Prednisolone enhances myogenesis and dystrophin-related protein in skeletal muscle cell cultures from mdx mouse

The differentiation of skeletal muscle cells from mdx mice which lack dystrophin expression was examined after glucocorticoid treatment, namely α-methylprednisolone (PDN). Primary skeletal muscle cell cultures were established from newborn mdx, congenic C57BL/10, and allogenic BALB/C mice. We show that PDN promotes the myogenesis of both mdx- and control mice-derived cultures as determined by (1) the number of myotubes, (2) acetylcholine receptors, and (3) dystrophin and dystrophin-related protein levels. These results support the hypothesis that PDN could enhance the myogenesis of satellite cells and increase dystrophin-related protein expression in DMD treated patients. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.