Effect of hind-limb suspension on young and adult skeletal muscle. II. Dystrophic mice

Disuse atrophy induced by limb immobilization reportedly protects dystrophic mouse muscle from histopathological changes. This study was conducted to determine whether disuse atrophy induced by hind-limb suspension (HS) limits the histopathology and contractile abnormalities typically observed in the dystrophic mouse. Two weeks of hind-limb suspension were applied to dystrophic mice (line 129B6F1) at two ages, 4 weeks (6 mice) and 12 weeks (8 mice). Thirty-one untreated dystrophics served as controls. In general, HS exaggerated the dystrophic signs, especially in the younger mice; it reduced animal weight, muscle weight, maximum tetanic and twitch tensions, and rates of tetanic and twitch tension development. HS further slowed the contractile properties of soleus (SOL) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles, and increased their fatigue resistance. HS reduced the size of type I and IIA fibers in the 6-week SOL and EDL, but not in the 14-week muscles. HS produced a preferential atrophy of SOL type I fibers, with a parallel increase in type IIA fibers. However, it did not alleviate the fiber size variability, degree of necrosis, central nucleation, inflammation, or muscle fibrosis in dystrophic muscles. These data demonstrate that disuse by hind-limb suspension does not prevent the histopathological deterioration or loss of muscle function in 6- and 14-week dystrophic mice.