Impaired respiratory function in mdx and mdx/utrn+/- mice

Ping Huang, Georgiana Cheng, Haiyan Lu, Mark Aronica, Richard M. Ransohoff, Lan Zhou

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Scopus citations

Abstract

Muscle fibrosis is a prominent pathological feature that directly causes muscle dysfunction in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The DMD mouse models, mdx mice and mdx mice with haploinsufficiency of the utrophin gene (mdx/ utrn+/-), display progressive diaphragm fibrosis. We performed unrestrained whole-body plethysmography (WBP) in mdx and mdx/utrn+/- mice, and compared them with wild-type controls. Respiratory function gauged by respiratory frequency, tidal volume, minute volume, peak inspiratory flow, and peak expiratory flow was significantly impaired in the mdx mice. Consistent with more severe diaphragm fibrosis in the mdx/utrn+/- mice, respiratory impairment was worse than in mdx mice at 6 months. WBP is useful for monitoring in vivo respiratory function of mdx and mdx/utrn+/- mice, and it may serve as an outcome measurement for therapies that target diaphragm fibrosis. The mdx/ utrn+/- mouse model may be better than the mdx model for testing antifibrotic therapies, especially at the severe stage.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)263-267
Number of pages5
JournalMuscle and Nerve
Volume43
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2011

Keywords

  • Diaphragm fibrosis
  • Duchenne muscular dystrophy
  • Respiratory function
  • Whole-body non-invasive plethysmography
  • mdx mice

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
  • Physiology (medical)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Impaired respiratory function in mdx and mdx/utrn+/- mice'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this