DMD and Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Similarly, α7β1 integrin is critical for maintaining stability of the myofiber sarcolemma, and can partially compensate in this regard if the DGC is dysfunctional.43 In skeletal muscle of both DMD patients and the mdx mouse, α7β1 integrin is up-regulated to compensate for the lack of dystrophin, and the resulting instability of the DGC.44