Myostatin is a protein that limits muscle growth by limiting the development of muscle stem cells. It was discovered in 1997 and has been found in humans, mice, and zebrafish. Myostatin manipulation has been cited as an approach to combat muscular dystrophy.
Myostatin is a protein that limits muscle growth in tissues where it can be found in high concentrations. Proteins like this that act as signaling molecules between cells are called growth factors. Myostatin was formerly known as Growth and Differentiation Factor 8. It is produced in muscle cells, then transported to other muscle cells through the bloodstream, binding to specific receptors on their cell membranes. Although the exact mechanism is unknown, this protein is somehow capable of limiting the development of muscle stem cells, cells responsible for differentiating into additional muscle cells, leading to a limit in muscle size.
Myostatin was discovered in 1997 when geneticists McPherron and Se-Jin Lee created “Mighty Mice,” mice that lack a certain gene and therefore cannot make this protein, possessing muscles about twice the size of mice. normal. The researchers commented that they “resemble Schwarzenegger mice.” The gene associated with this substance has been found in the genomes of humans, mice, and zebrafish. Certain types of cattle have been selectively bred to have faulty myostatin genes, leading to an increase in overall size.
In 2001, Se-Jin Lee was able to make mice with large muscles but an intact myostatin gene by inserting mutations that caused the release of myostatin-suppressing substances. In 2004, a German boy was found to have mutations in both copies of his myostatin-producing gene, meaning his body was unusually large. Researchers have begun looking for methods to suppress large-scale production with cattle. This has raised numerous bioethical questions.
The lower concentrations of this protein in the blood are responsible for muscle growth in young animals. Hormones trigger decreases in the release of myostatin. When an animal enters the adult phase, protein production fully resumes. Their discovery has led to questions about the presence of similar signals and their associated genes in other types of tissue, for example, brain tissue. Myostatin manipulation has also been cited as an approach to combat muscular dystrophy.
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