Figure 2. Immobilization does not lead to a rapid decrease in translational capacity.

The right hindlimbs of mice were subjected to immobilization (IM) for 6, 24 or 72 h. The plantar flexor muscles from both the left (control) and right hindlimbs were collected and subjected to RNA or western blot analysis. A, total RNA to muscle weight ratio (μg mg⁻¹). B, 18S + 28S rRNA to muscle weight ratio. C, total ribosomal protein S6 (RPS6) per μg of protein. D–G, cDNA of different samples was synthesized from RNA derived from 1.75 mg of muscle and subjected to qPCR analyses for 47S pre-rRNA 5′ ETS, 47S pre-rRNA ITS1, MuRF1, Atrogin and GAPDH. The level of expression of all transcripts, except for GAPDH, was normalized to GAPDH. The values in B–H are all expressed as a percentage of the mean value obtained in the time-matched control group. Bars are presented as the mean ± SD from n = 4–6 per group. *Significantly different from the time-matched contralateral control group. Significance was determined by paired t tests (A, B, D–G) or pooled t tests (C), P ≤ 0.05.