Skeletal muscle pathology in ovine congenital progressive muscular dystrophy. 1. Histopathology and histochemistry

Ovine congenital progressive muscular dystrophy (OCPMD) is a model of TNNT1 congenital myopathy

Ovine congenital progressive muscular dystrophy (OCPMD) was first described in Merino sheep flocks in Queensland and Western Australia in the 1960s and 1970s. The most prominent feature of the disease is a distinctive gait with stiffness of the hind limbs that can be seen as early as 3 weeks after birth. The disease is progressive. Histopathological examination had revealed dystrophic changes specifically in type I (slow) myofibres, while electron microscopy had demonstrated abundant nemaline bodies. Therefore, it was never certain whether the disease was a dystrophy or a congenital myopathy with dystrophic features. In this study, we performed whole genome sequencing of OCPMD sheep and identified a single base deletion at the splice donor site (+ 1) of intron 13 in the type I myofibre-specific TNNT1 gene (KT218690 c.614 + 1delG). All affected sheep were homozygous for this variant. Examination of TNNT1 splicing by RT-PCR showed intron retention and premature termination, which disrupts the highly conserved 14 amino acid C-terminus. The variant did not reduce TNNT1 protein levels or affect its localization but impaired its ability to modulate muscle contraction in response to Ca2+ levels. Identification of the causative variant in TNNT1 finally clarifies that the OCPMD sheep is in fact a large animal model of TNNT1 congenital myopathy. This model could now be used for testing molecular or gene therapies.

Ultrastructural changes in skeletal muscle in ovine muscular dystrophy

The initial ultrastructural changes in skeletal myofibers in ovine muscular dystrophy (MD) consisted of focal degeneration of myofibrils and the formation of Z-disc abnormalities, including nemaline rods, in adjacent sarcomeres. Peripheral and central sarcoplasmic masses, which occurred initially in large diameter fibers, contained a mixture of normal organelles and abnormal tubular and fibrillar formations. Vesiculate sarcolemmal nuclei with prominent nucleoli accumulated in central and subsarcolemmal locations in small clusters and short rows. Deformed individual nuclei were sometimes present within nuclear rows. Loss of the myofibrillar mass, increased density of small spherical nuclei, collections of fibrillar and tubular arrays, excessive folding of the sarcolemma and greatly reduced fiber diameter were seen in the end stage of the dystrophic process. Resting satellite cells were present at all stages of lesion development. The morphological progression of the lesions suggested an inherited inability to effectively replace lost myofibrils with ultimate exhaustion of the capacity for repair followed by pathological fiber atrophy.