Successful myoblast transplantation in fibrotic muscles: no increased impairment by the connective tissue.
BACKGROUND
Implantation of normal myoblasts may eventually be a treatment for inherited myopathies such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy.


METHODS
We report a comparative study of the effectiveness on myoblast implantation: (1) into the muscles of young (2 months) mdx mice nonirradiated and noninjected with notexin (group 1), (2) into muscles of old mdx mice (15 months) nonirradiated and noninjected with notexin (group 2), and (3) into muscles of 5 months mdx mice irradiated 3 months before the transplantation (group 3). Roughly 3 million cells were injected with bFGF in the Tibialis anterior.


RESULTS
Although mice of groups 2 and 3 had significantly more (P<0.05) fibrotic tissue in their muscles than those of group 1, the transplantation success was not significantly different among the three groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Therefore these results demonstrated that myoblast transplantation can be successful even when there is abundant fibrosis.
Brussee
V
V
Unité de Recherche en Génétique Humaine, CHUQ pavilon CHUL, Ste Foy, Canada.
Tardif
F
F
Roy
B
B
Goulet
M
M
Sebille
A
A
Tremblay
J P
JP
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D003238:Connective Tissue; D016189:Dystrophin / Q000032:analysis; D004546:Elapid Venoms / Q000494:pharmacology; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000637:transplantation*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D009136:Muscular Dystrophies / Q000209:etiology; D009137:Muscular Dystrophy, Animal / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000494:pharmacology; D010641:Phenotype
D016189:Dystrophin; D004546:Elapid Venoms; D009498:Neurotoxins; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; C005082:notexin