Why the study?
Dysferlinopathy symptoms manifest later in life in a muscle-specific manner, but the underlying pathomechanism is not well understood.
Does dysferlin-deficiency impact in vivo and ex vivo muscle function and myofibre type composition differently in slow versus fast muscles in aged BLAJ mice?
Does dysferlin-deficiency impact in vivo and ex vivo muscle function and myofibre type composition differently in slow versus fast muscles in aged BLAJ mice?
Dysferlin-deficiency in aged mice has myofibre type-specific effects, impacting slow and fast twitch muscles differently, which is critical for understanding dysferlinopathy mechanisms.
Highlights muscle-type vulnerabilities in dysferlin deficiency; leaves open clinical translation pending human studies.
Dysferlinopathies are a form of muscular dystrophy caused by gene mutations resulting in deficiency of the protein dysferlin. Symptoms manifest later in life in a muscle specific manner, although the pathomechanism is not well understood. This study compared the impact of dysferlin-deficiency on in vivo and ex vivo muscle function, and myofibre type composition in slow (soleus) and fast type (extensor digitorum longus; EDL) muscles using male dysferlin-deficient (dysf-/-) BLAJ mice aged 10 months, compared with wild type (WT) C57Bl/6J mice. There was a striking increase in muscle mass of BLAJ soleus (+25%) (p<0.001), with no strain differences in EDL mass, compared with WT. In vivo measures of forelimb grip strength and wheel running capacity showed no strain differences. Ex vivo measures showed the BLAJ soleus had faster twitch contraction (-21%) and relaxation (-20%) times, and delayed post fatigue recovery (ps<0.05); whereas the BLAJ EDL had a slower relaxation time (+11%) and higher maximum rate of force production (+25%) (ps<0.05). Similar proportions of MHC isoforms were evident in the soleus muscles of both strains (ps>0.05); however, for the BLAJ EDL, there was an increased proportion of type IIx MHC isoform (+5.5%) and decreased type IIb isoform (-5.5%) (ps<0.01). This identification of novel differences in the impact of dysferlin-deficiency on slow and fast twitch muscles emphasises the importance of evaluating myofibre type specific effects to provide crucial insight into the mechanisms responsible for loss of function in dysferlinopathies; this is critical for the development of targeted future clinical therapies.
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Lloyd et al. (2019) studied this question.
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