Beneficial effects of anti-growth hormone antiserum in avian muscular dystrophy

Human subjects and mice have been found to have a milder progression of muscular dystrophy when the disease is associated with genotypically determined dwarfism. In this paper we describe an experimental test for reducing growth hormone in dystrophic chickens that uses rabbit anti-chicken growth hormone anti-serum (anti-cGH). Antiserum was injected daily into dystrophic (line 413) male chickens from day 1 to day 8 after hatching. Dystrophic chickens injected with anti-cGH maintained a significantly higher score in the standardized test for righting ability (P less than 0.001-0.051) from 3 to 9 1/2 wk after hatching when compared with dystrophic controls. The observed prolongation of the functional ability of injected dystrophic animals suggests that growth hormone plays a role in potentiating the symptoms of dystrophy in chickens.     

Elevation of calmodulin in avian muscular dystrophy

In an attempt to understand the mechanism of calcium accumulation in myopathies, changes in the major calcium-binding protein, calmodulin, was studied in genetically dystrophic chickens. Measurements by radioimmunoassay revealed an increase in the calmodulin concentration of dystrophic chicken muscles. Poly A-containing RNA(s) of fast and slow muscles from the normal and dystrophic chicks were hybridized with [32P]-labeled calmodulin cDNA probe by the dot-hybridization technique. Densitometric scan of the autoradiogram showed that the calmodulin mRNA levels of dystrophic fast muscles (pectoralis and posterior latissimus dorsi) were approximately two-fold higher than those of the corresponding normal muscles. No significant change in calmodulin and calmodulin messenger RNA of slow muscle (ALD) was found in dystrophic chickens. Our results suggest that increased calcium flux within the dystrophic muscle may be modulated by calmodulin.     

Enzymological studies on hereditary avian muscular dystrophy.

White and red muscles of normal and genetically dystrophic chickens were compared with regards to activity levels of three soluble enzymes, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, creatine phosphokinase, and acetyl phosphatase. In dystrophic white muscle (pectoral), activity of the two sulfhydryl enzymes, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and creatine phosphokinase, was preferentially lost from the sarcoplasm resulting in decreased specific activities. By contrast, acetyl phosphatase was preferentially retained and showed increased specific activity. Dystrophic white muscle had decreased sulfhydryl content in the soluble proteins, severe reduction in muscle mass, fatty infiltration, and fragmentation of fibers. Red dystrophic muscles (thigh) were minimally involved in accordance with the known sparing of red fibers. Enzyme activities were correlated with histological observations. The results suggested that the disease process in dystrophic white muscle may be related to alterations in the sulfhydryl groups of proteins. The data are correlated with the beneficial effects of our treatment of hereditary avian dystrophy with the sulfhydryl compound, penicillamine (Chou, T.H., Hill, E.J., Bartle, E., Woolley, K., LeQuire, V., Olson, W., Roelofs, R., and Park, J.H. (1975) J. Clin. Invest. 56, 842-849).     

Thyroidal involvement in the expression of avian muscular dystrophy

We showed previously that propylthiouracil (PTU), a thyroid inhibitor, could alleviate several major signs of hereditary muscular dystrophy in chickens. The goals of the present investigation were to: (1) determine whether a nearly athyroid condition (achieved within two days after hatching by surgical thyroidectomy plus PTU) during an 11-day period beneficially affects the dystrophic condition when followed by triiodothyronine (T3) replacement to 33 days of age; (2) determine the beneficial effects on the expression of avian dystrophy when the thyroidectomized-PTU-treated chickens received a wide range of moderate to low T3 replacement doses beginning by two days after thyroidectomy; and (3) examine the thyroid hormone receptor system in dystrophic muscle for a possible abnormality. Thyroid deprivation increased muscle function (righting ability) and reduced plasma creatine kinase activity in dystrophic chickens. The major thyroid-related abnormality in dystrophic pectoralis muscles was an increased maximum binding capacity of solubilized nuclear T3 receptors.     

