 4 and 5) reflect the mitochondrial and type-I fiber content in vivo phenotype of the donor.