Muscle meets Lysosomes: emerging strategies in muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by the loss of DMD (dystrophin), leading to sarcolemmal fragility and progressive muscle degeneration. Although adeno-associated viral (AAV) microdystrophin (µDMD) therapies have advanced clinically, their benefits remain partial, highlighting the need to identify secondary cellular defects that limit therapeutic efficacy. In our recent study, we demonstrated that lysosomal dysfunction is a conserved, intrinsic, and persistent feature of DMD pathology. Using mouse, canine, and human dystrophic muscle, we show marked lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP), impaired acidification, defective proteolysis, and inefficient membrane repair, all hallmarks of compromised lysosomal integrity. Cholesterol accumulation within dystrophic myofibers further exacerbates these defects, linking lipid dysregulation to lysosomal injury and accelerated muscle degeneration. We find macroautophagy/autophagy impairment in DMD stems in part from reduced autophagosome-lysosome fusion, reframing autophagy failure as a downstream consequence of lysosomal damage. µDMD gene therapy only partially corrects these abnormalities and does not fully restore lysosomal stability. In contrast, combining µDMD with the lysosome-activating disaccharide trehalose produces synergistic benefits, improving muscle strength, architecture, and molecular signatures beyond either treatment alone. These findings position lysosomal dysfunction as a central driver of DMD pathophysiology and support therapeutic strategies that pair gene restoration with lysosomal enhancement.Abbreviation: AAV: adeno-associated virus; DAGC: DMD-associated glycoprotein complex; DMD: Duchenne muscular dystrophy; FDA: Food and Drug Administration; LMP: lysosome membrane permeabilization; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; µDMD: microdystrophin.