Project description:Dystrophin was knocked down in primary muscle cultures prepared from C57Bl/10 neonate mice using siRNA targeting dystrophin. Also in parallel, primary muscle cultures treated with siRNA targting luciferase were used as controls. The experiment was designed so that the same cell populations were used for both test and control conditions. This helped avoid the heterogeneity associated with the previous studies where test and control cell populations were non-identical. The experiment resulted in a clear transcriptome of dystrophin deficiency and demonstrated dystrophin as a major organizer of myogensis. Moreover, several interesting experimental targets were identified which can potentially open new lines of investigations. 18 primary muscle cell cultures were prepared on 4 occasions. 7 cultures were treated with siRNAs targeting dystrophin, 7 received siRNA targeting firefly GL2 luciferase (treatment controls) and 4 remained untreated (untreated controls). RNAs were extracted 48 hours after differentiation induction for expression profiling analysis.
Project description:Dystrophin was knocked down in primary muscle cultures prepared from C57Bl/10 neonate mice using siRNA targeting dystrophin. Also in parallel, primary muscle cultures treated with siRNA targting luciferase were used as controls. The experiment was designed so that the same cell populations were used for both test and control conditions. This helped avoid the heterogeneity associated with the previous studies where test and control cell populations were non-identical. The experiment resulted in a clear transcriptome of dystrophin deficiency and demonstrated dystrophin as a major organizer of myogensis. Moreover, several interesting experimental targets were identified which can potentially open new lines of investigations.
Project description:Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive disease caused by deleterious mutations in the DMD gene, rendering non-functional forms or complete absence of the protein dystrophin. Eccentric contraction-induced force loss is the most robust and reproducible phenotype of dystrophin-deficient skeletal muscle, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying force loss remain obscure. To this end, we utilized the mdx mouse model of DMD, which displays extreme sensitivity to eccentric contractions. An existing mouse line from our lab that overexpresses cytoplasmic gamma-actin specifically in skeletal muscle (mdx/Actg1-TG) was shown to significantly protect mdx muscle against contraction-induced force loss. To understand the mechanism behind this protection, we performed iTRAQ proteomics on mdx/Actg1-TG tibialis anterior (TA) muscle versus non-transgenic littermate controls to identify differentially-expressed proteins that may afford protection upon gamma-actin overexpression.
Project description:Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an incurable neuromuscular degenerative disease, caused by a mutation in the dystrophin gene. Mdx mice recapitulate DMD features. Here we show that injection of wild-type (WT) embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into mdx blastocysts produces mice with improved pathology. A small fraction of WT ESCs incorporates into the mdx mouse nonuniformly to upregulate protein levels of dystrophin in the skeletal muscle. The chimeric muscle shows reduced regeneration and restores dystrobrevin, a dystrophin-related protein, in areas with high and with low dystrophin content. WT ESC injection also normalizes the amount of fat, a tissue that does not express dystrophin. ESC injection without dystrophin does not prevent the appearance of phenotypes in the skeletal muscle or in the fat. Thus, dystrophin supplied by the ESCs reverses disease in mdx mice globally.
Project description:Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an incurable neuromuscular degenerative disease, caused by a mutation in the dystrophin gene. Mdx mice recapitulate DMD features. Here we show that injection of wild-type (WT) embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into mdx blastocysts produces mice with improved pathology. A small fraction of WT ESCs incorporates into the mdx mouse nonuniformly to upregulate protein levels of dystrophin in the skeletal muscle. The chimeric muscle shows reduced regeneration and restores dystrobrevin, a dystrophin-related protein, in areas with high and with low dystrophin content. WT ESC injection also normalizes the amount of fat, a tissue that does not express dystrophin. ESC injection without dystrophin does not prevent the appearance of phenotypes in the skeletal muscle or in the fat. Thus, dystrophin supplied by the ESCs reverses disease in mdx mice globally. Experiment Overall Design: 3-week old mdx (C57BL/10ScSn-Dmdmdx/J, Jax labs) females were superovulated and mated with mdx males (Jax labs). Blastocysts were collected at 3.5 days afer mating, injected with 15 WT or mdx R26 ES cells. Injected blastocysts were then transferred into the uteri of pseudopregnant females and allowed to develop to term. Skeletal muscle from 4 month old chimeric male mice was collected, RNA was isolated and microarray analysis were performed.
Project description:This study applies targeted Cas9-based gene insertion strategies for the correction of full-length dystrophin in a pre-clinical humanized mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Following intramuscular or intravenous delivery, full-length dystrophin is restored in skeletal and cardiac muscle.
Project description:Despite over 3,000 articles published on dystrophin in the last 15 years, the reasons underlying the progression of the human disease, differential muscle involvement, and disparate phenotypes in different species are not understood. The present experiment employed a screen of 12,488 mRNAs in 16-wk-old mouse mdx muscle at a time when the skeletal muscle is avoiding severe dystrophic pathophysiology, despite the absence of a functional dystrophin protein. A number of transcripts whose levels differed between the mdx and human Duchenne muscular dystrophy were noted. A fourfold decrease in myostatin mRNA in the mdx muscle was noted. Differential upregulation of actin-related protein 2/3 (subunit 4), beta-thymosin, calponin, mast cell chymase, and guanidinoacetate methyltransferase mRNA in the more benign mdx was also observed. Transcripts for oxidative and glycolytic enzymes in mdx muscle were not downregulated. These discrepancies could provide candidates for salvage pathways that maintain skeletal muscle integrity in the absence of a functional dystrophin protein in mdx skeletal muscle.
Project description:Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severely debilitating and incurable neuromuscular disease. Its conspicuous feature is the absence of dystrophin in myofibers and therefore most therapeutic approaches focus on some form of its re-expression there. However, increasing body of evidence points at an early developmental onset of DMD and severe abnormalities were uncovered in dystrophic muscle stem cells. In this study, we explore gene expression changes in primary myoblasts from mice lacking expression of the full length dystrophin transcript. Total RNA extracted from primary myoblasts isolated from gastrocnemii of 8 week old male Dmd-mdx (MDX - lacking the full length dystrophin transcript), Dmd-mdx-βgeo (BGEO - lacking all dystrophin expression) and control mice (WT) were subjected to RNA sequencing following ribodepletion, and analysed for the differential expression of genes between groups and the enrichment of gene ontology categories or pathways.
Project description:Matrix metalloprotease (MMP) -2 has been reported to be up-regulated in skeletal muscle in the lethal X-linked muscle disorder Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which is caused by loss of dystrophin. However, the role of MMP-2 in dystrophin-deficient muscle is not well known. The aim of this study was to verify the role of MMP-2 in dystrophin-deficient muscle by using mdx mice with genetic ablation of MMP-2 (mdx/MMP-2-/-). Gene expression profiles were analyzed in the skeletal muscle of mdx and mdx/MMP-2-/- mice at 1 and 3 months of age. Tibialis anterior muscle was isolated from four groups of mice (mdx and mdx/MMP-2-/- mice at 1 and 3 months of age). Total RNA was purified and prepared for hybridization to Affymetrix Mouse Genome 430 2.0 arrays (Affymetrix Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA) using Affymetrix reagents and protocols. The mRNA levels of differentially expressed genes from gene chip analysis were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR assay.