Comparative gel‐based proteomic analysis of chemically crosslinked complexes in dystrophic skeletal muscle

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a highly progressive muscle wasting disease with a complex pathophysiology that is based on primary abnormalities in the dystrophin gene. In order to study potential changes in the oligomerization of high‐molecular‐mass protein complexes in dystrophic skeletal muscle, chemical crosslinking was combined with mass spectrometric analysis. The biochemical stabilization of protein interactions was carried out with the homo‐bifunctional and amine‐reactive agent bis[sulfosuccinimidyl]suberate, followed by protein shift analysis in one‐dimensional gels. The proteomic approach identified 11 and 15 protein species in wild type versus dystrophic microsomal fractions, respectively, as well as eight common proteins, with an electrophoretic mobility shift to very high molecular mass following chemical crosslinking. In dystrophin‐deficient preparations, several protein species with an increased tendency of oligomerisation were identified as components of the sarcolemma and its associated intra‐ and extracellular structures, as well as mitochondria. This included the sarcolemmal proteins myoferlin and caveolin, the cytoskeletal components vimentin and tubulin, extracellular collagen alpha‐1(XII) and the mitochondrial trifunctional enzyme and oxoglutarate dehydrogenase. These changes are probably related to structural and metabolic adaptations, especially cellular repair processes, which agrees with the increased oligomerisation of myosin‐3, myosin‐9 and actin, and their role in cellular regeneration and structural adjustments in dystrophinopathy.