Evaluation of skeletal and cardiac muscle function after chronic administration of thymosin beta-4 in the dystrophin deficient mouse

Spurney CF, Cha HJ, Sali A, Pandey GS, Pistilli E, Guerron AD, Gordish-Dressman H, Hoffman EP, Nagaraju K · PLoS One

Treated mdx mice had significantly more regenerating skeletal muscle fibres, but grip strength, systolic cardiac function and skeletal and cardiac fibrosis were all unchanged — a histological effect with no functional payoff over six months.

Population

Exercised mdx (dystrophin-deficient) mice and wild-type controls

Intervention

150 µg thymosin β4 twice weekly for six months

Comparator

Untreated mdx and wild-type mice

Limitations

One disease model; the dissociation between a tissue marker and function is the point, and it is a caution for reading histology-only healing results.