Key result
Myostatin antagonists show promise for containing muscle loss in animal models.
Why the study?
Myostatin is a potent inducer of muscle wasting, and understanding its molecular mechanisms is important for developing therapeutic strategies to alleviate muscle loss.
Myostatin is a key molecular driver of muscle wasting, and its antagonism represents a potential therapeutic strategy for cachexia, including cardiac cachexia.
Myostatin antagonism should not yet change cachexia care; leaves open translation of animal promise to human cardiac cachexia trials.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To describe the most relevant recent observations concerning the molecular mechanisms behind myostatin-induced muscle wasting. RECENT FINDINGS: The main theme of this review is to summarize the biology and function of myostatin. Myostatin is a secreted growth factor that negatively regulates muscle growth. While inactivation of myostatin leads to muscle growth in vivo, excess levels of myostatin induces cachectic-like muscle wasting. Molecular analyses reveal that excess levels of myostatin induce Atrogin-1 expression by reducing Akt phosphorylation and thereby increasing FoxO1 activity. Recent findings have further speculated that myostatin may also play a role in cardiac cachexia. SUMMARY: As myostatin is a potent inducer of muscle wasting, antagonists to myostatin have been speculated to have great therapeutic value in alleviating muscle wasting. Indeed, myostatin peptide antagonists and antibodies have shown great promise in containing muscle loss in animal models of muscle wasting. Given the beneficial effects of myostatin antagonists in animal models, clinical trials are underway with myostatin antibodies, peptibodies and soluble receptor. Therefore, this review article on the role of myostatin in muscle wasting is highly relevant to current themes in muscle biology.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
McFarlane et al. (2008) conducted a review in Muscle wasting and cachexia. Myostatin antagonists was evaluated. Myostatin is a potent inducer of muscle wasting, and myostatin antagonists have shown promise in containing muscle loss in animal models.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: