Figure 1. Sgcg^D2/129 mice replicate a range of severity and muscle group involvement similar to human muscular dystrophy.

Sgcg mice, a model for limb girdle muscular dystrophy, were studied on a mixed genetic background. At eight weeks of age, a relatively early time point in disease, Sgcg^D2/129 mice displayed significant variability in severity of membrane leak and fibrosis. Gross images are shown from the abdominal, diaphragm and quadriceps muscles, as well as the heart. Animals were injected with Evans blue dye to mark muscle damage, and this is seen as blue areas of muscles. Fibrosis appears as white patches or streaks, and turns otherwise translucent muscle opaque. Dye uptake and fibrosis often occur together, and individual animals can vary in how severely individual muscle groups are affected.