Aldolase Activity in Normal and Dystrophic Mouse Muscle

Abstract

Aldolase activity and nitrogen content of the muscle were deteriniiled in hereditary muscular dystrophic mice and their normal litter mates a t various ages. Aldolase activity was found to decrease in dystrophic muscle when expressed per mg of wet tissue but showed an increase a t later stages of the disease when expressed per mg of total nitrogen in muscle. Total nitrogen content of dystrophic muscle decreased considerably during the evolution of the disease. In normal mice, the muscle aldolase activity increases with age.

Comparison of the protein-synthesizing machinery in the skeletal muscle of normal and dystrophic Bar Harbor mice

“…For example, in mice dystrophy is accompanied by a pronounced increase in the muscle content of RNA and DNA (Coleman & Ashworth, 1959;Girkin, Fitch & Dinning, 1962;Krupnick, Casa & Rosenkrantz, 1964;Srivastava, 1968) and an elevated rate of synthesis and turnover of proteins and nucleic acids (Simon, Lessell, Gross & Milhorat, 1958;Coleman & Ashworth, 1959;Kruh, Dreyfus, Schapira & Gey, 1960;Srivastava, 1968). However, these conclusions were derived from data expressed on the basis of g. wet weight or soluble non-collagen nitrogen, both of which demonstrably changed in the course of the disease (Nichol, 1964;Srivastava & Berlinguet, 1964;Berlinguet & Srivastava, 1966;Srivastava, 1968). The possibility that many of the observed effects could result from a decrease in the volume of the dystrophic muscle appears not to have been considered.…”