Greater Colo-Rectal Activation Phenotype in Exercised mdx Mice

CONCLUSIONS Irrespective of the underlying mechanisms, this study provides evidence that dystrophic mice show alterations in gastrointestinal function that are easily measured by imposition of a low impact procedure. The size and consistency of the difference between dystrophic and normal mice of the two strains we have tested provides a clear and sensitive signal with little or no overlap, and also emphasizes the need to test any given dystrophin mutation against its background strain of origin. We therefore propose the exercise­induced Colo­-Rectal Activation Phenotype (CRAP) test as a simple, non­invasive biomarker that would be useful for serial longitudinal sampling as part of any test to determine the treatment efficacy of therapeutic restoration of dystrophin. Corresponding Author Marie Nearing, MNearing@childrensnational.org and Terence Partridge, TPartridge@childrensnational.org Data Availability All relevant data can be found at Figshare: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5738352.v1. Competing Interests The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Source: PLOS Currents Muscular Dystrophy - Category: Neurology Authors: Source Type: research