In Vitro Studies of Regeneration and Innervation of Muscle from Dystrophic (dy2J) Mutant Mice

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the in vitro studies of regeneration and innervation of muscle from dystrophic (dy 2 j) mutant mice. In the present study, a modified neuromuscular culture model is utilized in which adult, instead of the usual embryonic, muscle tissue is coupled with fetal spinal cord explants. There is a bewildering array of evidence of deranged metabolism in dystrophic mice. Creatinine balance is abnormal, cholesterol and total lipid levels are increased, distribution of lipoproteins and glycoproteins, deranged turnover of myosin increased, and levels of activity of many enzymes altered. This study was undertaken to reevaluate earlier concepts of the primary causes of muscular dystrophy. The experimental setup relied essentially on a tissue culture system in which spinal cord and muscle coupling between tissue explanted from normal and dystrophic mice provided a system for studying the mechanism underlying nerve-muscle interaction. The study has yielded the following observations. Recent observations have demonstrated that significant neuromuscular relationships can develop in vitro between spinal cord and embryonic muscle tissues.