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The skeletal muscle (SKM) injury biomarkers, skeletal troponin I (sTnI), myosin light chain 3 (Myl3), and creatine kinase muscle isoform (Ckm) have been shown recently to be more sensitive and specific for monitoring drug-induced SKM injury than the conventional biomarkers, aspartate transaminase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK) enzymatic assays in rat toxicology studies. To evaluate the utility of these SKM biomarkers across species, they were assessed in 2 dog models: a drug-induced injury study in Beagle dogs and a 160 km endurance exercise run completed by Alaskan sled dogs. In the drug-induced injury model, mean sTnI and Myl3 plasma levels were 6- and 18-fold, respectively, compared with baseline as early as Study Day (SD) 15, while mean plasma AST and CK levels did not increase, and biopsy samples were non-remarkable for histopathology prior to SD 29 when degeneration was first noted. Peak group mean plasma responses over baseline for sTnI, Myl3, and Ckm biomarkers were 96-, 103-, and 11-fold, respectively, compared with 2.5-fold for AST and 3.8-fold for CK-enzymatic (CK-enz) assay. In the sled dog sustained exercise model, the peak response for all biomarkers was observed at the first sampling (2 h) after the completion of the run. The sTnI, Myl3, and Ckm mean fold peak values compared with baseline were 170-, 120-, and 150-fold, respectively, while AST increased 7-fold and CK-enz increased 29-fold. These findings support the conclusion that sTnI, Myl3, and Ckm are sensitive early tissue leakage biomarkers for monitoring SKM injury and effects of exercise in dog, extending their utility across preclinical species beyond the rat, and provide further support to investigate their translational utility to clinical trial settings to monitor for drug-induced SKM injury and ensure patient safety., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Novel skeletal muscle (SKM) injury biomarkers that have recently been identified may outperform or add value to the conventional SKM injury biomarkers aspartate transaminase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK). The relative performance of these novel biomarkers of SKM injury including skeletal troponin I (sTnI), myosin light chain 3 (Myl3), CK M Isoform (Ckm), and fatty acid binding protein 3 (Fabp3) was assessed in 34 rat studies including both SKM toxicants and compounds with toxicities in tissues other than SKM. sTnI, Myl3, Ckm, and Fabp3 all outperformed CK or AST and/or added value for the diagnosis of drug-induced SKM injury (ie, myocyte degeneration/necrosis). In addition, when used in conjunction with CK and AST, sTnI, Myl3, CKm, and Fabp3 individually and collectively improved diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, as well as diagnostic certainty, for SKM injury and responded in a sensitive manner to low levels of SKM degeneration/necrosis in rats. These findings support the proposal that sTnI, Myl3, Ckm, and Fabp3 are suitable for voluntary use, in conjunction with CK and AST, in regulatory safety studies in rats to monitor drug-induced SKM injury and the potential translational use of these exploratory biomarkers in early clinical trials to ensure patient safety., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)