Cited by 212Adipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic DiseasesAdipose Tissue and MetabolismMuscle Physiology and Disorders

Inhibition of myostatin in mice improves insulin sensitivity via irisin-mediated cross talk between muscle and adipose tissues

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Dong, J, Dong, Y, Dong, Y, Chen, F, Mitch, W E, Zhang, L·2016·International Journal of Obesity

Abstract

Background/objective In mice, a high-fat diet (HFD) induces obesity, insulin resistance and myostatin production. We tested whether inhibition of myostatin in mice can reverse these HFD-induced abnormalities.Subjects/methods C57BL/6 mice were fed a HFD for 16 weeks including the final 4 weeks some mice were treated with an anti-myostatin peptibody. Body composition, the respiratory exchange ratio plus glucose and insulin tolerance tests were examined. Myostatin knock down in C2C12 cells was performed using small hairpin RNA lentivirus. Adipose tissue-derived stem cells were cultured to measure their responses to conditioned media from C2C12 cells lacking myostatin, or to recombinant myostatin or irisin. Isolated peritoneal macrophages were treated with myostatin or irisin to determine whether myostatin or irisin induce inflammatory mechanisms.Results In HFD-fed mice, peptibody treatment stimulated muscle growth and improved insulin resistance. The improved glucose and insulin tolerances were confirmed when we found increased muscle expression of p-Akt and the glucose transporter, Glut4. In HFD-fed mice, the peptibody suppressed macrophage infiltration and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in both the muscle and adipocytes. Inhibition of myostatin caused the conversion of white (WAT) to brown adipose tissue, whereas stimulating fatty acid oxidation and increasing energy expenditure. The related mechanism is a muscle-to-fat cross talk mediated by irisin. Myostatin inhibition increased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, coactivator 1α expression and irisin production in the muscle. Irisin then stimulated WAT browning. Irisin also suppresses inflammation and stimulates macrophage polarization from M1 to M2 types.Conclusions These results uncover a metabolic pathway from an increase in myostatin that suppresses irisin leading to the activation of inflammatory cytokines and insulin resistance. Thus, myostatin is a potential therapeutic target to treat insulin resistance of type II diabetes as well as the shortage of brown/beige fat in obesity.

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Crossref · 10.1038/ijo.2015.200

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  • In vitro trials show myostatin inhibitors increase muscle mass and strength, suppress irisin, downregulate inflammatory cytokines and improve insulin resistance.

    “In vitro trials demonstrate that myostatin inhibitors increase muscle mass and strength446, suppress irisin, downregulate inflammatory cytokines and improve insulin resistance447.”

    From Sarcopenic obesity in older adults: aetiology, epidemiology and treatment strategies (2018) · cites this paper as [447]

    The Results section, “Myostatin inhibition increases irisin expression” (page unavailable), reports increased irisin after myostatin knockdown in cultured muscle cells—the opposite of the claimed suppression. The Discussion (page unavailable) supports reduced inflammation and improved insulin resistance after myostatin inhibition, but reports the insulin-resistance finding in high-fat-diet-fed mice, not as an in vitro trial. The muscle-mass and strength clause carries a different citation and is not judged here. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Myostatin contributes to the induction of PGC-1α, FNDC5, and irisin in skeletal muscle.

    “It contributes to the induction of PGC-1α, FNDC5, and irisin in SkM [27,49,133].”

    From The Role of Exercise in the Interplay between Myokines, Hepatokines, Osteokines, Adipokines, and Modulation of Inflammation for Energy Substrate Redistribution and Fat Mass Loss: A Review (2020) · cites this paper as [49]

    The Results section, “Myostatin inhibition increases irisin expression,” reports the opposite direction: inhibiting or knocking down myostatin increased PGC-1α, FNDC5, and irisin production in muscle cells. The Discussion likewise says myostatin inhibition stimulates PGC-1α and FNDC5 expression, not that myostatin induces them. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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  • An inter-myokine axis with irisin and crosstalk with follistatin could represent a mechanism through which myostatin is decreased by exercise.

    “The possibility of an inter-myokine axis with irisin [44,49] and crosstalk with follistatin could represent a mechanism through which myostatin is decreased by exercise.”

    From The Role of Exercise in the Interplay between Myokines, Hepatokines, Osteokines, Adipokines, and Modulation of Inflammation for Energy Substrate Redistribution and Fat Mass Loss: A Review (2020) · cites this paper as [49]

    The Results section (‘Myostatin inhibition increases irisin expression’; page unavailable) shows a link between the two myokines: inhibiting myostatin increased irisin in mice and cultured muscle cells. It does not show that irisin or follistatin decreases myostatin during exercise; the direction tested was myostatin inhibition followed by increased irisin. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • In the short term, irisin might directly favor a shift from M1 to M2 phenotype, as well as decrease the expression of TLR4, TNF-α, IL-1β, MCP-1, and IL-6 by adipocytes and macrophages, while increasing IL-10 and antioxidant cellular mechanisms.

    “As also shown in Figure 2 (to facilitate sequence flow, the steps appear numbered as they are introduced in the main text in italics), in the short term, irisin might directly favor a shift from M1 Mφ to a M2 phenotype [49,59], as well as decrease the expression of TLR4, TNF-α, IL-1β, MCP-1, and IL-6 by adipocytes and Mφ [51,53,59] (1a), while increasing IL-10 [59] (1b) and antioxidant cellular me”

    From The Role of Exercise in the Interplay between Myokines, Hepatokines, Osteokines, Adipokines, and Modulation of Inflammation for Energy Substrate Redistribution and Fat Mass Loss: A Review (2020) · cites this paper as [49]

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Authors
Dong, J., Dong, Y., Dong, Y., Chen, F., Mitch, W. E., & Zhang, L.
Affiliations
  • Baylor College of Medicine (US)
  • Sichuan University (CN)
Corresponding author
  • Chen, F
  • Zhang, L
Venue
International Journal of Obesity
Published
2015-10-05
Volume
40
Issue
3
Pages
434-442
ISSN
  • 0307-0565 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-5497
OpenAlex
W2235165689
Cited by
212
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 10
FWCI
11.76
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • International Journal of Obesity (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R37-DK-37175, R37DK037175, P30DK079638, R01DK037175)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Adipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic Diseases
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Muscle Physiology and Disorders
Keywords
myostatin inhibition, irisin, insulin resistance, high-fat diet, brown adipose tissue browning, white adipose tissue, macrophage polarization, inflammation, PPARγ, PGC-1α, type 2 diabetes, obesity, fatty acid oxidation, energy expenditure
MeSH terms
Adipose Tissue, Animals, Disease Models, Animal, Insulin, Insulin Resistance, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Muscle, Skeletal, Receptor Cross-Talk, Lipid Metabolism, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt, Mice, Myostatin, Molecular Targeted Therapy, Diet, High-Fat

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