Dystrophin restoration therapy improves both the reduced excitability and the force drop induced by lengthening contractions in dystrophic mdx skeletal muscle

Table 1 Morphology parameters of neuromuscular junction following lengthening contractions in mdx mice

	Mdx	Mdx + 9LC	C57	C57 + 9LC
Total NMJ area (μm²)	2067.6 ± 145.7	1678.9 ± 83.0^a	1025.2 ± 69.0	1065.8 ± 44.3
AChR area/NMJ (μm²)	1005.2 ± 68.7	775.3 ± 30.3^a	512.6 ± 29.3	590.1 ± 33.0
Complexity within NMJ (%)	47.6 ± 2.2	48.7 ± 1.3	50.7 ± 1.7	56.0 ± 2.3
AChR fragment number	31.3 ± 2.7	29.1 ± 1.7	3.1 ± 0.7	3.5 ± 0.4
AChR fragment area (μm²)	75.6 ± 29.1	34.7 ± 4.3	276.6 ± 60.7	260.5 ± 34.7

n > 30 (C57) or >60 (mdx) per group (from 3 C57 mice and 4 mdx mice)
NMJ neuromuscular junction, AChR acetylcholine receptor, Mdx or C57 before nine lengthening contractions, Mdx + 9LC after nine lengthening contractions, C57 + 9LC after nine lengthening contractions
^aSignificantly different from before nine lengthening contractions (p < 0.05)

ISSN: 2044-5040