FIG 6.

Deletion of NCX1 (Slc8a1) attenuates skeletal-muscle pathology in Sgcd^−/− mice at early ages. (A) RT-PCR comparing the relative amounts of NCX1 and SERCA1 mRNAs in quadriceps from Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl and Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl MLC-Cre mice. The results were normalized to GAPDH mRNA. (B) Representative muscle histopathology (×200 magnification) in Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl (control) and Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl MLC-Cre mice at 6 weeks of age. (C) Percentages of centrally localized nuclei quantified from histological sections of the indicated muscles in Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl and Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl MLC-Cre mice at 6 weeks of age. *, P < 0.05 versus Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl mice. (D) Percent fibrotic area measured by Masson's trichrome staining from histological sections of the indicated muscles at 6 weeks of age. *, P < 0.05 versus Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl mice. (E) Percentages of fibers with centrally localized nuclei from histological sections in Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl and Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl MLC-Cre quadriceps, gastrocnemius, and diaphragm at 6 months of age. (F) Percent fibrotic area in histological sections in Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl and Sgcd^−/− Slc8a1^fl/fl MLC-Cre quadriceps, gastrocnemius, and diaphragm at 6 months of age. The error bars indicate SEM. Numbers in the bars represent the number of mice analyzed.