title: Freeze-fracture electronmicroscopic analysis of plasma membranes of cultured muscle cells in Duchenne dystrophy.
abstract: Depletion of intramembranous particles has been reported in the muscle fiber plasma membrane in Duchenne dystrophy. We searched for a similar abnormality in plasma membranes of cultured muscle cells obtained from six patients with Duchenne dystrophy and six controls. A precise method for phase microscopic to freeze-fracture electronmicroscopic correlation was devised to identify the cell of origin of each replicated membrane face. For both control and patient cells, P-face particle density was higher in myotubes than in mononuclear cells. However, there were no significant differences between control and dystrophic cells when comparing P faces of myotubes, E faces of myotubes, P faces of single cells, or E faces of single cells. The frequency distribution of particle diameters was similar in P faces of control and Duchenne myotubes. Other structural features of the freeze-fractured plasma membrane also were similar.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005614:Freeze Fracturing; D006801:Humans; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009136:Muscular Dystrophies / Q000473:pathology*