Electrolyte and lipid composition of skeletal and cardiac muscle in mice with hereditary muscular dystrophy

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Skeletal and cardiac muscle from strain 129 mice with hereditary muscular dystrophy and from their normal littermates were analyzed for sodium, potassium, total lipids and the separate lipid components. Dystrophic skeletal muscle contained 12–23% less potassium and 68–107% more sodium than the normal anatomical counterparts when referred to fat-free dry weight. Cardiac muscle from dystrophic mice did not differ from the normal in potassium content and had only 20% more total lipid. Fat content was substantially greater in dystrophic skeletal muscle than in normal muscle by the following percentages: 92% for total lipids, 168% for triglycerides, 140% for total cholesterol and 87% for nonesterified fatty acids assayed by infrared analysis. The phospholipid content of dystrophic and normal skeletal muscle, however, was approximately the same. The lack of information concerning interstitial connective tissue content of these tissues bars any precise interpretation of the electrolyte or lipid changes in this genetic myopathy.