1.
Nat Med
; 12(10): 1147-50, 2006 Oct.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-16980968
ABSTRACT
Pharmacological interventions that increase myofiber size counter the functional decline of dystrophic muscles. We show that deacetylase inhibitors increase the size of myofibers in dystrophin-deficient (MDX) and alpha-sarcoglycan (alpha-SG)-deficient mice by inducing the expression of the myostatin antagonist follistatin in satellite cells. Deacetylase inhibitor treatment conferred on dystrophic muscles resistance to contraction-coupled degeneration and alleviated both morphological and functional consequences of the primary genetic defect. These results provide a rationale for using deacetylase inhibitors in the pharmacological therapy of muscular dystrophies.