{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T07:00:49Z","timestamp":1790665249313,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,8]],"date-time":"2024-04-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1712534400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Physiol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Histological data on muscle fiber size and proportion in (very) young typically developing (TD) children is not well documented and data on capillarization and satellite cell content are also lacking.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Aims<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study investigated the microscopic properties of the medial gastrocnemius muscle in growing TD children, grouped according to age and gender to provide normal reference values in healthy children.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Microbiopsies of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle were collected in 46 TD boys and girls aged 2\u201310\u00a0years subdivided into 4 age groups (2\u20134, 4\u20136, 6\u20138 and 8\u201310\u00a0years). Sections were immunostained to assess fiber type cross-sectional area (fCSA) and proportion, the number of satellite cells (SC), capillary to fiber ratio (C\/F), capillary density for type I and II fiber (CFD), capillary domain, capillary-to-fiber perimeter exchange index (CFPE) and heterogeneity index. fCSA was normalized to fibula length<jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup> and the coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated to reflect fCSA intrasubject variability.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Absolute fCSA of all fibers increased with age (r = 0.72, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.001) but more in boys (+112%, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05) than in girls (+48%, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;gt; 0.05) Normalized fCSA, CV and fiber proportion did not differ between age groups and gender. C\/F was strongly correlated with age in boys (r = 0.83, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.001), and to a lesser extent in girls (r = 0.37, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> = 0.115), while other capillary parameters as well as the number of SC remained stable with increasing age in boys and girls.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study provides reference values of histological measures in MG according to age in normally growing boys and girls. These data may be used as a reference to determine disease impact and efficacy of therapeutic approach on the muscle.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fphys.2024.1336283","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,8]],"date-time":"2024-04-08T08:40:36Z","timestamp":1712565636000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Histological analysis of the medial gastrocnemius muscle in young healthy children"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Anke","family":"Andries","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jorieke","family":"Deschrevel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Karen","family":"Maes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nathalie","family":"De Beukelaer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marlies","family":"Corvelyn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lauraine","family":"Staut","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hannah","family":"De Houwer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Domiziana","family":"Costamagna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stefaan","family":"Nijs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Willem-Jan","family":"Metsemakers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elga","family":"Nijs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Greet","family":"Hens","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eva","family":"De Wachter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sandra","family":"Prinsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kaat","family":"Desloovere","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anja","family":"Van Campenhout","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ghislaine","family":"Gayan-Ramirez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"171","DOI":"10.1016\/0022-510x(71)90085-2","article-title":"Muscle fibre size in normal infants, children and adolescents. 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