Study of the effect of myofibrillar misalignment on the sarcomeric SHG intensity pattern.

We present a theoretical simulation of the sarcomeric SHG intensity pattern (SHG-IP) that takes into account myofibrillar misalignment that is experimentally observed in SHG images of proteolysed muscles. The model predicts that myofibrillar displacement results in the conversion from one peak (1P) to two peaks (2P) sarcomeric SHG-IP in agreement with experimental results. This study suggests that sarcomeric SHG-IP is a powerful tool for mapping spatial myofibrillar displacement and its related excitation-contraction disruption that could occur during muscle physiological adaptation and disease.