The frequency of revertants in mdx mouse genetic models for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The mdx mouse has been used for the development of cellular and gene therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The relatively frequent occurrence of dystrophin-positive muscle cells called revertants has hampered these efforts by interfering with data interpretation. The mdx4cv and mdx5cv dystrophin mouse mutants have approximately 10-fold fewer revertants than the mdx mutant at both 2 and 6 mo. The mdx3cv dystrophin mouse mutant may be a useful model for some types of human dystrophin deficiencies in which the levels of dystrophin are low but not completely absent.