Pathogenesis of progressive muscular dystrophy: studies on free radical metabolism in an animal model

Exercise and Duchenne muscular dystrophy: toward evidence-based exercise prescription

To develop a rational framework for answering questions about the role of exercise in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), we focused on five pathophysiological mechanisms and offer brief hypotheses regarding how exercise may beneficially modulate pertinent cellular and molecular pathways. We aimed to provide an integrative overview of mechanisms of DMD pathology that may improve or worsen as a result of exercise. We also sought to stimulate discussion of what outcomes/dependent variables most appropriately measure these mechanisms, with the purpose of defining criteria for well-designed, controlled studies of exercise in DMD. The five mechanisms include pathways that are both intrinsic and extrinsic to the diseased muscle cells.

Oxidative stress as a potential pathogenic mechanism in an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Dystrophin-deficiency results in degeneration of most, but not all, skeletal muscles. The mechanisms responsible for degeneration of limb muscle and sparing of extraocular muscle are not known. To address the notion that muscle pathology may be free radical-mediated, we evaluated antioxidant enzyme activities and lipid peroxidation products (TBARS) content in mdx and control mice. TBARS content and the activities of total superoxide dismutase, selenium dependent glutathione peroxidase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and catalase were consistently higher in both affected and spared muscles of mdx mice. These data suggest that oxidative stress may be constitutively present in mdx muscle, but may not be the principal pathogenic mechanism. To further test the hypothesis of oxidative stress involvement in dystrophinopathies, control strain and mdx mice were subjected to chronic hyperoxia. The pattern of antioxidant enzyme activities and TBARS content from hyperoxic control strain mice was similar to that of normoxic mdx mice, suggesting that a similar level of oxidative stress was induced. In conclusion, this study has provided indirect evidence for oxidative stress in dystrophin-deficient muscle.

Localization of TDPX1, a human homologue of the yeast thioredoxin-dependent peroxide reductase gene (TPX), to chromosome 13q12

Reactive oxygen species and free radicals that are produced during normal metabolism can potentially damage cellular macromolecules. Defenses against such damage include a number of antioxidant enzymes that specifically target the removal or dismutation of the reactive agent. We report here the isolation and regional mapping of a human gene, TDPX1, that encodes an enzyme homologous to a yeast thioredoxin-dependent peroxide reductase (thioredoxin peroxidase, TPX). The human TDPX1 coding sequence was determined from the product of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of human cDNA. Based on PCR analysis of DNA from a human/rodent somatic cell hybrid panel, the TDPX1 locus was assigned to chromosome 13. Further localization of the locus to 13q12 was accomplished by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis, using as a probe DNA from a yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) that contains the TDPX1 gene. It was also determined by PCR analysis of various YACs that the TDPX1 locus is in the region of the dinucleotide repeat markers D13S289 and D13S290. This regional mapping localizes the TDPX1 gene to a genomic region recently shown to contain the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA2 and a gene associated with a form of muscular dystrophy. Oxygen radical metabolism has been hypothesized to be important for cancer, muscular dystrophy, and other disorders, so TDPX1 should be considered a candidate gene for these diseases.

Altered contents of tocopherols in chickens with inherited muscular dystrophy

Oxidative damage has been hypothesized as the basis for some of the changes in enzymatic functions and physical properties of membranes in inherited muscular dystrophy. The contents of alpha- and gamma-tocopherol (vitamin E) and their oxidation products, the tocopheryl quinones, were measured at 1 to 4 weeks after hatching in the muscle and other tissues of chickens with inherited muscular dystrophy. Analyses at these early ages minimized the potential influence of pathological changes on the measured parameters. The affected muscle (pectoralis major) of dystrophic birds contained significantly higher levels of alpha-tocopheryl quinone and a decreased ratio of alpha- to gamma-tocopherol. Consistent changes in these parameters were not observed in other tissues. Although their basis remains unclear, these changes in the tocopherols are suggestive of oxidative stress in dystrophic muscle membranes. Lipid extracts of tissues of normal and dystrophic birds exhibited no significant differences in the content of conjugated dienes or lipofuscins, two other indices of oxidative stress. These data do not consistently support the hypothesis that oxidative stress plays a causal role in damage to dystrophic muscle, although it remains possible that free-radical damage is involved in the secondary alterations associated with muscular dystrophy.