Myology research highlights

This study describes a slowly progressive myopathy in seven unrelated adult patients with storage of polyglucosan in muscle fibers. Genetic investigation revealed homozygous or compound heterozygous deleterious variants in the glycogenin-1 gene (GYG1). Most patients showed depletion of glycogenin-1 in skeletal muscle whereas one showed presence of glycogenin-1 lacking the C-terminal that normally binds glycogen … [Read more]

Centronuclear myopathies are congenital muscle disorders characterized by type I myofibre predominance and an increased number of muscle fibres with nuclear centralization. The severe neonatal X-linked form is due to mutations in MTM1, autosomal recessive centronuclear myopathy with neonatal or childhood onset results from mutations in BIN1 (amphiphysin 2), and dominant cases were previously associated … [Read more]

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD: MIM#158900) is a common myopathy with marked but largely unexplained clinical inter- and intra-familial variability. FSHD is caused by contractions of the D4Z4 repeat array on chromosome 4 to 1-10 units (FSHD1), or by mutations in the D4Z4-binding chromatin modifier SMCHD1 (FSHD2). Both situations lead to a partial opening of the … [Read more]

In the translational process of developing innovative therapies for DMD (Duchenne muscular dystrophy), the last pre-clinical validation step is often carried out in the most relevant animal model of this human disease namely the GRMD (Golden retriever muscular dystrophy) dog. GRMD dogs mimic the human disease, DMD, in many aspects including the inter-individual heterogeneity. This … [Read more]

The 6-minute walk test has been recently chosen as the primary outcome measure in international multicenter clinical trials in Duchenne muscular dystrophy ambulant patients. The aim of the study was to assess the spectrum of changes at 3 years in the individual measures, their correlation with steroid treatment, age and 6 minute walk test values … [Read more]

The progressive loss of muscle regenerative capacity with age or disease results in part from a decline in the number and function of satellite cells, the direct cellular contributors to muscle repair. However, little is known about the molecular effectors underlying satellite cell impairment and depletion. Elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), are … [Read more]

Proteins of the nuclear envelope (NE) are associated with a range of inherited disorders, most commonly involving muscular dystrophy and cardiomyopathy, as exemplified by Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD). EDMD is both genetically and phenotypically variable, and some evidence of modifier genes has been reported. Six genes have so far been linked to EDMD, four encoding … [Read more]

The integrity of the plasma membrane is maintained through an active repair process, especially in skeletal and cardiac muscle cells, in which contraction-induced mechanical damage frequently occurs in vivo. Muscular dystrophies (MDs) are a group of muscle diseases characterized by skeletal muscle wasting and weakness. An important cause of this group of diseases is defective … [Read more]

Myofibrillar myopathies (MFM) are a group of phenotypically and genetically heterogeneous neuromuscular disorders, which are characterized by protein aggregations in muscle fibres and can be associated with multisystemic involvement. Here, the authors screened a large cohort of 38 index patients with MFM for mutations in the nine thus far known causative genes using Sanger and … [Read more]

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal, X-linked neuromuscular disease that affects 1 boy in 3500 to 5000 boys. The golden retriever muscular dystrophy dog is the best clinically relevant DMD animal model. Here, the authors used a high-thoughput miRNA sequencing screening for identification of candidate serum miRNA biomarkers in golden retriever muscular dystrophy dogs. … [Read more]