Cytokines and growth factors in Duchene muscular dystrophy patients

ABSTRACT

Dystrophin deficiency associated with Duchene muscular dystrophy [DMD] results in chronic inflammation and severe skeletal muscle degeneration, where the extent of muscle fibrosis contributes to disease severity. The microenvironment of dystrophic muscles is associated with variation in levels of cytokine and growth factors. Most of the current researches test for such cytokines and growth factors in tissue biopsies, which is an invasive technique. Of the present study is to investigate whether cytokines and growth factors, as indicators of inflammatory response, can be detected in blood of DMD patients as non-invasive technique. Accordingly the cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF TNF-alpha], as well as the growth factors basic fibroblast growth factor [bFGF] and vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] were measured in blood of 24 boys with DMD diagnosed clinically and at the molecular level versus 20 age matching healthy boys. Showed a significant increases in TNF-alpha [30.2 +/- 9.5 vs. 3.6 +/- 0.9 pg/ml] and bFGF [21.7 +/- 10.3 vs. 4.75 +/- 2.2 pg/ml.], while VEGF was significantly decreased [190 +/- 115 vs. 210 +/- 142 pg/ml] in blood of DMD patients compared to controls. Results provide further proof that inflammatory response is associated with DMD pathogenesis and favours the use of biomarkers in blood of such patients as a non invasive technique