Objective: To observe dystrophin and utrophin expression in muscle tissues of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) mouse model (dko mouse) after having been treated with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) transplantation.
Methods: The fifth generation of MSCs, cultured in vitro, was transplanted into dko mice by tail vein. The fluorescent expression of dystrophin and utrophin in gastrocnemius muscle tissue of dko mouse was detected and the average optical density of positive fibers was calculated.
Results: MSCs that had been cultured for three generations had good homogeneousness and the immunological reaction after vein transplantation was low. There was an increasing tendency of dystrophin and utrophin fluorescent expression in sarcolemma of dko mouse within 5-20 weeks. Significant difference existed in fluorescent average optical density of positive fibers fifteen weeks before and after cell transplantation.
Conclusions: MSC has strong plasticity both in vitro and in vivo. MSC has a trend to reach the injured muscle tissues and turn into muscle fibers, which express dystrophin and utrophin. There is some plerosis function for myatrophy of dko mouse by MSC transplantation.