A majority of the identified factors - TNNI2, CAMK2A/B, ANP32B, THBS4, PCNA, CKM - were previously described in DMD boys and in mdx mouse55, 56, 61, 69, confirming a rich set of common protein biomarkers to assess pre-clinical and clinical studies and supporting the usefulness of the SOMAscan assay as a discovery biomarker platform. This evidence concerns the gene THBS4 and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.