RESUMEN
Objective To investigate the changes of myosin heavy chain ( MyHC) isoforms in rat masseter muscle fibers caused by chronic sleep deprivation ( CSD) and a possible link with the pathogenesis of temporomandibular joint disorders ( TMD ) .Methods Total 180 male rats were randomly divided into three groups( n=60 per group): chronic sleep deprivation group ( CSD),cage control group ( CC),and large-platform control group ( TC ) .Each group was further divided into three subgroups ( n=20 in each group)according to the observation time point(7,14,and 21 days).The expression of MyHC isoforms in mas-seter muscle fibers was investigated by real-time quantitative PCR,Western blotting and immunohistochemi-cal staining.Results The expression of MyHC-Ⅰ,MyHC-ⅡA and MyHC-ⅡB deep and shallow masseter muscle in CSD7d group had differention with the control group(MyHC-Ⅰ:(0.314±0.005,0.134±0.005, P0.05) ,and there were no differences between the CC and TC groups at any time point.Conclusion These findings suggest that CSD alters the ex-pression of MyHC isoforms,which may contribute to TMD pathogenesis.