Dataset Information

Physical exertion exacerbates decline in the musculature of an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

ABSTRACT: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder caused by loss of the protein dystrophin. In humans, DMD has early onset, causes developmental delays, muscle necrosis, loss of ambulation, and death. Current animal models have been challenged by their inability to model the early onset and severity of the disease. It remains unresolved whether increased sarcoplasmic calcium observed in dystrophic muscles follows or leads the mechanical insults caused by the muscle's disrupted contractile machinery. This knowledge has important implications for patients, as potential physiotherapeutic treatments may either help or exacerbate symptoms, depending on how dystrophic muscles differ from healthy ones. Recently we showed how burrowing dystrophic (dys-1) C. elegans recapitulate many salient phenotypes of DMD, including loss of mobility and muscle necrosis. Here, we report that dys-1 worms display early pathogenesis, including dysregulated sarcoplasmic calcium and increased lethality. Sarcoplasmic calcium dysregulation in dys-1 worms precedes overt structural phenotypes (e.g., mitochondrial, and contractile machinery damage) and can be mitigated by reducing calmodulin expression. To learn how dystrophic musculature responds to altered physical activity, we cultivated dys-1 animals in environments requiring high intensity or high frequency of muscle exertion during locomotion. We find that several muscular parameters (e.g., size) improve with increased activity. However, longevity in dystrophic animals was negatively associated with muscular exertion, regardless of effort duration. The high degree of phenotypic conservation between dystrophic worms and humans provides a unique opportunity to gain insight into the pathology of the disease as well as the initial assessment of potential treatment strategies.

SUBMITTER: Hughes KJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6397527 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Physical exertion exacerbates decline in the musculature of an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Hughes K J KJ Rodriguez A A Flatt K M KM Ray S S Schuler A A Rodemoyer B B Veerappan V V Cuciarone K K Kullman A A Lim C C Gutta N N Vemuri S S Andriulis V V Niswonger D D Barickman L L Stein W W Singhvi A A Schroeder N E NE Vidal-Gadea A G AG

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20190212 9

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder caused by loss of the protein dystrophin. In humans, DMD has early onset, causes developmental delays, muscle necrosis, loss of ambulation, and death. Current animal models have been challenged by their inability to model the early onset and severity of the disease. It remains unresolved whether increased sarcoplasmic calcium observed in dystrophic muscles follows or leads the mechanical insults caused by the muscle's disrupted contractile ...[more]

PMID: 30755520

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Project description:Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked disease caused by mutations in the DMD gene and loss of the protein dystrophin. The absence of dystrophin leads to myofiber membrane fragility and necrosis, with eventual muscle atrophy and contractures. Affected boys typically die in their second or third decade due to either respiratory failure or cardiomyopathy. Despite extensive attempts to develop definitive therapies for DMD, the standard of care remains prednisone, which has only palliative benefits. Animal models, mainly the mdx mouse and golden retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) dog, have played a key role in studies of DMD pathogenesis and treatment development. Because the GRMD clinical syndrome is more severe than in mice, better aligning with the progressive course of DMD, canine studies may translate better to humans. The original founder dog for all GRMD colonies worldwide was identified in the early 1980s before the discovery of the DMD gene and dystrophin. Accordingly, analogies to DMD were initially drawn based on similar clinical features, ranging from the X-linked pattern of inheritance to overlapping histopathologic lesions. Confirmation of genetic homology between DMD and GRMD came with identification of the underlying GRMD mutation, a single nucleotide change that leads to exon skipping and an out-of-frame DMD transcript. GRMD colonies have subsequently been established to conduct pathogenetic and preclinical treatment studies. Simultaneous with the onset of GRMD treatment trials, phenotypic biomarkers were developed, allowing definitive characterization of treatment effect. Importantly, GRMD studies have not always substantiated findings from mdx mice and have sometimes identified serious treatment side effects. While the GRMD model may be more clinically relevant than the mdx mouse, usage has been limited by practical considerations related to expense and the number of dogs available. This further complicates ongoing broader concerns about the poor rate of translation of animal model preclinical studies to humans with analogous diseases. Accordingly, in performing GRMD trials, special attention must be paid to experimental design to align with the approach used in DMD clinical trials. This review provides context for the GRMD model, beginning with its original description and extending to its use in preclinical trials.

