Down-regulation of mitochondrial mRNAs in the mdx mouse model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Skeletal Muscle Mitochondria Dysfunction in Genetic Neuromuscular Disorders with Cardiac Phenotype

Mitochondrial dysfunction is considered the major contributor to skeletal muscle wasting in different conditions. Genetically determined neuromuscular disorders occur as a result of mutations in the structural proteins of striated muscle cells and therefore are often combined with cardiac phenotype, which most often manifests as a cardiomyopathy. The specific roles played by mitochondria and mitochondrial energetic metabolism in skeletal muscle under muscle-wasting conditions in cardiomyopathies have not yet been investigated in detail, and this aspect of genetic muscle diseases remains poorly characterized. This review will highlight dysregulation of mitochondrial representation and bioenergetics in specific skeletal muscle disorders caused by mutations that disrupt the structural and functional integrity of muscle cells.

Reduced mitochondrial respiration and increased calcium deposits in the EDL muscle, but not in soleus, from 12-week-old dystrophic mdx mice

Mitochondria play an important role in providing ATP for muscle contraction. Muscle physiology is compromised in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and several studies have shown the involvement of bioenergetics. In this work we investigated the mitochondrial physiology in fibers from fast-twitch muscle (EDL) and slow-twitch muscle (soleus) in the mdx mouse model for DMD and in control C57BL/10J mice. In our study, multiple mitochondrial respiratory parameters were investigated in permeabilized muscle fibers from 12-week-old animals, a critical age where muscle regeneration is observed in the mdx mouse. Using substrates of complex I and complex II from the electron transport chain, ADP and mitochondrial inhibitors, we found in the mdx EDL, but not in the mdx soleus, a reduction in coupled respiration suggesting that ATP synthesis is affected. In addition, the oxygen consumption after addition of complex II substrate is reduced in mdx EDL; the maximal consumption rate (measured in the presence of uncoupler) also seems to be reduced. Mitochondria are involved in calcium regulation and we observed, using alizarin stain, calcium deposits in mdx muscles but not in control muscles. Interestingly, more calcium deposits were found in mdx EDL than in mdx soleus. These data provide evidence that in 12-week-old mdx mice, calcium is accumulated and mitochondrial function is disturbed in the fast-twitch muscle EDL, but not in the slow-twitch muscle soleus.

Skeletal Muscle Metabolism in Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy-Implications for Therapies

The interactions between nutrition and metabolism and skeletal muscle have long been known. Muscle is the major metabolic organ—it consumes more calories than other organs—and therefore, there is a clear need to discuss these interactions and provide some direction for future research areas regarding muscle pathologies. In addition, new experiments and manuscripts continually reveal additional highly intricate, reciprocal interactions between metabolism and muscle. These reciprocal interactions include exercise, age, sex, diet, and pathologies including atrophy, hypoxia, obesity, diabetes, and muscle myopathies. Central to this review are the metabolic changes that occur in the skeletal muscle cells of muscular dystrophy patients and mouse models. Many of these metabolic changes are pathogenic (inappropriate body mass changes, mitochondrial dysfunction, reduced adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels, and increased Ca²⁺) and others are compensatory (increased phosphorylated AMP activated protein kinase (pAMPK), increased slow fiber numbers, and increased utrophin). Therefore, reversing or enhancing these changes with therapies will aid the patients. The multiple therapeutic targets to reverse or enhance the metabolic pathways will be discussed. Among the therapeutic targets are increasing pAMPK, utrophin, mitochondrial number and slow fiber characteristics, and inhibiting reactive oxygen species. Because new data reveals many additional intricate levels of interactions, new questions are rapidly arising. How does muscular dystrophy alter metabolism, and are the changes compensatory or pathogenic? How does metabolism affect muscular dystrophy? Of course, the most profound question is whether clinicians can therapeutically target nutrition and metabolism for muscular dystrophy patient benefit? Obtaining the answers to these questions will greatly aid patients with muscular dystrophy.

