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The effects of hyperthyroidism on muscular dystrophy in the mdx mouse: Greater dystrophy in cardiac and soleus muscle
Author(s) -
Anderson J. E.,
Liu L.,
Kardami E.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.880170109
Subject(s) - muscular dystrophy , soleus muscle , medicine , endocrinology , dystrophy , mdx mouse , dystrophin , skeletal muscle , pathology
Muscle damage and repair were studied in mdx mice treated with triiodothyronine (T 3 ) for 14 days. Hindlimb and cardiac muscles were examined for the severity of dystrophy, the degree of muscle centronucleation, and fiber size. In control and mdx mice, cardiac hypertrophy and skeletal muscle atrophy were present after T 3 treatment. Both cardiac and soleus (but not fast‐twitch) muscles had larger, more frequent dystrophic lesions in T 3 ‐treated mdx mice, and mdx soleus had an increased area of new myotubes after T 3 . Skeletal myogenesis in mdx mice may have been delayed by excess T 3 , possibly related to the general reduction in staining for basic fibroblast growth factor in hyperthyroid mice. These are the first observations of a metabolic perturbation which worsens mdx dystrophy and possibly repair in a musclespecific manner, and are likely related to T 3 ‐induced changes in myosin heavy chain expression, and to increased mechanical strain on dystrophin‐deficient muscles. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.