Gastric emptying, small intestinal transit and fecal output in dystrophic (mdx) mice

• DOI: 10.1007/s12576-009-0060-8
• Publication Date: 2009-09-25T15:20:17Z
• Authors: Flavia Mulè; Antonella Amato; Rosa Serio
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; Physiology; Muscular Dystrophy, Animal; Duchenne muscular dystrophy; mdx mouse; Gastric emptying; Intestinal transit; Fecal output; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Disease Models, Animal; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; Gastric Emptying; Intestine, Small; Mice, Inbred mdx; Animals; Defecation; Gastrointestinal Motility; FORTHEM Alliance

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which results from deficiency in dystrophin, a sarcolemma protein of skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle, is characterized by progressive striated muscle degeneration, but various gastrointestinal clinical manifestations have been observed. The aim was to evaluate the possible impact of the dystrophin loss on the gastrointestinal propulsion in mdx mice (animal model for DMD). The gastric emptying of a carboxymethyl cellulose/phenol red dye non-nutrient meal was not significantly different at 20 min from gavaging between wild-type and mdx mice. The intestinal transit and the fecal output were significantly decreased in mdx versus normal animals, although the length of the intestine was similar in both animals. The present results provide evidence for motor intestinal alterations in mdx mice in in vivo conditions.