Multi-level omics analysis in a murine model of dystrophin loss and therapeutic restoration

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a classical monogenic disorder, a model disease for genomic studies and a priority candidate for regenerative medicine and gene therapy. Although the genetic cause of DMD is well known, the molecular pathogenesis of disease and the response to therapy are incompletely understood. Here, we describe analyses of protein, mRNA and microRNA expression in the tibialis anterior of the mdx mouse model of DMD. Notably, 3272 proteins were quantifiable and 525 identified as differentially expressed in mdx muscle (P < 0.01). Therapeutic restoration of dystrophin by exon skipping induced widespread shifts in protein and mRNA expression towards wild-type expression levels, whereas the miRNome was largely unaffected. Comparison analyses between datasets showed that protein and mRNA ratios were only weakly correlated (r = 0.405), and identified a multitude of differentially affected cellular pathways, upstream regulators and predicted miRNA-target interactions. This study provides fundamental new insights into gene expression and regulation in dystrophic muscle.

Drosophila Erect wing (Ewg) controls mitochondrial fusion during muscle growth and maintenance by regulation of the Opa1-like gene

Mitochondrial biogenesis and morphological changes are associated with tissue-specific functional demand, but the factors and pathways that regulate these processes have not been completely identified. A lack of mitochondrial fusion has been implicated in various developmental and pathological defects. The spatiotemporal regulation of mitochondrial fusion in a tissue such as muscle is not well understood. Here, we show in Drosophila indirect flight muscles (IFMs) that the nuclear-encoded mitochondrial inner membrane fusion gene, Opa1-like, is regulated in a spatiotemporal fashion by the transcription factor/co-activator Erect wing (Ewg). In IFMs null for Ewg, mitochondria undergo mitophagy and/or autophagy accompanied by reduced mitochondrial functioning and muscle degeneration. By following the dynamics of mitochondrial growth and shape in IFMs, we found that mitochondria grow extensively and fuse during late pupal development to form the large tubular mitochondria. Our evidence shows that Ewg expression during early IFM development is sufficient to upregulate Opa1-like, which itself is a requisite for both late pupal mitochondrial fusion and muscle maintenance. Concomitantly, by knocking down Opa1-like during early muscle development, we show that it is important for mitochondrial fusion, muscle differentiation and muscle organization. However, knocking down Opa1-like, after the expression window of Ewg did not cause mitochondrial or muscle defects. This study identifies a mechanism by which mitochondrial fusion is regulated spatiotemporally by Ewg through Opa1-like during IFM differentiation and growth.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in neuromuscular disorders

This review deciphers aspects of mitochondrial (mt) dysfunction among nosologically, pathologically, and genetically diverse diseases of the skeletal muscle, lower motor neuron, and peripheral nerve, which fall outside the traditional realm of mt cytopathies. Special emphasis is given to well-characterized mt abnormalities in collagen VI myopathies (Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy and Bethlem myopathy), megaconial congenital muscular dystrophy, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2 (calpainopathy), centronuclear myopathies, core myopathies, inflammatory myopathies, spinal muscular atrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy type 2, and drug-induced peripheral neuropathies. Among inflammatory myopathies, mt abnormalities are more prominent in inclusion body myositis and a subset of polymyositis with mt pathology, both of which are refractory to corticosteroid treatment. Awareness is raised about instances of phenotypic mimicry between cases harboring primary mtDNA depletion, in the context of mtDNA depletion syndrome, and established neuromuscular disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy. A substantial body of experimental work, derived from animal models, attests to a major role of mitochondria (mt) in the early process of muscle degeneration. Common mechanisms of mt-related cell injury include dysregulation of the mt permeability transition pore opening and defective autophagy. The therapeutic use of mt permeability transition pore modifiers holds promise in various neuromuscular disorders, including muscular dystrophies.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator1- gene α transfer restores mitochondrial biomass and improves mitochondrial calcium handling in post-necrotic mdx mouse skeletal muscle

