Fig. 4. Histological analysis of the skeletal muscle in SGCD^−/− pigs.

a HE-stained frozen sections of the skeletal muscles of WT and SGCD^−/− pigs (KO) at 8 weeks after birth. The skeletal muscles of week 8 SGCD^−/− animals showed necrosis (arrows), central nuclei (arrow heads), and hypertrophy (asterisks). Scale bars, 50 µm. b Skeletal muscle cryosections from WT and SGCD^−/− pigs (KO) at 8 weeks after birth were stained with antibodies against δ-SG (red) and the α-spectrin chain (green). Immunofluorescence analysis showed the lack of δ-SG expression in the muscle tissues of SGCD^−/− animals. Anti-spectrin antibodies were used to stain the sarcolemma. Scale bars, 50 µm.