RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Deficient skeletal muscle regeneration after injury induced by a Clostridium perfringens strain associated with gas gangrene JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 441204 DO 10.1101/441204 A1 Ana Mariel Zúñiga-Pereira A1 Carlos Carlos Santamaría A1 José María Gutiérrez A1 Alberto Alape-Girón A1 Marietta Flores-Díaz YR 2018 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/10/11/441204.abstract AB Very little is known about the muscle regeneration process that follows myonecrosis induced by C. perfringens, the main agent of gas gangrene. This study revealed that, in a murine model of the infection with a sublethal inoculum of C. perfringens, muscle necrosis occurs concomitantly with significant vascular damage, which limits the migration of inflammatory cells. A significant increase in cytokines that promote inflammation explains the presence of inflammatory infiltrate; however, an impaired IFNγ expression, a reduced number of Ml macrophages, a deficient phagocytic activity, and the prolongation of the permanence of inflammatory cells, lead to deficient muscle regeneration. The expression of TGFβ1 and the consequent accumulation of collagen in the muscle, likely contribute to the fibrosis observed 30 days after infection. These results provide new information on the pathogenesis of gas gangrene caused by C. perfringens, shed light on the basis of the poor muscle regenerative activity, and may open new perspectives for the development of novel therapies for patients suffering this disease.Author contributionsConceptualized, supervised and obtained funds for the project: MF-D; Conceived and designed experiments: MF-D, AA-G, AMZ-P, CS; Conducted experiments: AMZ-P, MF-D, CS; Analyzed data: MF-D, AA-G, AMZ-P, CS, JMG. Wrote the paper: MF-D, AA-G, AMZ-P; Edited the paper: MF-D, AA-G, AMZ-P, CS, JMG.