Alterations of mitochondrial function have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In the present study, mitochondrial respiratory function, reactive oxygen species (ROS) dynamics and susceptibility to Ca(2+)-induced permeability transition pore (PTP) opening were investigated in permeabilized skeletal muscle fibres of 6-week-old mdx mice, in order to characterize the magnitude and nature of mitochondrial dysfunction at an early post-necrotic stage of the disease. Short-term overexpression of the transcriptional co-activator PGC1α, achieved by in vivo plasmid transfection, was then performed to determine whether this intervention could prevent mitochondrial impairment and mitigate associated biochemical abnormalities. Compared with normal mice, mdx mice exhibited a lower mitochondrial biomass and oxidative capacity, greater ROS buffering capabilities, and an increased vulnerability to Ca(2+)-induced opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore complex. PGC1α gene transfer restored mitochondrial biomass, normalized the susceptibility to PTP opening and increased the capacity of mitochondria to buffer Ca(2+)(.) This was associated with reductions in the activity levels of the Ca(2+)-dependent protease calpain as well as caspases 3 and 9. Overall, these results suggest that overexpression of PGC1α in dystrophin-deficient muscles, after the onset of necrosis, has direct beneficial effects upon multiple aspects of mitochondrial function, which may in turn mitigate the activation of proteolytic and apoptotic signalling pathways associated with disease progression.

Early metabolic changes measured by 1H MRS in healthy and dystrophic muscle after injury

Skeletal muscle injury is often assessed by clinical findings (history, pain, tenderness, strength loss), by imaging, or by invasive techniques. The purpose of this work was to determine if in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) could reveal metabolic changes in murine skeletal muscle after contraction-induced injury. We compared findings in the tibialis anterior muscle from both healthy wild-type (WT) muscles (C57BL/10 mice) and dystrophic (mdx mice) muscles (an animal model for human Duchenne muscular dystrophy) before and after contraction-induced injury. A mild in vivo eccentric injury protocol was used due to the high susceptibility of mdx muscles to injury. As expected, mdx mice sustained a greater loss of force (81%) after injury compared with WT (42%). In the uninjured muscles, choline (Cho) levels were 47% lower in the mdx muscles compared with WT muscles. In mdx mice, taurine levels decreased 17%, and Cho levels increased 25% in injured muscles compared with uninjured mdx muscles. Intramyocellular lipids and total muscle lipid levels increased significantly after injury but only in WT. The increase in lipid was confirmed using a permeable lipophilic fluorescence dye. In summary, loss of torque after injury was associated with alterations in muscle metabolite levels that may contribute to the overall injury response in mdx mice. These results show that it is possible to obtain meaningful in vivo (1)H MRS regarding skeletal muscle injury.

Measuring mitochondrial respiration in intact single muscle fibers

Measurement of mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle is a vital tool for understanding regulation of cellular bioenergetics. Currently, a number of different experimental approaches are employed to quantify mitochondrial function, with each involving either mechanically or chemically induced disruption of cellular membranes. Here, we describe a novel approach that allows for the quantification of substrate-induced mitochondria-driven oxygen consumption in intact single skeletal muscle fibers isolated from adult mice. Specifically, we isolated intact muscle fibers from the flexor digitorum brevis muscle and placed the fibers in culture conditions overnight. We then quantified oxygen consumption rates using a highly sensitive microplate format. Peak oxygen consumption rates were significantly increased by 3.4-fold and 2.9-fold by simultaneous stimulation with the uncoupling agent, carbonyl cyanide p-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone (FCCP), and/or pyruvate or palmitate exposure, respectively. However, when calculating the total oxygen consumed over the entire treatment, palmitate exposure resulted in significantly more oxygen consumption compared with pyruvate. Further, as proof of principle for the procedure, we isolated fibers from the mdx mouse model, which has known mitochondrial deficits. We found significant reductions in initial and peak oxygen consumption of 51% and 61% compared with fibers isolated from the wild-type (WT) animals, respectively. In addition, we determined that fibers isolated from mdx mice exhibited less total oxygen consumption in response to the FCCP + pyruvate stimulation compared with the WT mice. This novel approach allows the user to make mitochondria-specific measures in a nondisrupted muscle fiber that has been isolated from a whole muscle.

