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Simvastatin Treatment Does Not Ameliorate Muscle Pathophysiology in a Mouse Model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Verhaart, I E C; Cappellari, O; Tanganyika-de Winter, C L; Plomp, J J; Nnorom, S; Wells, K E; Hildyard, J C W; Bull, D; Aartsma-Rus, A; Wells, D J

Authors

I E C Verhaart

O Cappellari

C L Tanganyika-de Winter

J J Plomp

S Nnorom

K E Wells

J C W Hildyard

D Bull

A Aartsma-Rus

D J Wells



Abstract

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is an X-linked, recessive muscular dystrophy in which the absence of the dystrophin protein leads to fibrosis, inflammation and oxidative stress, resulting in loss of muscle tissue. Drug repurposing, i.e. using drugs already approved for other disorders, is attractive as it decreases development time. Recent studies suggested that simvastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug used for cardiovascular diseases, has beneficial effects on several parameters in mdx mice. To validate properly the effectiveness of simvastatin, two independent labs tested the effects of 12-week simvastatin treatment in either young (starting at 4 weeks of age) or adult (starting at 12 weeks of age) mdx mice. In neither study were benefits of simvastatin treatment observed on muscle function, histology or expression of genes involved in fibrosis, regeneration, oxidative stress and autophagy. Unexpectedly, although the treatment protocol was similar, simvastatin plasma levels were found be much lower than observed in a previous study. In conclusion, in two laboratories, simvastatin did not ameliorate disease pathology in mdx mice, which could either be due to the ineffectiveness of simvastatin itself or due to the low simvastatin plasma levels following oral administration via the food.

Citation

Verhaart, I. E. C., Cappellari, O., Tanganyika-de Winter, C. L., Plomp, J. J., Nnorom, S., Wells, K. E., …Wells, D. J. (2020). Simvastatin Treatment Does Not Ameliorate Muscle Pathophysiology in a Mouse Model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Journal of Neuromuscular Diseases, 1-19

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 4, 2020
Publication Date Oct 5, 2020
Deposit Date Oct 15, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Neuromuscular Diseases
Print ISSN 2214-3599
Publisher IOS Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Pages 1-19
Public URL https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1375425

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