Myoglobin Subfractions: Abnormality in Duchenne Type of Progressive Muscular Dystrophy
Kazuo Miyoshi 1,
Kazuo Saijo 1,
Yojiro Kuryu 1,
Yasuo Oshima 1,
Masuhiro Nakano 1, and
Hisaomi Kawai 1
1 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan
Human metmyoglobin was separated electrophoretically into four subfractions: Mb1, Mb2, Mb3, and Mb4, which divide into at least two biochemically independent groups: Mb1 and Mb2, and Mb3, and Mb4. In normal subjects, Mb1 constituted the predominant component; Mb2, Mb3, and Mb4 were the minor components in this descending order. In the Duchenne type of progressive muscular dystrophy, on the contrary, a remarkable decrease in Mb1 and a concomitant increase in Mb3 were observed. This unique abnormality in the relative distribution of myoglobin subfractions was recognized only in the Duchenne type and not in other types of progressive muscular dystrophy or in other myopathies.
