Myostatin and the control of skeletal muscle mass.
The mechanisms by which tissue size is controlled are poorly understood. Over 30 years ago, Bullough proposed the existence of chalones, which act as tissue-specific negative growth regulators. The recent discovery of myostatin suggests that negative regulation of tissue growth may be an important mechanism for controlling skeletal muscle mass and raises the possibility that growth inhibitors may also be involved in regulating the size of other tissues.
Lee
S J
SJ
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA. sjlee@jhmi.edu.
McPherron
A C
AC
D000818:Animals; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D055412:Growth Differentiation Factors; D006131:Growth Inhibitors / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D055435:Myostatin; D009929:Organ Size / Q000502:physiology*; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000502:physiology*
D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; C119153:Gdf11 protein, mouse; D055412:Growth Differentiation Factors; D006131:Growth Inhibitors; C525912:Mstn protein, mouse; D055435:Myostatin; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta