Neuromuscular Junction Damage in the Calf Muscles of Patients With Advanced Peripheral Artery Disease.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) reduces blood flow to the legs and causes severe muscle and leg dysfunction for PAD patients. Skeletal muscle contractile function is dependent on the health of the muscle itself and that of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) on the muscle membrane.

Methods

To determine whether the NMJ, including the motor nerve terminals and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR), is damaged in PAD, gastrocnemius muscles were collected from 3 controls and 13 PAD patients to capture images from 331 control NMJs and 512 PAD NMJs.

Results

For the motor nerve terminals, there were more denervated nAChR clusters and fewer nerve terminal occupancies in NMJs in PAD patients, compared with controls. For the nAChR clusters in the NMJs, the area per nAChR

SUBMITTER: Tu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11848508 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature