Inhibition of myostatin and related signaling pathways for the treatment of muscle atrophy in motor neuron diseases.

ABSTRACT: Myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth secreted by skeletal myocytes. In the past years, myostatin inhibition sparked interest among the scientific community for its potential to enhance muscle growth and to reduce, or even prevent, muscle atrophy. These characteristics make it a promising target for the treatment of muscle atrophy in motor neuron diseases, namely, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which are rare neurological diseases, whereby the degeneration of motor neurons leads to progressive muscle loss and paralysis. These diseases carry a huge burden of morbidity and mortality but, despite this unfavorable scenario, several therapeutic advancements have been made in the past years. Indeed, a number of different curative ther

SUBMITTER: Abati E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9213329 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature