Taipoxin, a toxin isolated from the venom of the snakeOxyuranus scutellatuswas injected subcutaneously into the anterolateral aspect of one hind limb of the rat. The toxin caused a necrotising myopathy in the underlying muscle. The ultrastructural characteristics of the regeneration that followed the administration of the myotoxin were studied. Regeneration occurred within the surviving basal lamina tubes from a population of spared satellite cells. Myotubes were formed by 3 days and small immature muscle fibres by 5 days. The regenerative response was total and very rapid.
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