A new technique for the quantitative assessment of 8-oxoguanine in nuclear DNA as a marker of oxidative stress. Application to dystrophin-deficient DMD skeletal muscles

This is the first report on the development of an immunohistochemical technique, combined with quantitative image analysis, for the assessment of oxidative stress quantitatively in nuclear DNA in situ, and its application to measure DNA damage in Duchenne muscular dystrophic (DMD) muscles. Three sequential staining procedures for cell nuclei, a cell marker, and a product of oxidative DNA damage, 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), were performed. First, the nuclei in muscle sections were stained with Neutral Red followed by the capture of their images with an image analysis system used for absorbance measurements. Second, the same sections were then immunostained for laminin in basement membranes as the cell marker. Next, the sections were treated with 2 N HCl to remove the bound Neutral Red and to denature tissue DNA. Third, the sections were immunostained for 8-oxoG in DNA, using diaminobenzidine (DAB) to reveal the antibody complex. This was followed by capture of the images of the immunostained sections as previously. The absorbances at 451.2 nm of bound Neutral Red and DAB polymer oxides, the final product of 8-oxoG immunostaining, were measured in the same myonuclei in the sections. Analysis of these absorbances permitted indices of the 8-oxoG content, independent of the nuclear densities, to be determined in nuclear DNA in single myofibres and myosatellite cells surrounded by basement membranes. We found that the mean index for the myonuclei in biceps brachii muscles of 2- to 7-year-old patients was 14% higher than that in age-matched normal controls. This finding of the increased oxidative stress in the myonuclei in young DMD muscles agrees with the previous reports of increased oxidative stress in the cytoplasm in the DMD myofibres and myosatellite cells. The present technique for the quantitative assessment of oxidative stress in nuclear DNA in situ is applicable not only in biomedical research but also in the development of effective drugs for degenerative diseases related to oxidative stress.

Global/temporal gene expression in diaphragm and hindlimb muscles of dystrophin-deficient (mdx) mice

The mdx mouse is a model for human Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), an X-linked degenerative disease of skeletal muscle tissue characterized by the absence of the dystrophin protein. The mdx mice display a much milder phenotype than DMD patients. After the first week of life when all mdx muscles evolve like muscles of young DMD patients, mdx hindlimb muscles substantially compensate for the lack of dystrophin, whereas mdx diaphragm muscle becomes progressively affected by the disease. We used cDNA microarrays to compare the expression profile of 1,082 genes, previously selected by a subtractive method, in control and mdx hindlimb and diaphragm muscles at 12 time points over the first year of the mouse life. We determined that 1) the dystrophin gene defect induced marked expression remodeling of 112 genes encoding proteins implicated in diverse muscle cell functions and 2) two-thirds of the observed transcriptomal anomalies differed between adult mdx hindlimb and diaphragm muscles. Our results showed that neither mdx diaphram muscle nor mdx hindlimb muscles evolve entirely like the human DMD muscles. This finding should be taken under consideration for the interpretation of future experiments using mdx mice as a model for therapeutic assays.

Regenerated mdx mouse skeletal muscle shows differential mRNA expression

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.

Microarray analysis of normal and dystrophic skeletal muscle

The development and increasingly common use of DNA microarrays for comprehensive RNA expression analysis has had a substantial impact on the study of molecular pathology. DNA microarrays are orderly, high-density arrangements of nucleic acid spots that can be used as substrates for global gene expression analysis. Prior to their development, technical limitations necessitated that the molecular mechanisms underlying biological processes be broken down into their component parts and each gene or protein studied individually. This approach, focused as it is on a single aspect of a scientific phenomenon, does not allow appreciation or understanding of the fact that biological pathways do not exist in isolation, but are influenced by numerous factors. Enormous technological advances have been made over the past decade and now high-density DNA microarrays can provide rapid measurement of thousands of distinct transcripts simultaneously. These experiments raise the exciting opportunity to examine biological pathways in all their complexity and to compare the hypotheses deduced from the study of histological pathology with the findings of molecular pathology. This review focuses on how microarray technology has been used to interrogate muscular gene expression and, in particular, on how data generated from differential expression analysis of dystrophic and normal skeletal muscle has contributed to understanding the molecular pathophysiological pathways of muscular dystrophy.

