FIG. 3.

Functional recovery of injured LD after implantation of TE-MR construct. Representative tracings showing the isometric contractions elicited in response to electrical field stimulation (EFS) frequencies of 10, 30, 60, and 120 Hz by R-TE-MR (A) assessed in vitro 2 months after implantation and by uninjured contralateral LD muscle (B). The mean values for the EFS-induced contractions observed on all retrieved tissues in each study group are depicted for both the 1 month (C, n: native LD=20, NR=7, R-TE-MR=6) and 2 month (D, n: native LD=20, NR=5, R-TE-MR=5 and R-S=5) time points, as expressed in both isometric absolute force (mN; C&D), and specific force as a function of stimulation frequency (E, n: native LD=20, NR=5, R-TE-MR=4 and R-S=5). Additionally, after force-frequency testing contralateral native LD muscles (n=6), NR (n=4), R-TE-MR (n=3), or R-S (n=4) at the 2 month time point were subjected to twitch contractions at 0.2 Hz in the presence of a maximally stimulating concentration of caffeine (50 mM) and (F). *Group means are significantly different from that of control (p<0.05). Values are means±standard error of the mean. ^†Group mean is significantly different from that of all other groups (p<0.05). Color images available online at www.liebertonline.com/tea