Taurine and Methylprednisolone Administration at Close Proximity to the Onset of Muscle Degeneration Is Ineffective at Attenuating Force Loss in the Hind-Limb of 28 Days Mice.

An increasing number of studies have shown supplementation with the amino acid taurine to have promise in ameliorating dystrophic symptoms in the mouse model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Here we build on this limited body of work by investigating the efficacy of supplementing mice with taurine postnatally at a time suggestive of when dystrophic symptoms would begin to manifest in humans, and when treatments would likely begin. mice were given either taurine ( tau), the steroid alpha methylprednisolone (PDN), or tau + PDN ( tau + PDN). Taurine (2.5% wt/vol) enriched drinking water was given from 14 days and PDN (1 mg/kg daily) from 18 days. Wild-type (WT, C57BL10/ScSn) mice were used as a control to mice to represent healthy tissue. In the mouse, peak damage occurs at 28 days, and in situ assessment of contractile characteristics showed that taurine, PDN, and the combined taurine + PDN treatment was ineffective at attenuating the force loss experienced by mice. Given the benefits of taurine as well as methylprednisolone reported previously, when supplemented at close proximity to the onset of severity muscle degeneration these benefits are no longer apparent.