Myostatin (MSTN)

GDF8; Growth Differentiation Factor 8

SPN	V185
HGNC	4223
MGI	95691
PubMed	10976104
RGD	3115
UniProt	O14793
Wiki	Myostatin

Myostatin  is a growth factor that limits muscle tissue growth, i.e. higher concentrations of myostatin in the body may cause the individual to have less developed muscles. The myostatin protein is produced primarily in skeletal muscle cells, circulates in the blood and acts on muscle tissue, apparently by slowing down the development of muscle stem cells. The precise mechanism remains unknown. Its functions in non-mammalian vertebrates appear to be somewhat conserved as muscle-specific actions have been demonstrated in birds. However, it is produced in many different fish tissues, suggesting that it may regulate more than just muscle mass in these vertebrates. Human Myostatin consists of two identical subunits, each consisting of 110 amino acid residues. Its total molecular weight is 25.0 kDa.

Reference

"Double muscling in cattle due to mutations in the myostatin gene."
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 94:12457-12461(1997) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract]

"Organization of the human myostatin gene and expression in healthy men and HIV-infected men with muscle wasting."
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 95:14938-14943(1998) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract]

"Human adaptive evolution at myostatin (GDF8), a regulator of muscle growth."
Am. J. Hum. Genet. 79:1089-1097(2006) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract]

"The status, quality, and expansion of the NIH full-length cDNA project: the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC)."
Genome Res. 14:2121-2127(2004) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract]

"Regulation of myostatin in vivo by growth and differentiation factor-associated serum protein-1: a novel protein with protease inhibitor and follistatin domains."
Mol. Endocrinol. 17:1144-1154(2003) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract]

"Myostatin mutation associated with gross muscle hypertrophy in a child."
N. Engl. J. Med. 350:2682-2688(2004) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract]

"Characterization of follistatin-related gene as a negative regulatory factor for activin family members during mouse heart development."
J. Med. Invest. 54:276-288(2007) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract]