GDF11 promotes osteogenesis as opposed to MSTN, and follistatin, a MSTN/GDF11 inhibitor, increases muscle mass but weakens bone.

ABSTRACT: Growth and differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) and myostatin (MSTN) are closely related transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) family members, but their biological functions are quite distinct. While MSTN has been widely shown to inhibit muscle growth, GDF11 regulates skeletal patterning and organ development during embryogenesis. Postnatal functions of GDF11, however, remain less clear and controversial. Due to the perinatal lethality of Gdf11 null mice, previous studies used recombinant GDF11 protein to prove its postnatal function. However, recombinant GDF11 and MSTN proteins share nearly identical biochemical properties, and most GDF11-binding molecules have also been shown to bind MSTN, generating the possibility that the effects mediated by recombinant GDF11 protein actually repro

SUBMITTER: Suh J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7060712 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature