Introduction: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a debilitating muscle wasting disorder with no cure. Safer supplements and therapies are needed to improve the severity of symptoms, as severe side effects are associated with the only effective treatment, corticosteroids. The amino acid taurine has shown promise in ameliorating dystrophic symptoms in mdx mice, an animal model of DMD, however little work is in 21-28 (d)ay animals, the period of natural peak damage. 

Methods: This study compares the effect of prenatal taurine supplementation on tibialis anterior (TA) in situ contractile function, histopathological characteristics and the abundance of Ca²⁺-handling as well as pathologically relevant proteins in non-exercised mdx mice at 28 and 70 d.

Results: Supplementation elevated TA taurine content by 25% (p<0.05), ameliorated in situ specific force by 60% (p<0.05) and improved histological characteristics in 28 d mdx mice; however no benefit was seen in 70 d mice, where background pathology was initially stable. Age specific effects in SERCA1, calsequestrin 1 (CSQ1), CSQ2, utrophin and myogenin protein abundances were seen between both 28 and 70 d mdx and mdx taurine-supplemented mice.

Discussion: Considering these findings and that taurine is a relatively cost effective, readily accessible and side effect free dietary supplement, we propose further investigation into taurine supplementation during pregnancy in a protective capacity, reminiscent of folate in the prevention of spinal bifida.

To facilitate gene and cell therapy experiments, we created severely immune-deficient mouse models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), limb girdle muscular dystrophy 2B (LGMD2B), and limb girdle muscular dystrophy 2D (LGMD2D) by crossing mdx^4Cv, Bl/AJ, and Sgca-null mice with NRG immune-deficient mice. The resulting mdx^4Cv/NRG, BlAJ/NRG, and Sgca/NRG mice demonstrated the presence of the appropriate mutant alleles at Dmd, Dysf, Sgca, Rag1, and Il2rγ by genotyping PCR. Absence of dystrophin, dysferlin, or α-sarcoglycan protein was confirmed by western blot and immunohistochemistry. We performed centronucleation, Evans blue dye, hydroxyproline, and treadmill assays on the disease model mice versus NRG controls to evaluate muscle histology and function. These studies demonstrated that the mdx^4Cv/NRG and Sgca/NRG mice showed significant deficits in muscle structure and function in all the assays and were similar to each other. By contrast, the phenotype of the BlAJ/NRG mice was milder in each case. The results we observed parallel the phenotypes seen in patients with the corresponding disorders. These novel immune-deficient mouse models of DMD, LGMD2B, and LGMD2D will be useful for long-term gene and cell therapy studies involving transfer of foreign genes and cells.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD or Duchenne) is a progressive, life-limiting muscle-wasting disease that requires comprehensive, multidisciplinary care. This care, at minimum, should include neuromuscular, respiratory, cardiac, orthopedic, endocrine and rehabilitative interventions that address both the primary and secondary manifestations of the disease. The care needs of patients evolve over the cdourse of the disease and as they transition from childhood into young adulthood. In the past two decades, life expectancy has increased significantly by the use of corticosteroids and enhanced clinical management. Nevertheless, each year, patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy are admitted to emergency departments and intensive care units where medical expertise thrives, but where expertise in rare diseases, such as Duchenne, may not. Emergency care for patients with Duchenne can be as complex as the disease process itself. While any illness or injury may occur in a person with Duchenne, some acute scenarios are much more common in the context of the disease. Making decisions about the clinical care of a person with Duchenne who presents with an acute illness can be quite difficult — in part, because of the extensive use of corticosteroids, which can lead to adrenal suppression. The life of a person with Duchenne needing emergency care may therefore depend upon the ability of the clinician on duty in the emergency department to recognize and mitigate adrenal suppression resulting from corticosteroid dependence. With this in mind, and drawing from expertise and experience with other steroid-dependent diseases, the ‘PJ Nicholoff Steroid Protocol’ was developed. The purpose of this protocol is to provide clinicians information regarding the safe management of corticosteroid during emergency situations in patients who may have accompanying adrenal suppression. The protocol explains how to recognize the signs and symptoms of acute adrenal crisis, how to prevent it with supplemental stress doses of corticosteroids, and how to taper doses after emergency care in order to prevent corticosteroid withdrawal.

In skeletal muscle, Mitsugumin 53 (MG53), also known as muscle-specific tripartite motif 72, reportedly interacts with dysferlin to regulate membrane repair. To better understand the interactions between dysferlin and MG53, we conducted immunoprecipitation (IP) and pull-down assays. Based on IP assays, the C2A domain in dysferlin associated with MG53. MG53 reportedly exists as a monomer, a homodimer, or an oligomer, depending on the redox state. Based on pull-down assays, wild-type dysferlin associated with MG53 dimers in a Ca2+-dependent manner, but MG53 oligomers associated with both wild-type and C2A-mutant dysferlin in a Ca2+-independent manner. In pull-down assays, a pathogenic missense mutation in the C2A domain (W52R-C2A) inhibited the association between dysferlin and MG53 dimers, but another missense mutation (V67D-C2A) altered the calcium sensitivity of the association between the C2A domain and MG53 dimers. In contrast to the multimers, the MG53 monomers did not interact with wild-type or C2A mutant dysferlin in pull-down assays. These results indicated that the C2A domain in dysferlin is important for the Ca2+-dependent association with MG53 dimers and that dysferlin may associate with MG53 dimers in response to the influx of Ca2+ that occurs during membrane injury.
To examine the biological role of the association between dysferlin and MG53, we co-expressed EGFP-dysferlin with RFP-tagged wild-type MG53 or RFP-tagged mutant MG53 (RFP-C242A-MG53) in mouse skeletal muscle, and observed molecular behavior during sarcolemmal repair; it has been reported that the C242A-MG53 mutant forms dimers, but not oligomers. In response to membrane wounding, dysferlin accumulated at the injury site within 1 second; this dysferlin accumulation was followed by the accumulation of wild-type MG53. However, accumulation of RFP-C242A MG53 at the wounded site was impaired relative to that of RFP-wild-type MG53. Co-transfection of RFP-C242A MG53 inhibited the recruitment of dysferlin to the sarcolemmal injury site. We also examined the molecular behavior of GFP-wild-type MG53 during sarcolemmal repair in dysferlin-deficient mice which show progressive muscular dystrophy, and found that GFP-MG53 accumulated at the wound similar to wild-type mice. Our data indicate that the coordination between dysferlin and MG53 plays an important role in efficient sarcolemmal repair.

Using sapje zebrafish which lack dystrophin, we have assessed both the quantitation of muscle damage in dystrophic fish, and the efficacy of the proteasomal inhibitor MG132 in reducing the dystrophic symptoms. Fourier analysis of birefringence patterns in normal and dystrophic fish was found to be a simple and reliable quantitative measure of muscle damage. MG132, as in mdx mouse, was found to be effective in reducing muscle damage with an EC50 of 0.4µM. This study adds further to the utility of zebrafish as a model of choice for testing muscular dystrophy therapeutics.