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J. Cell Biol.,
Volume 143, Number 3, November 2, 1998 849-859
5 Integrin



* Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Center for Cancer Research, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139;
Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Neurology and
Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305; § Department of Pathology, Tufts
University Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111; and
Department of Cell Biology and
Anatomy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
5-deficient mice die early in embryogenesis
(). To study the functions of
5 integrin later in mouse embryogenesis and during adult life
we generated
5
/
;+/+ chimeric mice. These animals contain
5-negative and positive cells randomly
distributed. Analysis of the chimerism by glucose-
6-phosphate isomerase (GPI) assay revealed that
5
/
cells contributed to all the tissues analyzed.
High contributions were observed in the skeletal muscle. The perinatal survival of the mutant chimeras was
lower than for the controls, however the subsequent life
span of the survivors was only slightly reduced compared with controls (). Histological
analysis of
5
/
;+/+ mice from late embryogenesis to adult life revealed an alteration in the skeletal muscle structure resembling a typical muscle dystrophy. Giant fibers, increased numbers of nuclei per fiber with altered position and size, vacuoli and signs of muscle
degeneration-regeneration were observed in head, thorax and limb muscles. Electron microscopy showed an
increase in the number of mitochondria in some muscle
fibers of the mutant mice. Increased apoptosis and immunoreactivity for tenascin-C were observed in mutant
muscle fibers. All the alterations were already visible at
late stages of embryogenesis. The number of altered
muscle fibers varied in different animals and muscles and was often increased in high percentage chimeric
animals. Differentiation of
5
/
ES cells or myoblasts showed that in vitro differentiation into myotubes was achieved normally. However proper adhesion and survival of myoblasts on fibronectin was
impaired. Our data suggest that a novel form of muscle
dystrophy in mice is
5-integrin-dependent.
5
1;
apoptosis
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