Rapid restitution of contractile dysfunction by synthetic copolymers in dystrophin-deficient single live skeletal muscle fibers.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by the lack of dystrophin, a cytoskeletal protein essential for the preservation of the structural integrity of the muscle cell membrane. DMD patients develop severe skeletal muscle weakness, degeneration, and early death. We tested here amphiphilic synthetic membrane stabilizers in mdx skeletal muscle fibers (flexor digitorum brevis; FDB) to determine their effectiveness in restoring contractile function in dystrophin-deficient live skeletal muscle fibers. After isolating FDB fibers via enzymatic digestion and trituration from thirty-three adult male mice (9 C57BL10, 24 mdx), these were plated on a laminin-coated coverslip and treated with poloxamer 188 (P188; PEO-PPO-PEO; 8400 g/mol), architecturally inverted triblock (PPO-PEO-PPO, 10,700 g/mol), and diblock (PEO-PPO-C, 4200 g/mol) copolymers. We assessed the twitch kinetics of sarcomere length (SL) and intracellular Ca transient by Fura-2AM by field stimulation (25 V, 0.2 Hz, 25 °C). Twitch contraction peak SL shortening of mdx FDB fibers was markedly depressed to 30% of the dystrophin-replete control FDB fibers from C57BL10 (P < 0.001). Compared to vehicle-treated mdx FDB fibers, copolymer treatment robustly and rapidly restored the twitch peak SL shortening (all P < 0.05) by P188 (15 μM =  + 110%, 150 μM =  + 220%), diblock (15 μM =  + 50%, 150 μM =  + 50%), and inverted triblock copolymer (15 μM =  + 180%, 150 μM =  + 90%). Twitch peak Ca transient from mdx FDB fibers was also depressed compared to C57BL10 FDB fibers (P < 0.001). P188 and inverted triblock copolymer treatment of mdx FDB fibers increased the twitch peak Ca transient (P < 0.001). This study shows synthetic block copolymers with varied architectures can rapidly and highly effectively enhance contractile function in live dystrophin-deficient skeletal muscle fibers.