Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0026850 (muscular dystrophy)
 5,870 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Recent evidence suggests that cellular sodium regulation may be abnormal in muscular dystrophy. We have measured intracellular sodium concentration (Nai) in muscles of mdx mice (a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy) using two techniques. Nai in isolated diaphragm (measured using a microelectrode) was 13.0 +/- 0.3 mM and 23.5 +/- 0.7 mM (mean +/- SE) in the control and mdx mice respectively. Nai in gastrocnemius muscle (calculated from extra- and intracellular volumes using serum and whole-muscle sodium concentrations) was 13 +/- 3 mM and 24 +/- 2 mM (mean +/- SE) in control and mdx, respectively. We argue that this abnormality in mdx tissues could reflect a reduced flux through the Na/K ATPase, although a contribution from increased Na leak cannot be ruled out. We also discuss possible consequences of an increased Nai: for example, raised Nai may lead to defective cell volume control in Duchenne dystrophy and the mdx mouse.
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PMID:Sodium is elevated in mdx muscles: ionic interactions in dystrophic cells. 843 2

Plummer-Vinson syndrome is a clinical entity associated with dysphagia, sideropenic anemia and atrophic glossitis. Using rabbits with iron deficiency anemia, the author investigated the cause of dysphagia in this syndrome. Iron deficient animals were produced by bolus feeding without iron and intramuscular injection of an iron-chelating agent. The fibers of swallowing muscles (the thyro-pharyngeal, cricopharyngeal and cervicoesophageal muscles) were classified into three types (Type 1, 2A and 2B fibers) by actomyosin ATPase staining. No significant difference between the muscles of sideropenic rabbits and those of normal rabbits were found in the composition and distribution of their muscle fibers. By NADH-TR staining, however, the disturbance of the intermyofibrillar network and/or a "Moth Eaton" appearance, known to be caused by leakage of mitochondria, were observed in Type 1 fibers of the swallowing muscles of sideropenic rabbits. These morphological changes are similar to those observed in progressive muscular dystrophy. The quantity of iron in the swallowing muscles of sideropenic rabbits was significantly reduced in comparison with that in the sternothyroid and femoral muscles. This finding suggests that a selective decrease in myoglobin occurs in the swallowing muscles of iron deficient animals. From these observations, it might be concluded that dysphagia in iron deficiency anemia is caused by a myogenic disorder.
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PMID:[Disorder of swallowing muscles in iron deficient rabbits]. 845 10

The effect of loop diuretics at concentrations known to influence cellular water entry coupled to Na-K-Cl co-transport, upon the vacuolation and detubulation following osmotic shock, was investigated in amphibian skeletal muscles. These were exposed to a glycerol-Ringer solution (18 min), an isotonic Ca2+/Mg2+ Ringer solution and cooling. Adding bumetanide (1.0 and 2.0 microM) to these solutions sharply reduced the incidence of detubulation, assessed by abolition or otherwise of action potential after-depolarisations, from 93.9 +/- 4.7% (n = 6) to 5.0 +/- 1.1% (n = 4: mean +/- SEM: 2.0 microM bumetanide). It dramatically reduced the number and fraction of muscle volume occupied by tubular vacuoles, measured using confocal microscopy, from 60.3 +/- 4.3% (n = 10) to 9.0 +/- 1.1% (n = 35). The incidence of large horseradish peroxidase-lined tubular vacuoles, viewed using electronmicroscopy, similarly was reduced with 2 microM bumetanide in the glycerol-Ringer solution. Bumetanide acted through cellular volume adjustments early in the detubulation protocol. Thus, it exerted its maximum effect when added to the glycerol-Ringer, rather than the Ca2+/Mg2+ Ringer solution. Furthermore, whereas fibre diameters measured using scanning electron microscopy returned to normal during glycerol treatment relative to those of control fibres left in isotonic Ringer, addition of 2.0 microM bumetanide in the glycerol Ringer left markedly smaller fibre diameters. Finally equipotent concentrations of the chemically distinct loop diuretics. furosemide and ethacrynic acid similarly influenced detubulation. These findings implicate Na-K-Cl co-transport in the water entry into muscle fibres that would be expected following introduction of extracellular glycerol. This might then enable the subsequent Na-K-ATPase dependent water extrusion that produces the tubular distension (vacuolation) and detachment (detubulation) following glycerol withdrawal, phenomena also observed in muscular dystrophy.
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PMID:Loop diuretics inhibit detubulation and vacuolation in amphibian muscle fibres exposed to osmotic shock. 1081 37