Identification of altered gene expression in skeletal muscles from Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients

Mutations in the dystrophin gene lead to dystrophin deficiency, which is the cause of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). This important discovery more than 10 years ago opened a new field for very productive investigations. However, the exact functions of dystrophin are still not fully understood and the complex process leading to subsequent muscle fiber necrosis has not been clearly described; hence there has not yet been any marked improvement in patient treatment. To decipher the molecular mechanisms induced by a lack of dystrophin, we started identifying genes whose expression is altered in DMD skeletal muscles. The approach was based on differential screening of a human muscle cDNA array. Nine genes were found to be up- or downregulated. Our results indicate expression alterations in mitochondrial genes, titin, a muscle transcription factor and three novel genes. First characterizations of these novel genes indicated that two of them have striated muscle tissue specificity.

Intracellular localization and isoform expression of the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) in normal and dystrophic skeletal muscle

Voltage-dependent anion channels (VDACs) are a family of pore-forming proteins encoded by different genes, with at least three protein products expressed in mammalian tissues. The major recognized functional role of VDACs is to permit the almost free permeability of the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM). Although VDAC1 is the best known among VDAC isoforms, its exclusively mitochondrial location is still debated. Therefore, we have measured its co-localization with markers of cellular organelles or compartments in skeletal muscle fibers by single or double immunofluorescence and traditional as well as confocal microscopy. Our results show that VDAC1 immunoreactivity corresponds to mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticulum, while sarcolemmal reactivity, previously reported, was not observed. Since VDAC1 has been suggested to be involved in the control of oxidative phosphorylation, we sought for possible gene regulation of VDAC1, VDAC2 and VDAC3 in skeletal muscle of the dystrophin-deficient mdx mouse, which suffers of an impaired control of energy metabolism. Our results show that, while VDAC1 mRNA and protein and VDAC2 mRNA are normally expressed. VDAC3 mRNA is markedly down-regulated in mdx mouse muscle at different ages (before, during and after the outburst of myofiber necrosis). This finding suggests a possible involvement of VDAC3 expression in the early pathogenic events of the mdx muscular dystrophy.

Expression profiling in the muscular dystrophies: identification of novel aspects of molecular pathophysiology

We used expression profiling to define the pathophysiological cascades involved in the progression of two muscular dystrophies with known primary biochemical defects, dystrophin deficiency (Duchenne muscular dystrophy) and alpha-sarcoglycan deficiency (a dystrophin-associated protein). We employed a novel protocol for expression profiling in human tissues using mixed samples of multiple patients and iterative comparisons of duplicate datasets. We found evidence for both incomplete differentiation of patient muscle, and for dedifferentiation of myofibers to alternative lineages with advancing age. One developmentally regulated gene characterized in detail, alpha-cardiac actin, showed abnormal persistent expression after birth in 60% of Duchenne dystrophy myofibers. The majority of myofibers ( approximately 80%) remained strongly positive for this protein throughout the course of the disease. Other developmentally regulated genes that showed widespread overexpression in these muscular dystrophies included embryonic myosin heavy chain, versican, acetylcholine receptor alpha-1, secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine/osteonectin, and thrombospondin 4. We hypothesize that the abnormal Ca(2)+ influx in dystrophin- and alpha-sarcoglycan-deficient myofibers leads to altered developmental programming of developing and regenerating myofibers. The finding of upregulation of HLA-DR and factor XIIIa led to the novel identification of activated dendritic cell infiltration in dystrophic muscle; these cells mediate immune responses and likely induce microenvironmental changes in muscle. We also document a general metabolic crisis in dystrophic muscle, with large scale downregulation of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial gene expression. Finally, our expression profiling results show that primary genetic defects can be identified by a reduction in the corresponding RNA.

