Muscular Dystrophy in female Dogs

• Published in: Journal of veterinary internal medicine 2001-05, Vol.15 (3), p.240-244
• Main Authors: Shelton, G. Diane, Liu, Ling A., Guo, Ling T., Smith, Gail K., Christiansen, Jeffrey S., Thomas, William B., Smith, Mary O., Kline, Karen L., March, Philip A., Flegel, Thomas, Engvall, Eva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Breeding; Canine; Creatine Kinase - blood; Diagnostics; Dog Diseases - diagnosis; Dog Diseases - genetics; Dog Diseases - pathology; Dogs; Dystrophin; Dystrophin - analysis; Dystrophin - deficiency; Dystrophin-associated proteins; Female; Immunohistochemistry; Laminin; Laminin - analysis; Laminin - deficiency; Muscle; Muscular Dystrophy, Animal - diagnosis; Muscular Dystrophy, Animal - genetics; Muscular Dystrophy, Animal - pathology
• ISSN: 0891-6640; 1939-1676
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2001.tb02317.x

The most common form of muscular dystrophy in dogs and humans is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. The dystrophin gene is located on the X chromosome, and, therefore, disease‐causing mutations in dystrophin occur most often in males. Therefore, females with dystrophin deficiency or other forms of muscular dystrophy may be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Immunohisto‐chemistry was used to analyze dystrophin and a number of other muscle proteins associated with muscular dystrophy in humans, including sarcoglycans and laminin α2, in muscle biopsy specimens from 5 female dogs with pathologic changes consistent with muscular dystrophy. The female dogs were presented with a variety of clinical signs including generalized weakness, muscle wasting, tremors, exercise intolerance, gait abnormalities, and limb deformity. Serum creatine kinase activity was variably high. One dog had no detectable dystrophin in the muscle; another was mosaic, with some fibers normal and others partly dystrophin‐deficient. A 3rd dog had normal dystrophin but no detectable laminin α2. Two dogs could not be classified. This study demonstrates the occurrence of dystrophin‐ and laminin α2‐associated muscular dystrophy and the difficulty in clinical diagnosis of these disorders in female dogs.