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Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Purification and Transplantation of Myogenic Progenitor Cell Derived Exosomes to Improve Cardiac Function in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophic Mice
Published on: April 10, 2019
[Mesenchymal stem cells transplanted in mdx mice differentiate into myocytes and express dystrophin/utrophin]
Shan-wei Feng1, Cheng Zhang, Xi-lin Lu
1Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Center for Stem Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Objective:
To investigate the differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into myocytes and their expression of dystrophin/utrophin after transplantation in mdx mice.
Methods:
BrdU-labeled fifth-passage rat MSCs were transplanted in mdx mice with previous total body gamma irradiation (7 Gy). At 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks after the transplantation, the mice were sacrificed to detect dystrophin/BrdU and utrophin expressions in the gastrocnemius muscle using immunofluorescence assay, RT-PCR and Western blotting. Five normal C57 BL/6 mice and 5 mdx mice served as the positive and negative controls, respectively.
Results:
Four weeks after MSC transplantation, less than 1% of the muscle fibers of the mdx mice expressed dystrophin, which increased to 15% at 16 weeks. Donor-derived nuclei were detected in both single and clusters of dystrophin-positive fibers. Some BrdU-positive nuclei were centrally located, and some peripherally within myofibers. Utrophin expression decreased over time after transplantation.
Conclusion:
The myofibers of mdx mice with MSC transplantation express dystrophin, which is derived partially from the transplanted MSCs. Dystrophin expression from the transplanted MSCs partially inhibits the upregulation of utrophin in mdx mouse muscle, showing a complementary relation between them.