Mitochondrial expression of a short dystrophin-like product with molecular weight of 71 kDa

In the brain, Dp71 is the most abundant protein product of the DMD gene and by alternative splicing of exon 78 two isoforms can be expressed, Dp71d and Dp71f. To explore the subcellular distribution of these Dp71 isoforms, specific monoclonal antibodies were used. Dp71d (with exon 78) was found in microsomes, while Dp71f (without exon 78) was detected in mitochondria. To determine the alterations which the absence of dystrophin proteins induces, we compared the expression of Dp71d in microsomes and Dp71f in mitochondria from mdx and mdx(3CV) mice. Dp71d in microsomes of mdx was similar to that of wild-type mice and, as expected, in mdx(3CV) this protein was undetectable. However, in mitochondria from mdx(3CV), Dp71f was overexpressed in comparison to mitochondria from mdx mice. Because in mdx(3CV) mice all the dystrophin proteins are mutated or diminished, we concluded that the protein detected in mitochondria is not a Dp71f but a novel product named Dp71f-like protein.

Calcium ion in skeletal muscle: its crucial role for muscle function, plasticity, and disease

Mammalian skeletal muscle shows an enormous variability in its functional features such as rate of force production, resistance to fatigue, and energy metabolism, with a wide spectrum from slow aerobic to fast anaerobic physiology. In addition, skeletal muscle exhibits high plasticity that is based on the potential of the muscle fibers to undergo changes of their cytoarchitecture and composition of specific muscle protein isoforms. Adaptive changes of the muscle fibers occur in response to a variety of stimuli such as, e.g., growth and differentition factors, hormones, nerve signals, or exercise. Additionally, the muscle fibers are arranged in compartments that often function as largely independent muscular subunits. All muscle fibers use Ca(2+) as their main regulatory and signaling molecule. Therefore, contractile properties of muscle fibers are dependent on the variable expression of proteins involved in Ca(2+) signaling and handling. Molecular diversity of the main proteins in the Ca(2+) signaling apparatus (the calcium cycle) largely determines the contraction and relaxation properties of a muscle fiber. The Ca(2+) signaling apparatus includes 1) the ryanodine receptor that is the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) release channel, 2) the troponin protein complex that mediates the Ca(2+) effect to the myofibrillar structures leading to contraction, 3) the Ca(2+) pump responsible for Ca(2+) reuptake into the sarcoplasmic reticulum, and 4) calsequestrin, the Ca(2+) storage protein in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In addition, a multitude of Ca(2+)-binding proteins is present in muscle tissue including parvalbumin, calmodulin, S100 proteins, annexins, sorcin, myosin light chains, beta-actinin, calcineurin, and calpain. These Ca(2+)-binding proteins may either exert an important role in Ca(2+)-triggered muscle contraction under certain conditions or modulate other muscle activities such as protein metabolism, differentiation, and growth. Recently, several Ca(2+) signaling and handling molecules have been shown to be altered in muscle diseases. Functional alterations of Ca(2+) handling seem to be responsible for the pathophysiological conditions seen in dystrophinopathies, Brody's disease, and malignant hyperthermia. These also underline the importance of the affected molecules for correct muscle performance.

Reduced cytosolic acidification during exercise suggests defective glycolytic activity in skeletal muscle of patients with Becker muscular dystrophy. An in vivo 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

Becker muscular dystrophy is an X-linked disorder due to mutations in the dystrophin gene, resulting in reduced size and/or content of dystrophin. The functional role of this subsarcolemma protein and the biochemical mechanisms leading to muscle necrosis in Becker muscular dystrophy are still unknown. In particular, the role of a bioenergetic deficit is still controversial. In this study, we used 31p magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31p-MRS) to investigate skeletal muscle mitochondrial and glycolytic ATP production in vivo in 14 Becker muscular dystrophy patients. Skeletal muscle glycogenolytic ATP production, measured during the first minute of exercise, was similar in patients and controls. On the other hand, during later phases of exercise, skeletal muscle in Becker muscular dystrophy patients was less acidic than in controls, the cytosolic pH at the end of exercise being significantly higher in Becker muscular dystrophy patients. The rate of proton efflux from muscle fibres of Becker muscular dystrophy patients was similar to that of controls, pointing to a deficit in glycolytic lactate production as a cause of higher end-exercise cytosolic pH in patients. The maximum rate of mitochondrial ATP production was similar in muscle of Becker muscular dystrophy patients and controls. The results of this in vivo 31P-MRS study are consistent with reduced glucose availability in dystrophin-deficient muscles.

