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)

Dystrophin Related Protein is the recently identified protein product of a large autosomal transcript, showing significant similarity to dystrophin at the carboxyl terminus. Dystrophin related protein and dystrophin share a similar abundance and molecular weight, however, they differ both in their tissue distribution and expression in Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy. Here we define the immunolocalization of dystrophin related protein to neuromuscular and myotendinous junctions, along with peripheral nerves and vasculature of skeletal muscle. Groups of regenerating muscle fibres as well as embryonic and neonatal muscle express far greater amounts of dystrophin related protein compared with adult mdx mice. These findings may explain the paradoxical labelling seen using dystrophin antibodies in Duchenne patients and dystrophin deficient mdx mice. Finally, no abnormalities of dystrophin related protein expression were detected in three patients with Duchenne-like autosomal recessive muscular dystrophy.
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PMID:Immunolocalization and developmental expression of dystrophin related protein in skeletal muscle. 182 93

As a strategy to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, we used arginine butyrate, which combines two pharmacological activities: nitric oxide pathway activation, and histone deacetylase inhibition. Continuous intraperitoneal administration to dystrophin-deficient mdx mice resulted in a near 2-fold increase in utrophin (protein homologous to dystrophin) in skeletal muscle, heart, and brain, accompanied by an improvement of the dystrophic phenotype in both adult and newborn mice (45 and 70% decrease in creatine kinase level, respectively; 14% increase in tidal volume, 30% decrease in necrotic area in limb and 23% increase in isometric force). Intermittent administration, as performed in clinical trials, was then used to reduce the frequency of injections and to improve safety. This also enhanced utrophin level around 2-fold (EC50=284 mg/ml) and alleviated the dystrophic phenotype (inverted grid and grip test performance near to wild-type values, creatine kinase level decreased by 50%). Skin biopsies were used to monitor treatment efficacy, instead of invasive muscle biopsies, and this could be done a few days after the start of treatment. A 2-fold increase in utrophin expression was also shown in cultured human myotubes. In vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that the drug combination acts synergistically. Together, these data constitute a proof of principle of the beneficial effects of arginine butyrate on muscular dystrophy.
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PMID:Arginine butyrate: a therapeutic candidate for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. 2343 Sep 75