Effects of myostatin deficiency on PGC-1α and FNDC5 expression in three different murine muscle types

Abstract Myostatin (MSTN) is a key negative regulator of muscle growth and development. Skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscles were isolated from MSTN knockout ( MSTN−∕− ) and control mice to investigate the effect of knocking out MSTN on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor 1 coactivator (PGC-1α)-III and fibronectin domain 5 (FNDC5) expression. Various molecular biology techniques were used to analyze the changes in PGC-1α-FNDC5 in different muscle types from MSTN−∕− mice. The expression levels of PGC-1α and FNDC5 in the skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscles of MSTN−∕− mice differed from those in the skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscles of normal mice. This study revealed that knocking out MSTN resulted in inconsistent PGC-1α and FNDC5 expression in specific muscles. It proved for the first time that MSTN deletion attenuated the expression of PGC-1α and FNDC5 in three different murine muscle types. MSTN deletion may have additional effects on the status ofFNDC5 expression. Further research, however, is needed to confirm this conclusion.