Myostatin

MSTN
Available structures
PDB	Ortholog search: PDBe RCSB
List of PDB id codes
	3HH2, 3SEK
Identifiers
Aliases	MSTN, GDF8, MSLHP, myostatin
External IDs	OMIM: 601788; MGI: 95691; HomoloGene: 3850; GeneCards: MSTN; OMA:MSTN - orthologs
Gene location (Human)
Chr.	Chromosome 2 (human)
End	190,062,729 bp
Gene location (Mouse)
Chr.	Chromosome 1 (mouse)
End	53,107,238 bp
RNA expression pattern
	Top expressed in
	testicle; ; vastus lateralis muscle; ; biceps brachii; ; muscle of thigh; ; ventricular zone; ; skeletal muscle tissue; ; gastrocnemius muscle; ; deltoid muscle; ; right adrenal cortex; ; left adrenal gland;
	Top expressed in
	gastrocnemius muscle; ; muscle of thigh; ; quadriceps femoris muscle; ; extensor digitorum longus muscle; ; extraocular muscle; ; plantaris muscle; ; masseter muscle; ; tibialis anterior muscle; ; thoracic diaphragm; ; zone of skin;
	More reference expression data
	n/a
Gene ontology
Molecular function	cytokine activity; heparin binding; protein binding; transforming growth factor beta receptor binding; growth factor activity; signaling receptor binding; protein homodimerization activity; identical protein binding;
Cellular component	cytoplasm; extracellular region; extracellular space;
Biological process	regulation of apoptotic process; negative regulation of protein kinase B signaling; negative regulation of myoblast differentiation; regulation of MAPK cascade; SMAD protein signal transduction; muscle cell cellular homeostasis; cell development; response to testosterone; positive regulation of pathway-restricted SMAD protein phosphorylation; muscle organ development; response to glucocorticoid; response to heat; response to electrical stimulus; negative regulation of myoblast proliferation; ovulation cycle process; cellular response to dexamethasone stimulus; negative regulation of muscle hypertrophy; response to estrogen; negative regulation of skeletal muscle satellite cell proliferation; positive regulation of transcription, DNA-templated; response to gravity; negative regulation of insulin receptor signaling pathway; skeletal muscle tissue regeneration; skeletal muscle atrophy; negative regulation of satellite cell differentiation; response to ethanol; negative regulation of skeletal muscle tissue growth; transforming growth factor beta receptor signaling pathway; response to muscle activity; negative regulation of kinase activity; regulation of signaling receptor activity; positive regulation of lamellipodium assembly; positive regulation of macrophage chemotaxis; myoblast migration involved in skeletal muscle regeneration;
	Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
	2660
	17700
	ENSG00000138379
	ENSMUSG00000026100
	O14793
	O08689
	NM_005259
	NM_010834
	NP_005250
	NP_034964
	Wikidata
View/Edit Human	View/Edit Mouse

Myostatin (also known as growth differentiation factor 8, abbreviated GDF8) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MSTN gene. Myostatin is a myokine that is produced and released by myocytes and acts on muscle cells to inhibit muscle growth. Myostatin is a secreted growth differentiation factor that is a member of the TGF beta protein family.

Myostatin is assembled and produced in skeletal muscle before it is released into the blood stream. Most of the data regarding the effects of myostatin comes from studies performed on mice.

Animals either lacking myostatin or treated with substances that block the activity of myostatin have significantly more muscle mass. Furthermore, individuals who have mutations in both copies of the myostatin gene (popularly called the "Hercules gene") have significantly more muscle mass and are stronger than normal. There is hope that studies into myostatin may have therapeutic application in treating muscle wasting diseases such as muscular dystrophy.