Destruction of muscle tissue and purine compound metabolism in hereditary muscular dystrophy

The distribution of purine compounds in the skeletal muscles of the anterior and posterior limbs of 129/Re mice with hereditary muscular dystrophy (HMD) was investigated in a comparative study. The results revealed unidirectional metabolic disorders in both groups of muscles which was manifested in a quantitative redistribution of phosphorus-containing purine components and a decrease in the pool of adenylates in muscle tissue. Elevated concentrations of purine metabolites (inosine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid) indicated an augmented metabolism of purines in this abnormality. Impairment of metabolic transformations of purines in the muscle tissue in HMD may be one of the factors responsible for the development of the pathological process in the muscle in the given disease.