Structure of myosin heavy chain in avian muscular dystrophy

We have studied the structure of myosin heavy chain (MHC) in the pectoralis muscle of genetically dystrophic (Connecticut Strain) and White Leghorn chicks. MHC was alkylated with N-ethylmaleimide, purified by Sepharose-4B chromatography, and cleaved with cyanogen bromide. The MHC CNBr peptides were analyzed by one-dimensional and two-dimensional isoelectric focusing/sodium dodecyl sulfate gradient gels and by amino acid sequencing. Specific changes were detected in the gel patterns which could be correlated with the loss of muscle function as measured by the exhaustion score (the ability of chicks to rise from a reclining position) in three experimental groups (exhaustion scores: less than 3, 10-20, greater than 30). We have also examined the amino acid sequence of a 3-methyl-histidine-containing peptide which originates from the 20-kDa fragment of pectoralis muscle MHC in dystrophic chicks: Val-Leu-Asn-Ala-Ser-Ala-Ile-Pro-Glu-Gly-*Gln-Phe-*Ile-Asp-Ser-Lys-Lys- Ala-Ser-Leu-Gln-Lys-Leu-Gly-Ser-Ile-Asp-Val-(Asp, 3-methylhistidine, Gln). Comparison of the homologous MHC sequences shows two positions at which MHC from dystrophic chicks differs from that of the White Leghorn chicks *(Glu----Gln and Met----Ile). Thus, both the peptide map and sequence analyses demonstrate that in avian muscular dystrophy an abnormal pectoralis MHC is synthesized. It is not yet clear whether the "dystrophic" MHC is a variant MHC or if it arises from the abnormal expression of an earlier developmental form (embryonic or neonatal) of pectoralis muscle MHC.     

Myofibrillar creatine kinase in Duchenne and avian muscular dystrophy

The presence and activity of the fraction of creatine kinase (CK) which was associated with myofibrils and located in the M line of the sarcomeres was determined in normal and dystrophic avian muscle and in normal and dystrophic (Duchenne) human muscle. Myofibrils were isolated from homogenates of muscle and washed nine times so as to remove nonmyofibrillar CK. In myofibrils from dystrophic muscle the enzyme CK was localized to the M line using immunofluorescent techniques and was enzymatically active. These results suggest that in both avian and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, there is not a myofibrillar disorder of the phosphocreatine shuttle.     

The increase in hexokinase activity in hereditary avian muscular dystrophy.

Hexokinase activity was found to be increased in both the more severely affected red (thigh) muscle of dystrophic chickens. The increase in activity was largely associated with the particulate fraction. These findings may indicate early events in the pathogenesis of avian muscular dystrophy.     

Myosin heavy chain in avian muscular dystrophy corresponds to the neonatal isozyme

We have previously demonstrated, based on comparison of homologous amino acid sequences and of two-dimensional CNBr peptide gel patterns, that the myosin heavy chain in pectoralis muscles of Storrs, Connecticut dystrophic chickens is different from that of their normal controls (Huszar, G., Vigue, L., De-Lucia, J. Elzinga, M., and Haines, J. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 7429-7434). Others have shown, however, that genomic banks and mRNA complements of the control and dystrophic birds are not different. In the present studies, we have examined the hypothesis that the "dystrophic" myosin heavy chain is not a novel gene product, but is a developmental isozyme which is expressed in pectoralis muscles of adult chickens due to the dystrophic process. Two-dimensional maps of myosin heavy chain CNBr peptides were prepared from breast muscles of 17-day in ovo (embryonic), 25-day posthatch (neonatal), and adult birds of the Storrs dystrophic and of two control strains. Also, myosin and actomyosin ATPase enzymatic activities of the various preparations were determined in the pH range of 5.5 to 9.0. Analysis of the peptide maps demonstrates that the embyronic, neonatal, and control adult myosin heavy chain isozymes are distinctly different gene products with only minute variations between the respective developmental isozymes in dystrophic and control muscles. However, the pectoralis myosin heavy chain of adult dystrophic birds, which is a homogeneous isozyme population by amino acid sequences and gel patterns, corresponds to that of the neonatal-type myosin heavy chain. The ATPase properties of the embryonic, neonatal, or adult pectoralis myosins and actomyosins were not different, whether the level of specific activity or the pattern of pH activation is considered. Since the mobility of neonatal chicks (primarily neonatal-type isozymes) is not restricted, the differences in myosin heavy chain structures are part of the syndrome, but not the cause of avian muscular dystrophy.     

