Fig. 8

Cells cultured from muscle of MND patients produce fewer desmin-positive myoblasts, compared those from matched non-MND donors. A Representative visual field of desmin-positive cells cultured from matched control donors (Con, non-MND) and MND patients, black bars in B indicate the relative pairing of Con (non-MND) with MND samples. Scale bar = 40 μm. B Percentage of cells that stained positive for desmin, 3 days after removal of the growth medium (mean ± SD). Each symbol represents results from one non-MND or MND donor (averaged across 4–7 visual  fields per cultured muscle sample). Cells cultured from MND donor muscle revealed a lower percentage of myoblasts, when compared to their matched non-MND control muscle culture. C Pooled data showing a significantly lower percentage of desmin-positive cells in cultures from MND muscle compared to cultures from control (Con) muscle. All data presented as mean ± SD. For C, data analyzed by unpaired t test where *p ≤ 0.05