The delta-sarcoglycan (SG) gene is deleted in hamsters with hereditary cardiomyopathies, Immunological analyses of heart before, but not after, the progression of cardiomyopathy (CM) revealed that the BIO 14.5 strain, a model of hypertrophic CM, heterogeneously preserved alpha- and II-SG with loss of beta- and delta-SG, In contrast, the TO-2 strain, a model of dilated CM, did not show,v either SG, Furthermore, in vivo transfer of the full length delta-SG gene to TO-2 hearts expressed all four SGs, Thus, this age- and strain-dependent features suggest a more feasible setting for TO-2 than BIO 14.6 to verify both CM progression and the efficacy of gene therapy, (C) 1999 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.