Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology / edited by the Gaetano Conte Academy for the study of striated muscle diseases
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Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is characterized by increased muscle damage and an abnormal blood flow after muscle contraction leading to a state of functional ischemia. Abundant evidence suggests that endothelial circulating progenitor cells (EPCs) play an important role in mediating vascular and muscle repair mechanisms and that the stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1 alpha chemokine is responsible for both progenitor cell mobilization from the bone marrow to peripheral blood and homing to the sites of vascular and tissue injury. ⋯ Results showed a significant increase in the number of mononuclear cells bearing EPC markers, HIF-1alpha mRNA expression and serum (SDF)-1 alpha, indicating that regeneration is an ongoing process in these patients. However, this regeneration cannot counterbalance the damage induced by dystrophine mutation.