Glycine enhances satellite cell proliferation, cell transplantation and oligonucleotide efficacy in dystrophic muscle

Abstract The need to distribute therapy evenly systemically throughout the large muscle volume within the body makes Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) therapy a challenge. Cell and exon-skipping therapies are promising but have limited effects, thus enhancing their therapeutic potency is of paramount importance to increase the accessibility of these therapies to DMD patients. Here we demonstrate that co-administered glycine improves phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PMO) potency in mdx mice with marked functional improvement and up to 50-fold increase of dystrophin in abdominal muscles compared to PMO in saline. Glycine boosts satellite cell proliferation and muscle regeneration by increasing activation of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and replenishing the one-carbon unit pool. The expanded regenerating myofiber population then results in increased PMO uptakes. Glycine also augments the transplantation efficiency of exogenous satellite cells and primary myoblasts in mdx mice. Our data provide evidence that glycine enhances satellite cell proliferation, cell transplantation and oligonucleotide efficacy in mdx mice, and thus has therapeutic utility for cell therapy and drug delivery in muscle wasting diseases.