An effect of avian hereditary muscular dystrophy on the reaction of troponin-C with its antibody

Antibody prepared against troponin-C, the calcium binding component of the troponin complex, was reacted with I band segments, and the distribution of antibody binding was assessed by immuno-electron microscopy. The I segments were isolated from glycerinated pectoral muscle which was prepared from normal adult chickens and from dystrophic chickens of strain 308. The antibody was deposited at 384 Å ± 7 Å intervals along the thin filaments of the normal muscle. In contrast to the normal controls the dystrophic muscle did not exhibit a distinct periodicity when reacted with anti-troponin-C. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate revealed that although protein bands corresponding to troponin-C could be observed in the gels of the dystrophic preparations, the troponin-C band had migrated slower than that from normal thin filaments. It is concluded that avian muscular dystrophy produces an alteration of the structure of troponin-C resulting in (1) an inability of the protein to combine with its specific antibody and (2) a change in its electrophoretic behavior.     

The differential effects of calcium starvation on Duchenne muscular dystrophy fibroblasts

The effects of nutrient deprivation on normal and Duchenne muscular dystrophy fibroblasts were examined. The requirements for Ca2+ and fetal bovine serum were assessed by their effects on the cells' ability to support viral replication, and by ability of the cells to divide in the presence of low levels of these nutrients. When grown in Ca2+-deficient media, Duchenne fibroblasts supported viral replication at a rate 2- to 2.5-fold greater than did normal fibroblasts. At normal Ca2+ levels, Duchenne fibroblasts supported viral replication at levels slightly lower than their normal counterparts. After 48 hr in medium containing 0.2 mM Ca2+, the growth of normal cells was arrested, while Duchenne fibroblasts were relatively unaffected. When grown in medium containing either 0.2 or 2.0% serum, the growth of normal cells was arrested within 48 hr, with cell death occurring within 72 hr. Duchenne fibroblasts continued to divide at these serum levels for 72 hr, reaching higher cell densities than normal cells. These results suggest that a defect related to Ca2+ metabolism may be part of the Duchenne phenotype, which could be used to identify Duchenne muscular dystrophy cells.     

Direct effects of the pathogenic mutation on satellite cell function in muscular dystrophy

Skeletal muscle is maintained and repaired by resident stem cells called muscle satellite cells, but there is a gradual failure of this process during the progressive skeletal muscle weakness and wasting that characterises muscular dystrophies. The pathogenic mutation causes muscle wasting, but in conditions including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the mutant gene is not expressed in satellite cells, and so muscle maintenance/repair is not directly affected. The chronic muscle wasting, however, produces an increasingly hostile micro-environment in dystrophic muscle. This probably combines with excessive satellite cell use to eventually culminate in an indirect failure of satellite cell-mediated myofibre repair. By contrast, in disorders such as Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, the pathogenic mutation not only instigates muscle wasting, but could also directly compromise satellite cell function, leading to less effective muscle homeostasis. This may again combine with excessive use and a hostile environment to further compromise satellite cell performance. Whichever the mechanism, the ultimate consequence of perturbed satellite cell activity is a chronic failure of myofibre maintenance in dystrophic muscle. Here, we review whether the pathogenic mutation can directly contribute to satellite cell dysfunction in a number of muscular dystrophies.     

Myoblast senescence in muscular dystrophy

The limited proliferative capacity of normal diploid cells predicts that the utilization of cell divisions in vivo should reduce the lifespan of cells in culture. Because of the continuing demands for muscle regeneration in muscular dystrophy, myoblasts isolated from affected muscles should thus show a decrease in the number of cell divisions they are capable of expressing in culture. This hypothesis was tested by examining the proliferative capacity of myoblasts from different muscles for normal line 412 and dystrophic line 413 chickens of various ages. Prior to approx. 2 months of age, dystrophic myoblasts exhibited a relatively normal proliferative lifespan. By 5 months of age, myoblasts from the severely affected pectoralis major showed a 40% reduction in their proliferative potential, while myoblasts from the less affected posterior latissimus dorsi muscle showed a 25% decrease in their cultured lifespan. The time course of the appearance of a decreased proliferative capacity only after the disease has been clinically manifested strongly supports it representing a secondary response rather than it being an intrinsic property of dystrophic myoblasts. A hypothesis for manipulating the pattern of stem cell division in order to increase the mass of muscle produced from a constant number of cell divisions is presented. If myoblast senescence and the consequent failure of muscle regeneration is a contributing factor in the progressive deterioration of muscle function in the disease, then this hypothesis might provide an important therapeutic strategy for ameliorating the course of muscular dystrophy.