title: Changes in calsequestrin, TNF-α, TGF-β and MyoD levels during the progression of skeletal muscle dystrophy in mdx mice: a comparative analysis of the quadriceps, diaphragm and intrinsic laryngeal muscles.
abstract: In Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the search for new biomarkers to follow the evolution of the disease is of fundamental importance in the light of the evolving gene and pharmacological therapies. In addition to the lack of dystrophin, secondary events including changes in calcium levels, inflammation and fibrosis greatly contribute to DMD progression and the molecules involved in these events may represent potential biomarkers. In this study, we performed a comparative evaluation of the progression of dystrophy within muscles that are differently affected by dystrophy (diaphragm; DIA and quadriceps; QDR) or spared (intrinsic laryngeal muscles) using the mdx mice model of DMD. We assessed muscle levels of calsequestrin (calcium-related protein), tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α; pro-inflammatory cytokine), tumour growth factor (TGF-β; pro-fibrotic factor) and MyoD (muscle proliferation) vs. histopathology at early (1 and 4 months of age) and late (9 months of age) stages of dystrophy. Fibrosis was the primary feature in the DIA of mdx mice (9 months: 32% fibrosis), which was greater than in the QDR (9 months: 0.6% fibrosis). Muscle regeneration was the primary feature in the QDR (9 months: 90% of centrally nucleated fibres areas vs. 33% in the DIA). The QDR expressed higher levels of calsequestrin than the DIA. Laryngeal muscles showed normal levels of TNF-α, TGF-β and MyoD. A positive correlation between histopathology and cytokine levels was observed only in the diaphragm, suggesting that TNF-α and TGF-β serve as markers of dystrophy primarily for the diaphragm.
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Pernambuco (UPE), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barros Maranhão
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Drielen
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Moreira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriana Fogagnolo
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Maurício
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Samara Camaçari
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Anatomia, Instituto de Biociencias de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferretti
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliano Alves
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Santo Neto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Julia
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Marques
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002155:Calsequestrin / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D003964:Diaphragm / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D007821:Laryngeal Muscles / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018101:Mice, Inbred mdx; D020388:Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / Q000378:metabolism*; D017570:MyoD Protein / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D052097:Quadriceps Muscle / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002155:Calsequestrin; D017570:MyoD Protein; C057363:MyoD1 myogenic differentiation protein; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
keywords: calsequestrin; dystrophy; mdx; tumour growth factor-β; tumour necrosis factor-α