Inhibition of Mitochondrial Fission Protein Drp1 Ameliorates Skeletal Myopathy in the D2-mdx Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Journal: American Journal Of Physiology. Cell Physiology
Published:
Abstract

Although current treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) have proven to be effective in delaying myopathy, there remains a strong need to identify novel targets to develop additional therapies. Mitochondrial dysfunction is an early pathological feature of DMD. A fine balance of mitochondrial dynamics (fission and fusion) is crucial to maintain mitochondrial function and skeletal muscle health. Excessive activation of Dynamin-Related Protein 1 (Drp1)-mediated mitochondrial fission was reported in animal models of DMD. However, whether Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission is a viable target for treating myopathy in DMD remains unknown. Here, we treated a D2-mdx model of DMD (9-10 weeks old) with Mdivi-1, a selective Drp1 inhibitor, every other day (i.p. injection) for 5 weeks. We demonstrated that Mdivi-1 effectively improved skeletal muscle strength and reduced serum creatine kinase concentration. Mdivi-1 treatment also effectively inhibited mitochondrial fission regulatory protein markers, Drp1(Ser616) phosphorylation and Fis1 in skeletal muscles from D2-mdx mice, which resulted in reduced content of damaged and fragmented mitochondria. Furthermore, Mdivi-1 treatment attenuated lipid peroxidation product, 4-HNE, in skeletal muscle from D2-mdx mice, which was inversely correlated with muscle grip strength. Finally, we revealed that Mdivi-1 treatment downregulated expression of markers of fibrosis (Col1a1, MMP2 and MMP9) and inflammation (IL-6, MCP1, and CXCL12). In summary, these results demonstrate that inhibition of Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission by Mdivi-1 is effective in improving muscle strength and alleviating muscle damage in D2-mdx mice. These improvements are associated with improved skeletal muscle mitochondrial integrity, leading to attenuated lipid peroxidation.

Authors
H Rosen, Nicolas Berger, Shantel Hodge, Atsutaro Fujishiro, Jared Lourie, Vrusti Kapadia, Tessa Duzz, Melissa Linden, Eunbin Jee, Jonghan Kim, Yuho Kim, Kai Zou