Interleukin-15 administration improves diaphragm muscle pathology and function in dystrophic mdx mice

Abstract

Interleukin (IL)-15, a cytokine expressed in skeletal muscle, has been shown to have muscle anabolic effects in vitro and to slow muscle wasting in rats with cancer cachexia. Whether IL-15 has therapeutic potential for diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is unknown. We examined whether IL-15 administration could ameliorate the dystrophic pathology in the diaphragm muscle of the mdx mouse, an animal model for DMD. Four weeks of IL-15 treatment improved diaphragm strength, a highly significant finding because respiratory function is a mortality predictor in DMD. Enhanced diaphragm function was associated with increased muscle fiber cross-sectional area and decreased collagen inf..