Resolvin-D2 targets myogenic cells and improves muscle regeneration in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Junio Dort, Zakaria Orfi, Paul Fabre, Thomas Molina, Talita C. Conte, Karine Greffard, Ornella Pellerito, Jean-François Bilodeau and Nicolas A. Dumont ()
Additional contact information
Junio Dort: CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center
Zakaria Orfi: CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center
Paul Fabre: CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center
Thomas Molina: CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center
Talita C. Conte: CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center
Karine Greffard: Endocrinology and Nephrology Unit, CHU de Québec-Laval University Research Center
Ornella Pellerito: CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center
Jean-François Bilodeau: Endocrinology and Nephrology Unit, CHU de Québec-Laval University Research Center
Nicolas A. Dumont: CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Abstract Lack of dystrophin causes muscle degeneration, which is exacerbated by chronic inflammation and reduced regenerative capacity of muscle stem cells in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). To date, glucocorticoids remain the gold standard for the treatment of DMD. These drugs are able to slow down the progression of the disease and increase lifespan by dampening the chronic and excessive inflammatory process; however, they also have numerous harmful side effects that hamper their therapeutic potential. Here, we investigated Resolvin-D2 as a new therapeutic alternative having the potential to target multiple key features contributing to the disease progression. Our in vitro findings showed that Resolvin-D2 promotes the switch of macrophages toward their anti-inflammatory phenotype and increases their secretion of pro-myogenic factors. Moreover, Resolvin-D2 directly targets myogenic cells and promotes their differentiation and the expansion of the pool of myogenic progenitor cells leading to increased myogenesis. These effects are ablated when the receptor Gpr18 is knocked-out, knocked-down, or blocked by the pharmacological antagonist O-1918. Using different mouse models of DMD, we showed that Resolvin-D2 targets both inflammation and myogenesis leading to enhanced muscle function compared to glucocorticoids. Overall, this preclinical study has identified a new therapeutic approach that is more potent than the gold-standard treatment for DMD.

Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26516-0 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-26516-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26516-0

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().