Fig. 1.

Effect of NaGYY on movement, strength and gait in dys-1(eg33). (A) dys-1(eg33) had a lower thrash rate than WT. NaGYY treatment significantly improved the thrash rate of dys-1(eg33) in a dose-dependent manner (10 µM to 1 mM). The NaGYY hydrolysis compound (100 µM), which was unable to generate H₂S, was also assessed and showed no difference in thrash rate compared to dys-1(eg33), demonstrating that it is H₂S from NaGYY, and not the parent molecule or hydrolysis product formed after H₂S generation, that was providing the beneficial effect. For all strains and treatments, n = 10 with five replicates with three biological repeats for a total of 150 data points per violin. Results were analyzed with a two-way ANOVA. All significance points are compared to dys-1(eg33). *P < 0.05; ***P < 0.0001; ns, P > 0.05. (B) The dys-1 mutant had reduced strength compared to WT animals. NaGYY(100 µM) improved the strength of dys-1(eg33) animals beyond WT levels. For all strains and treatment groups, n = 21 to 33. Results were analyzed with a one-way ANOVA. All significance points are compared to dys-1(eg33). ***P < 0.0001. (C) Activity parameters that decline with age also declined in the DMD worm model. NaGYY (100 µM) improved wave-initiation rate, brush stroke, and activity index, but not travel speed. (D) Morphological parameters which increase with age were also increased in the DMD model, with the exception of curling (no significant difference with respect to WT animals). NaGYY (100 µM) improved body-wave number and stretch, but did not improve asymmetry or curling. For all strains and treatments, n = 74 to 79. Results were analyzed by using a Kruskal–Wallis test. All significance points were compared to dys-1(eg33). *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.0001. ns, P > 0.05. Results are presented as a violin plot to show the frequency distribution of the data; the solid line represents the median, and the quartiles are represented by the dotted lines.