Measurement of Periodical Contraction of Cultured Muscle Tube with Laser

Periodical contraction of a cultured muscle tube has been measured with laser in vitro. C2C12 (mouse myoblast cell line) was cultured with High-glucose Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium on a dish to make muscle tubes. Differentiation from myoblasts to myotubes was induced with an additional horse serum. Repetitive contraction of the tube was generated by electric pulses lower than sixty volts of amplitude with one milli-second of width through the electrodes of platinum, and observed with a phase-contrast microscope. A laser beam of 632.8 nm wavelength was restricted to 0.096 mm diameter, and applied to the muscle tubes on the bottom of the culture dish. Fluctuating intensity of the transmitted laser beam through the periodically contracting muscle tubes was measured, and its spectrum was analyzed. The analyzed data show that the repetitive contraction is synchronized with stimulation of the periodical electric pulses between 0.2 s and 2 s.