Follistatin 344
Status
No approved product. No FDA-approved labeling exists. Not an FDA-approved medicine in any form reviewed for this entry; other countries were not verified.
What it is
A protein studied in animals for blocking myostatin signaling.
What published research measured
A naturally occurring glycoprotein that binds and neutralizes myostatin and other TGF-beta family members, removing a brake on muscle growth. The biology is real and striking in animals — follistatin overexpression produces large increases in muscle mass in rodents and non-human primates — and it has been trialled in humans, but as gene therapy rather than as an injected peptide. Small trials of AAV-delivered follistatin in Becker muscular dystrophy and inclusion body myositis have been published. No trial has tested injected follistatin protein in humans for muscle growth, and the pharmacokinetics work against it: circulating follistatin is cleared quickly and binds targets broadly. Because myostatin inhibition affects tissue well beyond skeletal muscle, including cardiac and reproductive tissue, systemic effects are not confined to the intended target.
Source
AAV-delivered follistatin gene therapy trials in Becker muscular dystrophy and inclusion body myositis
Sources
No linked primary source is on file for this entry yet.
Educational use only, never medical advice. No doses.