# NIH Reporter #1R21AR088867-01

Failure to resolve an adaptive stress state contributes to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Severity

**Recipient:** University of Southern California

**Award Amount:** $211,650.00
**Ceiling:** $211,650.00

**Awarded:** September 22, 2026

**Identifier:** 1R21AR088867-01

NIAMS/NIH awarded funding to the University of Southern California for research into how unresolved cellular stress may contribute to Duchenne muscular dystrophy severity and whether reducing stress can alter disease-associated cell states.

### Description

The project investigates whether failure to resolve a multicellular adaptive stress program after muscle fiber damage contributes to Duchenne muscular dystrophy severity. It will use immunofluorescence, a pilot Multiome analysis of muscle-associated cells from DMD mice, and a stress-reducing drug to test whether dystrophic cells can shift away from a diseased state.

[View original record](https://reporter.nih.gov/search/J7l2tQ4hHkqRePwGq3m5kA/project-details/11502706)