Impaired metabolic modulation of alpha-adrenergic vasoconstriction in dystrophin-deficient skeletal muscle

The neuronal isoform of nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) is highly expressed in mammalian skeletal muscle, but its functional role has not been defined. NO has been implicated in the local metabolic regulation of blood flow in contracting skeletal muscle in part by antagonizing sympathetic vasoconstriction. We therefore hypothesized that nNOS in skeletal muscle is the source of the NO mediating the inhibition of sympathetic vasoconstriction in contracting muscle. In the mdx mouse, a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in which dystrophin deficiency results in greatly reduced expression of nNOS in skeletal muscle, we found that the normal ability of skeletal muscle contraction to attenuate alpha-adrenergic vasoconstriction is defective. Similar results were obtained in mutant mice that lack the gene encoding nNOS. Together these data suggest a specific role for nNOS in the local metabolic inhibition of alpha-adrenergic vasoconstriction in active skeletal muscle.

Spatial discrimination learning and CA1 hippocampal synaptic plasticity in mdx and mdx3cv mice lacking dystrophin gene products

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is frequently associated with a non-progressive cognitive deficit attributed to the absence of 427,000 mol. wt brain dystrophin, or to altered expression of other C-terminal products of this protein, Dp71 and/or Dp140. To further explore the role of these membrane cytoskeleton-associated proteins in brain function, we studied spatial learning and ex vivo synaptic plasticity in the mdx mouse, which lacks 427,000 mol. wt dystrophin, and in the mdx3cv mutant, which shows a dramatically reduced expression of all the dystrophin gene products known so far. We show that reference and working memories are largely unimpaired in the two mutant mice performing a spatial discrimination task in a radial maze. However, mdx3cv mice showed enhanced emotional reactivity and developed different strategies in learning the task, as compared to control mice. We also showed that both mutants display apparently normal levels of long-term potentiation and paired-pulse facilitation in the CA1 field of the hippocampus. On the other hand, an increased post-tetanic potentiation was shown by mdx, but not mdx3cv mice, which might be linked to calcium-regulatory defects. Otherwise, immunoblot analyses suggested an increased expression of a 400,000 mol. wt protein in brain extracts from both mdx and mdx3cv mice, but not in those from control mice. This protein might correspond to the dystrophin-homologue utrophin. The present results suggest that altered expression of dystrophin or C-terminal dystrophin proteins in brain did not markedly affect hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and CA1 hippocampal long-term potentiation in mdx and mdx3cv mice. The role of these membrane cytoskeleton-associated proteins in normal brain function and pathology remains to be elucidated. Furthermore, the possibility that redundant mechanisms could partially compensate for dystrophins' deficiency in the mdx and mdx3cv models should be further considered.

Impaired mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in skeletal muscle of the dystrophin-deficient mdx mouse

The mdx mouse, an animal model of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy, was used for the investigation of changes in mitochondrial function associated with dystrophin deficiency. Enzymatic analysis of skeletal muscle showed an approximately 50% decrease in the activity of all respiratory chain-linked enzymes in musculus quadriceps of adult mdx mice as compared with controls, while in cardiac muscle no difference was observed. The activities of cytosolic and mitochondrial matrix enzymes were not significantly different from the control values in both cardiac and skeletal muscles. In saponin-permeabilized skeletal muscle fibers of mdx mice the maximal rates of mitochondrial respiration were about two times lower than those of controls. These changes were also demonstrated on the level of isolated mitochondria. Mdx muscle mitochondria had only 60% of maximal respiration activities of control mice skeletal muscle mitochondria and contained only about 60% of hemoproteins of mitochondrial inner membrane. Similar findings were observed in a skeletal muscle biopsy of a Duchenne muscular dystrophy patient. These data strongly suggest that a specific decrease in the amount of all mitochondrial inner membrane enzymes, most probably as result of Ca2+ overload of muscle fibers, is the reason for the bioenergetic deficits in dystrophin-deficient skeletal muscle.