Altered deposition of extracellular matrix components in the skeletal muscle and lymph node of the MDX dystrophic mouse.

1. MDX mice derived from a colony of C57BL/10ScSn mice develop an X-linked recessive muscular dystrophy, thus providing an adequate model to study the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy. 2. Skeletal myofibers of MDX mutant mice were heterogeneous, with disorganization of myofilaments and the absence of immunolabelling for dystrophin with monoclonal antibody DY4/6D3. 3. Marked deposition of reticulin, collagenic fiber (types, I, IV) and laminin (LN) were consistently present mostly around lesioned and necrotic myofibers associated with an intense inflammatory reaction, whereas strong immunolabelling for TIII-C, TIV-C and FN was often associated with regenerated fibers. 4. During the onset (3 weeks of postnatal life) of disease and height of myonecrosis (5-6 weeks of postnatal life), popliteal lymph nodes showed dense argyrophilic meshwork, intense immunolabelling for collagens types I and IV, FN, LN and enlargement of the hili which were packed with mononuclear cells. Such alterations, albeit less intense, were still observed in MDX mice with 20 weeks of postnatal life. 5. The results support the view that ECM components might be influencing the migration of inflammatory cells and the process of myonecrosis in the skeletal muscle of MDX dystrophic mice.