Although the reduction in dystrophin-associated glycoproteins is the primary pathophysiological consequence of the deficiency in dystrophin, little is known about the secondary abnormalities leading to x-linked muscular dystrophy. As abnormal Ca(2+) handling may be involved in myonecrosis, we investigated the fate of key Ca(2+) regulatory membrane proteins in dystrophic mdx skeletal muscle membranes. Whereas the expression of the ryanodine receptor, the dihydropyridine receptor, the Ca(2+)-ATPase, and calsequestrin was not affected, a drastic decline in calsequestrin-like proteins of 150-220 kDa was observed in dystrophic microsomes using one-dimensional immunoblotting, two-dimensional immunoblotting with isoelectric focusing, diagonal two-dimensional blotting technique, and immunoprecipitation. In analogy, overall Ca(2+) binding was reduced in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of dystrophic muscle. The reduction in Ca(2+) binding proteins might be directly involved in triggering impaired Ca(2+) sequestration within the lumen of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Thus disturbed sarcolemmal Ca(2+) fluxes seem to influence overall Ca(2+) homeostasis, resulting in distinct changes in the expression profile of a subset of Ca(2+) handling proteins, which might be an important factor in the progressive functional decline of dystrophic muscle fibers.
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PMID:Drastic reduction of calsequestrin-like proteins and impaired calcium binding in dystrophic mdx muscle. 1179 49

The aim of the present study was to establish whether alterations in sarcoplasmic reticulum function are involved in the abnormal Ca(2+) homeostasis of skeletal muscle in mice with muscular dystrophy ( mdx). The properties of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and contractile proteins of fast- and slow-twitch muscles were therefore investigated in chemically skinned fibres isolated from the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and soleus muscles of normal (C57BL/10) and mdx mice at 4 and 11 weeks of development. Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) uptake, estimated by the Ca(2+) release following exposure to caffeine, was significantly slower in mdx mice, while the maximal Ca(2+) quantity did not differ in either type of skeletal muscle at either stage of development. In 4-week-old mice spontaneous sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) leakage was observed in EDL and soleus fibres and this was more pronounced in mdx mice. In addition, the maximal Ca(2+)-activated tension was smaller in mdx than in normal fibres, while the Ca(2+) sensitivity of the contractile apparatus was not significantly different. These results indicate that mdx hindlimb muscles are affected differently by the disease process and suggest that a reduced ability of the Ca(2+)-ATPase to load Ca(2+) and a leaky sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane may be involved in the altered intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis.
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PMID:Sarcoplasmic reticulum function in slow- and fast-twitch skeletal muscles from mdx mice. 1219 17

Alpha-Sarcoglycan is a glycoprotein associated with the dystrophin complex at sarcolemma of skeletal and cardiac muscles. Gene defects in alpha-sarcoglycan lead to a severe muscular dystrophy whose molecular mechanisms are not yet clear. A first insight into the function of alpha-sarcoglycan was obtained by finding that it is an ATP-binding protein and that it probably confers ability to hydrolyse ATP to the purified dystrophin complex [Betto, Senter, Ceoldo, Tarricone, Biral and Salviati (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 7907-7912]. In the present study, we present definitive evidence showing that alpha-sarcoglycan is an ATP-hydrolysing enzyme. The appearance of alpha-sarcoglycan protein expression was correlated with the increase in ecto-nucleotidase activity during differentiation of C2C12 cells. Approx. 25% of ecto-nucleotidase activity displayed by the C2C12 myotubes was inhibited by preincubating cells with an antibody specific for the ATP-binding motif of alpha-sarcoglycan. This demonstrates that alpha-sarcoglycan substantially contributes to total ecto-nucleotidase activity of C2C12 myotubes. To characterize further this activity, human embryonic kidney 293 cells were transfected with expression plasmids containing alpha-sarcoglycan cDNA. Transfected cells exhibited a significant increase in the ATP-hydrolysing activity that was abolished by the anti-alpha-sarcoglycan antibody. The enzyme had a substrate specificity for ATP and ADP, did not hydrolyse other triphosphonucleosides, and the affinity for ATP was in the low mM range. The ATPase activity strictly required the presence of both Mg2+ and Ca2+ and was completely inhibited by suramin and reactive blue-2. These results show that alpha-sarcoglycan is a Ca2+, Mg2+-ecto-ATPDase. The possible consequences of the absence of alpha-sarcoglycan activity in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy are discussed.
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PMID:Characterization of the ATP-hydrolysing activity of alpha-sarcoglycan. 1503 52

