Antisense polynucleotides and their use in pharmaceutical compositions to induce exon skipping in targeted exons of the gamma sarcoglycan gene are provided , along with methods of preventing or treating dystrophic diseases such as Limb -Girdle Muscular Dystrophy. One aspect the disclosure provides an isolated antisense polynucleotide wherein the polynucleotide specifically hybridizes to an exon target region of a gamma sarcoglycan RNA, wherein the exon is selected from the group consisting of exon 4 (SEQ ID NO:1) exon 5 (SEQ ID NO: 2), exon 6 (SEQ ID NO: 3) , exon 7 (SEQ ID NO: 4) and a combination thereof. In some embodiments , the antisense polynucleotide cannot form an RNase H substrate, and in further embodiments the antisense polynucleotide comprises a modified polynucleotide backbone.
