title: Regulation of body mass growth through activin type IIB receptor in teleost fish.
abstract: Myostatin is a TGF-beta family member that plays a key role in regulating skeletal muscle growth. Previous studies in mammals have demonstrated that myostatin is capable of binding the two activin type II receptors. Additionally, activin type II receptors have been shown to be capable of binding a number of other TGF-beta family members besides myostatin. An injection of a soluble form of activin type IIB receptor obtained from CHO cells into wild-type mice generated up to a 60% increase in muscle mass in 2 weeks. The knowledge on the role of activin receptors in fish is limited. In the present study, we examined the growth effect of administering a recombinant, soluble form of goldfish activin type IIB receptor extracellular domain to juvenile and larval goldfish (Carassius auratus), African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) larvae and tilapia (Oreochromis aureus) larvae. We have expressed the goldfish activin type IIB receptor extracellular domain in the yeast Pichia pastoris and we have demonstrated for the first time that this recombinant molecule stimulates growth in teleost fish in a dose-dependent manner. We provide evidence that this body weight increase is achieved by an increase in muscle mass and protein content. Histological analysis of the goldfish muscle revealed that treated fish exhibited hyperplasia as compared to controls. These findings contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms that regulate growth in non-mammalian vertebrates and suggest a powerful biotechnology approach to improving fish growth in aquaculture.
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Biotechnology Department, Animal Biotechnology Division, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Ave. 31e/158 y 190, P.O. Box 6162, Havana 10 600, Cuba.
authors.forename: Yamila
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Carpio
authors.forename: Jannel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Acosta
authors.forename: Reynold
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.forename: Yaimín
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Santisteban
authors.forename: Aniel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sanchéz
authors.forename: Mario Pablo
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Estrada
mesh_terms: D030301:Activin Receptors, Type II / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002397:Catfishes; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006054:Goldfish; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D009132:Muscles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D055435:Myostatin / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017210:Tilapia
chemical_list: D055435:Myostatin; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D030301:Activin Receptors, Type II