RNA-seq comparison of whole muscle between WT mice, dystrophic mice, and P2rx7-null dystrophic mice

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a debilitating and typically fatal X-linked progressive neuromuscular disorder that results in progressive muscle degeneration aggravated by sterile inflammation. The P2RX7 purinoceptor is an extracellular ATP-gated ion channel expressed in immune cells, and has been targeted in treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases. In particular, P2xr7 receptor abnormalities have been demonstrated in mdx dystrophic mice, a model for DMD lacking expression of the full length dystrophin transcript through a single point mutation in exon 23. Here, we looked at the differential effects in gene expression regulation in whole muscle in dystrophic mdx mice with or without ablation of the P2rx7 purinoceptor.