Absent or truncated dystrophin in Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies results in impaired vasodilatory pathways and exercise induced muscle ischemia.
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.
In particular, recent gene editing methods that led to the restoration of dystrophin expression in a canine model of muscular dystrophy could be applied to other canine models such as this before translation to humans.
This contribution to the understanding of the structure-function relationship of dystrophin, and especially of the R1-R3 fragment frequently used in the design of protein for gene therapies, should help in the improvement of the strategies for the cure of muscular dystrophies.
Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies (DMD/BMD) result in progressive weakness of skeletal and cardiac muscles due to the deficiency of functional dystrophin.
Here, we show that µUtro is a highly functional, non-immunogenic substitute for dystrophin, preventing the most deleterious histological and physiological aspects of muscular dystrophy in small and large animal models.
<b>Results:</b> Totally, 62 mutations of <i>DMD</i> were found in 62 probands with DMD/BMD, and two compound heterozygous mutations in <i>LAMA2</i> were identified in two probands with MDC1A (a type of congenital MD), indicating that the diagnostic yield was 91.4% by MLPA plus NGS for MD diagnosis in this cohort.
Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies (DMD/BMD) are X-linked recessive neuromuscular disorders characterized by progressive irreversible muscle weakness and atrophy that affect both skeletal and cardiac muscles.
This technology has been tested in paralysed patients, such as those with cervical spinal cord injuries or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, but it has not been tested systematically in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which is a severe type of muscular dystrophy due to the loss of dystrophin and is often accompanied by progressive muscle weakness and wasting.
Interestingly, one of the remaining tumors has a deletion in LAMA2, bringing the number of ONBs with deletions of genes involved in the development of muscular dystrophies to 13 or 93%.
In this study, we applied next-generation sequencing-based copy number variation profiling in 114 individuals clinically diagnosed with laminin α2-related muscular dystrophy, including 96 who harboured LAMA2 mutations and 34 who harboured intragenic rearrangements.
Muscular dystrophies, including laminin α2 chain-deficient muscular dystrophy (LAMA2-CMD), are associated with immense personal, social and economic burdens.
Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy (FCMD) is the second most common form of muscular dystrophy in the Japanese population and is caused by mutations in the fukutin (FKTN) gene.
In this review, we summarize the clinical features of two of the most common congenital muscular dystrophies, COL6-related dystrophies and LAMA2-related dystrophies, which are caused by mutations in muscle ECM and basement membrane proteins.