Strain- and age-dependent loss of sarcoglycan complex in cardiomyopathic hamster hearts and its re-expression by δ-sarcoglycan gene transfer in vivo (original) (raw)

The N N-sarcoglycan (SG) gene is deleted in hamsters with hereditary cardiomyopathies. Immunological analyses of heart before, but not after, the progression of cardiomyopathy (CM) revealed that the BIO 14.6 strain, a model of hypertrophic CM, heterogeneously preserved K K-and Q Q-SG with loss of L L-and N N-SG. In contrast, the TO-2 strain, a model of dilated CM, did not show either SG. Furthermore, in vivo transfer of the full length N N-SG gene to TO-2 hearts expressed all four SGs. Thus, this age-and strain-dependent features suggest a more feasible setting for TO-2 than BIO 14.6 to verify both CM progression and the efficacy of gene therapy.