In conclusion, this study demonstrated that allogeneic WT-MPC-Exo transplantation transiently restored dystrophin gene expression and improved cardiac function in MDX mice, suggesting that allogenic exosomal delivery may serve as an alternative treatment for cardiomyopathy of DMD.
Previously, treatment with β-blockers showed beneficial effects on the development of cardiomyopathy in dystrophin-deficient (mdx) mice, but not in δ-sarcoglycan-deficient (Sgcd-/-) mice.
Improving skeletal muscle function without restoring dystrophin expression in cardiac tissue may exacerbate cardiomyopathy due to increased voluntary activity.
In the current preclinical study, we demonstrate the therapeutic potential of sarcospan (SSPN) overexpression to alleviate cardiomyopathy associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) utilizing dystrophin-deficient mdx mice with utrophin haploinsufficiency that more accurately represent the severe disease course of human DMD.
Heart failure invariably affects patients with various forms of Muscular Dystrophy (MD), but the onset and molecular sequelae of altered structure and function resulting from full-length dystrophin (Dp427) deficiency in MD heart tissue are poorly understood.To better understand the role of dystrophin in cardiomyocyte development and the earliest phase of DMD cardiomyopathy, we studied human cardiomyocytes differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC-CMs) obtained from the urine of a Deuchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) patient.
Dystrophin-deficient cardiomyopathy is becoming the dominant cause of death in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), but its developmental process remains elusive.