Our results consistently revealed a significantly higher proportion of TUNEL-positive nuclei, downregulation of anti-apoptotic BCL-2 in the Hspa4-KO muscles, indicating that increased apoptosis, probably due to impaired autophagy, may be one of the reasons for the skeletal myopathy observed in Hspa4-KO muscles. This evidence concerns the gene HSPA4 and Skeletal myopathy.