Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether apoptosis related proteins (Bax and caspase-3) are present in the masseter muscle of ten-week-old male mdx mice, the animal model for human Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and to infer the lytic mechanism of the masseter muscle fiber. Immunohistochemistry was performed toward fresh frozen sections using the antibodies of Bax, active caspase-3 and single stranded DNA (ssDNA). As a result, the localizations of Bax and active caspase-3 and ssDNA positive areas were confirmed in lytic muscle fibers. It was suggested that the mitochondria dependent program cell death advanced about these areas. However, Bax localizations were detected in regenerated muscle fibers with central nucleus and nerve fibers in a perimysium. The relationship between these Bax localizations and cell death of the muscle fibers was not clear.