Deficiency of delta-sarcoglycan (delta-SG), a component of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC), causes skeletal muscular dystrophy and cardiomyopathy in BIO14.6 hamsters. Here, we studied the involvement of abnormal Ca2+ homeostasis in muscle degeneration and the protective effect of drugs against Ca2+ handling proteins in vivo as well as in vitro. First, we characterized the properties of cultured myotubes from muscles of normal and BIO14.6 hamsters (30-60 days old). While there were no apparent differences in the levels of expression of various Ca2+ handling proteins (L-type Ca2+ channel, ryanodine receptor, SR-Ca2+ ATPase, and Na+/Ca2+ exchanger), muscle-specific proteins (contractile actin and acetylcholine receptor), or DGC member proteins except SGs, BIO14.6 myotubes showed a high degree of susceptibility to mechanical stressors, such as cyclic stretching and hypo-osmotic stress as compared to normal myotubes, as evidenced by marked increases in creatine phosphokinase (CK) release and bleb formation. BIO14.6 myotubes showed abnormal Ca2+ homeostasis characterized by elevated cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, frequent Ca2+ oscillation, and increased 45Ca2+ uptake. These abnormal Ca2+ events and CK release were significantly prevented by Ca2+ handling drugs, tranilast, diltiazem, and FK506. The calpain inhibitor E64 prevented CK release, but not 45Ca2+ uptake. Some of these drugs (tranilast, diltiazem, and FK506) also exerted a significant protective effect for muscle degeneration in BIO14.6 hamsters and mdx mice in vivo. These observations suggest that elevated Ca2+ entry through sarcolemmal Ca2+ channels predominantly contributes to muscle degeneration and that the drugs tested here may have novel therapeutic potential against muscular dystrophy.
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PMID:Protective effects of Ca2+ handling drugs against abnormal Ca2+ homeostasis and cell damage in myopathic skeletal muscle cells. 1600 51

Epidermolysis bullosa simplex with muscular dystrophy (EBS-MD, MIM 226670) is caused by plectin defects. We performed mutational analysis and immunohistochemistry using EBS-MD (n = 3 cases) and control skeletal muscle to determine pathogenesis. Mutational analysis revealed a novel homozygous plectin-exon32 rod domain mutation (R2465X). All plectin/HD1-121 antibodies stained the control skeletal muscle membrane. However, plectin antibodies stained the cytoplasm of type II control muscle fibers (as confirmed by ATPase staining), whereas HD1-121 stained the cytoplasm of type I fibers. EBS-MD samples lacked membrane (n = 3) but retained cytoplasmic HD1-121 (n = 1) and plectin staining in type II fibers (n = 3). Ultrastructurally, EBS-MD demonstrated widening and vacuolization adjacent to the membrane and disorganization of Z-lines (n = 2 of 3) compared to controls (n = 5). Control muscle immunogold labeling colocalized plectin and desmin to filamentous bridges between Z-lines and the membrane that were disrupted in EBS-MD muscle. We conclude that fiber-specific plectin expression is associated with the desmin-cytoskeleton, Z-lines, and crucially myocyte membrane linkage, analogous to hemidesmosomes in skin.
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PMID:Plectin defects in epidermolysis bullosa simplex with muscular dystrophy. 1696 86

The sarcoglycan complex in muscle consists of alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-sarcoglycan and is part of the larger dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC), which is essential for maintaining muscle membrane integrity. Mutations in any of the four sarcoglycans cause limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD). In this report, we have identified a novel interaction between delta-sarcoglycan and the 16 kDa subunit c (16K) of vacuolar H(+)-ATPase. Co-expression studies in heterologous cell system revealed that 16K interacts specifically with delta-sarcoglycan and the highly related gamma-sarcoglycan through the transmembrane domains. In cultured C2C12 myotubes, 16K forms a complex with sarcoglycans at the plasma membrane. Loss of sarcoglycans in the sarcoglycan-deficient BIO14.6 hamster destabilizes the DGC and alters the localization of 16K at the sarcolemma. In addition, the steady state level of beta(1)-integrin is increased. Recent studies have shown that 16K also interacts directly with beta(1)-integrin and our data demonstrated that sarcoglycans, 16K and beta(1)-integrin were immunoprecipitated together in C2C12 myotubes. Since sarcoglycans have been proposed to participate in bi-directional signaling with integrins, our findings suggest that 16K might mediate the communication between sarcoglycans and integrins and play an important role in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy.
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PMID:The 16 kDa subunit of vacuolar H+-ATPase is a novel sarcoglycan-interacting protein. 1738 24

Bag3 is a Bag family co-chaperone that regulates the ATPase activity of Hsp70 (heat-shock protein 70) chaperones. Recent studies have demonstrated that Bag3 can initiate macroautophagy in co-operation with small heat-shock protein HspB8. In this issue of the Biochemical Journal, Fuchs and co-workers have discovered the IPV motif in Bag3 that is necessary for binding to HspB8. The authors have also identified HspB6 as a new binding partner for Bag3 and characterized further the binding of both HspB8 and HspB6 in Bag3-mediated clearance of aggregated polyglutamine-containing protein Htt43Q (huntingtin exon 1 fragment with 43 CAG repeats). It is clear from recent identification of a Bag3 mutation that causes a form of muscular dystrophy that the full function of Bag3 in disease is not clear. We will apply the findings of Fuchs et al. in this issue to reconcile the phenotypes of Bag3 homologue knockouts with the emerging role of Bag3 in autophagy.
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PMID:Caught in the middle: the role of Bag3 in disease. 1984 7


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