Ultrastructural changes in skeletal muscle in ovine muscular dystrophy

The initial ultrastructural changes in skeletal myofibers in ovine muscular dystrophy (MD) consisted of focal degeneration of myofibrils and the formation of Z-disc abnormalities, including nemaline rods, in adjacent sarcomeres. Peripheral and central sarcoplasmic masses, which occurred initially in large diameter fibers, contained a mixture of normal organelles and abnormal tubular and fibrillar formations. Vesiculate sarcolemmal nuclei with prominent nucleoli accumulated in central and subsarcolemmal locations in small clusters and short rows. Deformed individual nuclei were sometimes present within nuclear rows. Loss of the myofibrillar mass, increased density of small spherical nuclei, collections of fibrillar and tubular arrays, excessive folding of the sarcolemma and greatly reduced fiber diameter were seen in the end stage of the dystrophic process. Resting satellite cells were present at all stages of lesion development. The morphological progression of the lesions suggested an inherited inability to effectively replace lost myofibrils with ultimate exhaustion of the capacity for repair followed by pathological fiber atrophy.