Résumé :
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Soy isoflavones have been reported to have antioxidant bioactivities, scavenging free radicals and increasing antioxidant protein expression, and also to inhibit the transcription factor NF-kB. We showed in previous studies that the inhibition of the transcription factor NF-kB throught drugs with also antioxidant properties, have beneficial effects in mdx mice. The drugs used are not available for clinical studies. We tested whether genistein and flavocoxid, supplements with known antioxidant and antinflammatory properties readily available for clinical use, could have a beneficial effect on muscle function, morphology and biochemical pattern in mdx mice. Five-week old mdx mice received for five weeks either genistein (2 mg/kg i.p. daily), flavocoxid (5 mg/kg i.p. daily) or vehicle. Flavonoids treatment 1) increased forelimb strength ( p<0.05) and strength normalized to weight (p<0.05) and decreased fatigue (p<0.05); 2) reduced serum creatine-kinase levels (p<0.01); 3) increased GPX activity and reduced markers of oxidative stress (p<0.05); 4) blunted NF-?B DNA-binding activity (p<0.05); 5) reduces muscle necrosis (p<0.01) and enhances regeneration (p<0.05) with an augmented number of myogenin-positive satellite cells and myonuclei, and of developmental myosin heavy chain-positive fibers. Our results suggest that these flavonoids might have a beneficial effect on muscle function and morphology in mdx mice. Further studies are needed to investigate the biochemical substrates of such encouraging preliminary results taking into account that these supplements could be easily introduced in the daily diet of patients with DMD.
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