Laminin-α2 Chain-Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy: Pathophysiology and Development of Treatment.
Author
Summary, in English
Laminin-211 is a major constituent of the skeletal muscle basement membrane. It stabilizes skeletal muscle and influences signal transduction events from the myomatrix to the muscle cell. Mutations in the gene encoding the α2 chain of laminin-211 lead to congenital muscular dystrophy type 1A (MDC1A), a life-threatening disease characterized by severe hypotonia, progressive muscle weakness, and joint contractures. Common complications include severely impaired motor ability, respiratory failure, and feeding difficulties. Several adequate animal models for laminin-α2 chain deficiency exist and analyses of different MDC1A mouse models have led to a significant improvement in our understanding of MDC1A pathogenesis. Importantly, the animal models have been indispensable tools for the preclinical development of new therapeutic approaches for laminin-α2 chain deficiency, highlighting a number of important disease driving mechanisms that can be targeted by pharmacological approaches. In this chapter, I will describe laminin-211 and discuss the cellular and molecular pathophysiology of MDC1A as well as progression toward development of treatment.
Department/s
Publishing year
2015
Language
English
Pages
31-60
Publication/Series
Current Topics in Membranes
Volume
76
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Academic Press
Topic
- Cell and Molecular Biology
Status
Published
Research group
- Muscle Biology
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1063-5823