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Irisin is a pro-myogenic factor that induces skeletal muscle hypertrophy and rescues denervation-induced atrophy
Open accessAbstract
Exercise induces expression of the myokine irisin, which is known to promote browning of white adipose tissue and has been shown to mediate beneficial effects following exercise. Here we show that irisin induces expression of a number of pro-myogenic and exercise response genes in myotubes. Irisin increases myogenic differentiation and myoblast fusion via activation of IL6 signaling. Injection of irisin in mice induces significant hypertrophy and enhances grip strength of uninjured muscle. Following skeletal muscle injury, irisin injection improves regeneration and induces hypertrophy. The effects of irisin on hypertrophy are due to activation of satellite cells and enhanced protein synthesis. In addition, irisin injection rescues loss of skeletal muscle mass following denervation by enhancing satellite cell activation and reducing protein degradation. These data suggest that irisin functions as a pro-myogenic factor in mice.
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“On the other hand, aerobic exercise, which also induces IL6 (Benrick et al., 2012; Pedersen and Febbraio, 2008; Reza et al., 2017), is highly associated with improved outcomes in depression and anxiety.”
From Origin and function of stress-induced IL-6 in murine models (2020) · cites this paper as Reza et al., 2017
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“…demonstrates metabolic benefits that may translate to muscle health improvements 84 ; irisin, a myokine that promotes muscle regeneration and may enhance exercise-induced adaptations 85 ; and apelin, which has shown promise in promoting muscle regeneration and function in preclinical studies 86 .”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Reza, M. M., Subramaniyam, N., Sim, C. M., Ge, X., Sathiakumar, D., McFarlane, C., Sharma, M., & Kambadur, R.
- Affiliations
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SG)
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Corresponding author
- Kambadur, Ravi
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2017-10-24
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1104-1104
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5653663
- OpenAlex
- W2765141291
- Cited by
- 335
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 33 · 2025: 50 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 54 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 7.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UEA Digital Repository (University of East Anglia) (acceptedVersion)
- ResearchOnline - JCU (James Cook University) (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- DR-NTU (Nanyang Technological University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research
- Nanyang Technological University
- Medical Research Council
- National Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Muscle Physiology and Disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Exercise and Physiological Responses
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Keywords
- irisin, myokines, skeletal muscle hypertrophy, denervation-induced atrophy, satellite cells, myogenesis, myoblast fusion, IL-6 signaling, muscle regeneration, skeletal muscle injury, protein synthesis, protein degradation
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Atrophy, Denervation, Fibronectins, Humans, Hypertrophy, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Stem Cells, Interleukin-6, Muscle, Skeletal, Muscle Fibers, Skeletal, Muscle Development, Mice, Adipose Tissue, White
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