DMD and Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Similarly, in the cardiac tissue of DMD murine models, such as mdx mice, the absence of dystrophin and other components of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC) compromises membrane integrity, particularly affecting the costameres — structures that transmit mechanical force from the sarcomere to the sarcolemma and the extracellular matrix (ECM) [8].