Introduction: Muscle sample collection can introduce variation in any measured variable due to inter- and intramuscle variation. We investigated the variation in gene expression and fiber type composition after repeated biopsy sampling from the vastus lateralis muscle.
Methods: Six subjects donated 3 tissue samples each. One hour after baseline sampling from 1 vastus lateralis muscle, samples from both vastus lateralis muscles were obtained.
Results: The fiber type composition differed between biopsies taken from the same leg. There were no within-subject differences in gene expression between the 3 biopsies. Multivariate analysis supports a model in which gene expression differs significantly between individuals but is not affected by repeated muscle biopsy sampling from the same subject.
Conclusion: One vastus lateralis muscle sample per subject is sufficient to establish a reliable baseline for comparing gene expression representing selected pathways over time within the same individual.
Keywords: fiber type; gene expression; human; muscle; repeated sampling.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.