Project description:In order to understand the chronic hypoxia (CH) effect upon the absence of dystrophin, Drosophila melanogaster wild type and the model for DMD (dmDys), in which all dystrophins expression was knocked out by iRNA, were exposed to high altitude hypoxia (hypobaric hypoxia) during a 16-day climbing period reaching the summit of Mount McKinley (6194 meters above sea level). Furthermore, dmDys and Drosophila wild type were exposed to normobaric hypoxia (hypoxic chamber) following the same oxygen levels observed during the climbing expedition and to normoxic conditions for comparison. Affymetrix GeneChip¬Æ profiling was performed for individual flies from each experimental group. CH-dmDys differentially expressed 1281 genes, whereas control group differentially expressed 57 genes. Eight heat shock protein genes detected in the CH-dmDys microarray study were down-regulated, instead of up-regulated as seen in wild type hypoxic flies. This result suggests a differential gene expression response to CH, which could affect muscle performance.These results suggest that dmDys is more sensitive to CH due to reduced muscle function and hypoxic stress response. In order to understand the chronic hypoxia (CH) effect upon the absence of dystrophin, Drosophila melanogaster wild type and the model for DMD (dmDys), in which all dystrophins expression was knocked out by iRNA, were exposed to high altitude hypoxia (hypobaric hypoxia) during a 16-day climbing period reaching the summit of Mount McKinley (6194 meters above sea level). Furthermore, dmDys and Drosophila wild type were exposed to normobaric hypoxia (hypoxic chamber) following the same oxygen levels observed during the climbing expedition and to normoxic conditions for comparison. Affymetrix GeneChip¬Æ profiling was performed for individual flies from each experimental group. CH-dmDys differentially expressed 1281 genes, whereas control group differentially expressed 57 genes. Eight heat shock protein genes detected in the CH-dmDys microarray study were down-regulated, instead of up-regulated as seen in wild type hypoxic flies. This result suggests a differential gene expression response to CH, which could affect muscle performance.These results suggest that dmDys is more sensitive to CH due to reduced muscle function and hypoxic stress response. Overall design: Adults wild type and dystrophic flies (3-5 days old) were exposed to hypobaric hypoxia for two weeks during the summer expedition to Mount McKinley, Alaska (6194 MASL). Another set of wild types and dystrophic flies were exposed to normobaric hypoxia according to the table I obtained during the climbing expedition. During the expedition, the flies were maintained in vials with regular molasses and covered by thermo isolation to avoid low temperature, keeping the temperature at 25C. The experiment performed in the laboratory also used vials with regular molasses and at 25C. Table I. Expedition log book for mount McKinley ascent. Information obtained during the ascent and summit of Mount McKinley, June 1st to June 16th of 2007. The oxygen pressure (PO2) was calculated from the barometric pressure. GNB means go and back from the mentioned point. DAY In order to understand the chronic hypoxia (CH) effect upon the absence of dystrophin, Drosophila melanogaster wild type and the model for DMD (dmDys), in which all dystrophins expression was knocked out by iRNA, were exposed to high altitude hypoxia (hypobaric hypoxia) during a 16-day climbing period reaching the summit of Mount McKinley (6194 meters above sea level). Furthermore, dmDys and Drosophila wild type were exposed to normobaric hypoxia (hypoxic chamber) following the same oxygen levels observed during the climbing expedition and to normoxic conditions for comparison. Affymetrix GeneChip¬Æ profiling was performed for individual flies from each experimental group. CH-dmDys differentially expressed 1281 genes, whereas control group differentially expressed 57 genes. Eight heat shock protein genes detected in the CH-dmDys microarray study were down-regulated, instead of up-regulated as seen in wild type hypoxic flies. This result suggests a differential gene expression response to CH, which could affect muscle performance.These results suggest that dmDys is more sensitive to CH due to reduced muscle function and hypoxic stress response. In order to understand the chronic hypoxia (CH) effect upon the absence of dystrophin, Drosophila melanogaster wild type and the model for DMD (dmDys), in which all dystrophins expression was knocked out by iRNA, were exposed to high altitude hypoxia (hypobaric hypoxia) during a 16-day climbing period reaching the summit of Mount McKinley (6194 meters above sea level). Furthermore, dmDys and Drosophila wild type were exposed to normobaric hypoxia (hypoxic chamber) following the same oxygen levels observed during the climbing expedition and to normoxic conditions for comparison. Affymetrix GeneChip¬Æ profiling was performed for individual flies from each experimental group. CH-dmDys differentially expressed 1281 genes, whereas control group differentially expressed 57 genes. Eight heat shock protein genes detected in the CH-dmDys microarray study were down-regulated, instead of up-regulated as seen in wild type hypoxic flies. This result suggests a differential gene expression response to CH, which could affect muscle performance.These results suggest that dmDys is more sensitive to CH due to reduced muscle function and hypoxic stress response. Overall design: Adults wild type and dystrophic flies (3-5 days old) were exposed to hypobaric hypoxia for two weeks during the summer expedition to Mount McKinley, Alaska (6194 MASL). Another set of wild types and dystrophic flies were exposed to normobaric hypoxia according to the table I obtained during the climbing expedition. During the expedition, the flies were maintained in vials with regular molasses and covered by thermo isolation to avoid low temperature, keeping the temperature at 25C. The experiment performed in the laboratory also used vials with regular molasses and at 25C. Table I. Expedition log book for mount McKinley ascent. Information obtained during the ascent and summit of Mount McKinley, June 1st to June 16th of 2007. The oxygen pressure (PO2) was calculated from the barometric pressure. GNB means go and back from the mentioned point. DAY LOCATION ALTITUDE m PO2 mmHg (%) 1 Base Camp 2200 123.6 (16.3%) 2 Base Camp 2200 123.6 (16.3%) 3 Base Camp 2200 123.6 (16.3%) 4 Ski Hill 2400 120.7 (15.9%) 5 Kahiltna Pass 2950 113.0 (14.9%) 6 Motorcycle Hill 3350 107.7 (14.2%) 7 Motorcycle Hill 3350 107.7 (14.2%) 8 GNB from Motorcycle 4150 (5 hours) 97.7 (12.9%) 9 Medical Camp 4350 95.3 (12.5%) 10 GNB from Medical Camp 4150 (5 hours) 97.7 (12.9%) 11 Medical Camp 4350 95.3 (12.5%) 12 GNB from Medical Camp 4900 89.0 (11.7%) 13 Medical Camp 4350 95.3 (12.5%) 14 High Camp 5250 85.1 (11.2%) 15 Summit 6194 (0.3 hours) 75.4 (9.9%) 16 High Camp 5250 85.1 (11.2%)

Dataset Information

Physical exertion exacerbates decline in the musculature of an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Publications

Physical exertion exacerbates decline in the musculature of an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

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