Here, I show that overexpression
of follistatin can also cause substantial muscle growth in mice lacking myostatin, demonstrating that other TGF - ß related ligands normally cooperate with myostatin to suppress muscle growth and that the capacity for enhancing muscle growth by targeting this signaling pathway is much larger than previously appreciated.
In order to determine whether this effect
of follistatin results solely from inhibition of myostatin activity, I analyzed the effect of this transgene in myostatin - null mice.
Not exact matches
Now a scientist reports that mice engineered to make extra
follistatin, which deactivates myostatin, have four times the muscle
of regular mice, suggesting a new target for drugs to fight muscle - wasting diseases such as muscular dystrophy.
By combining the
follistatin transgene with a myostatin null mutation, I have been able to generate mice with quadrupled muscle mass, which represents yet another doubling
of muscle mass compared to mice only lacking myostatin.
These results suggest that the additional muscle mass induced by
follistatin in Mstn null mice results from inhibition
of additional ligands that act predominantly to regulate muscle fiber growth.
«There are a lot
of hints in the scientific literature that versions
of activin or
follistatin or both are activated by injury and may play a role in regeneration in other animals, but pinning the role
of initiating regeneration to them hasn't happened yet.»
One
of these is the
follistatin related protein, FLRG, which has been demonstrated to be capable
of inhibiting myostatin activity in vitro.
«This regulation by activin and
follistatin may be conserved in other systems,» says Gaviño, who is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Univeristy
of California, San Francisco.
Mstn − / − mice carrying a
follistatin transgene had about four times the muscle mass
of wild type mice, demonstrating the existence
of other regulators
of muscle mass with similar activity to myostatin.
In addition to the propeptide, other binding proteins are capable
of regulating myostatin activity in vitro, including
follistatin [19], [21], FLRG [22], and Gasp - 1 [23].
However, I carried out a similar set
of experiments utilizing
follistatin transgenic mice, which demonstrated that these additional ligands do play a major role in suppressing muscle growth.
I have presented data showing that FLRG, like
follistatin, can promote muscle growth when expressed as a transgene in skeletal muscle and that both
of these molecules appear to act by blocking not only myostatin but also other ligands with similar activity to myostatin.
It is the flip - side
of myostatin, as increased
follistatin blocks the activity
of myostatin: either increased
follistatin or reduced myostatin produce similar outcomes in animal studies, with treated individuals demonstrating increased muscle mass.
Follistatin: Increased follistatin produces increased muscle growth, a potentially useful compensation for the loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs
Follistatin: Increased
follistatin produces increased muscle growth, a potentially useful compensation for the loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs
follistatin produces increased muscle growth, a potentially useful compensation for the loss
of muscle mass and strength that occurs with aging.
For example, cluster 5
of the concise «Time Series», which consists
of transiently induced genes around day 3
of differentiation, similarly to Global Cluster 30, contains the same transcripts, but in addition, it also includes T - brachyury, Axin2, Mesp2, Fgf8, Wnt8a, Sp5, Sp8,
Follistatin, Mix1 and Lim1.
Secondly, the study lasted just 2 weeks, and yes favorable results were obtained, via an average change
of +49.2 % (
follistatin) to -16.6 % (myostatin), however the study duration was far from sufficient to observe muscle growth differences.
It is also important to note that these results were observed in middle aged people, who possess higher levels
of myostatin and lower
follistatin to begin with.
Super-DMZ Rx 5.0 tackles this problem head - on by employing one
of the most effective natural myostatin inhibitors on the market, which has been clinically proven to not only increase
follistatin production, but decrease myostatin levels as well.
• Increased
follistatin production • Decreased myostatin levels • Increased production
of Myf5, MEF2A, Myogenin, GAPDH, and MyoD • Increased protein synthesis • Enhanced muscle strength
I'll talk more about myostatin and
follistatin next, but for now just know that the holy grail
of building muscle is to inhibit myostatin.