Myostatin gene

[Pseudonym]

Muscle-bound boy result of gene mutation

25.06.2004

By ANDREW GUMBEL

LOS ANGELES - When the baby boy emerged, midwives and doctors immediately knew he was special. The head looked normal, but the body was simply remarkable. With bulging biceps and rippling pecs this was a child like no other.

A transatlantic team of researchers quickly went to work to discover exactly how a baby could be born looking like he had been working out in the womb.

Now, with the still muscle-bound boy aged four and a half, it has delivered an astonishing report.

The wonder child, born in Germany, owes his awesome build to a gene mutation that could have exciting medical consequences - not just for aspiring Arnold Schwarzeneggers but also for sufferers of wasting diseases such as muscular dystrophy or certain kinds of cancer.

The boy, who has not been named, was born with a mutation that effectively silenced his myostatin gene, and researchers are now convinced this is what caused the spontaneous development of strong muscle tissue.

The correlation between the myostatin gene and muscle development had previously been noted in mice and cattle, but its possible effects on humans had remained a matter of speculation.

As long ago as 1997, the Institute of Basic Biomedical Sciences at Johns Hopkins university in Baltimore created a breed of "mighty mice" who were twice as muscular as their siblings as a result of having their myostatin gene knocked out.

Decades earlier, cattle breeders had stumbled upon a similar discovery by developing a strain of cattle called Belgian Blues - animals that produce roughly twice the muscle and only a fraction of the fat of normal herds. Researchers later found that they, too, had inactive myostatin genes.

The hope now, according to papers published in yesterday's New England Journal of Medicine, is that it will be possible to develop a line of drugs to deplete myostatin - possibly by developing antibodies capable of blocking it.

The Wyeth medical research laboratory in Massachussetts has already begun safety tests as a prelude to further research in this direction. The benefits could potentially be reaped across the medical spectrum, not just for sufferers of wasting diseases but also for patients recovering from major illnesses (heavy chemotheraphy courses, for instance, or lung or kidney diseases) who have lost a lot of muscle tissue as a result of inactivity and bodily exhaustion.

The lead researcher into the German Muscle Boy is Markus Schuelke, a pediatric neurologist at the Charite University Medical Centre in Berlin, who described in the paper the sense of wonder that the boy's birth instilled in all his colleagues.

"Everybody noticed," he said.

The newborn's muscle movements were jittery for the first two months of his life, and at first doctors thought he might be suffering from epilepsy. But then Dr Schuelke recalled the Mighty Mice research and contacted Se-Jin Lee at Johns Hopkins University. It turned out to be the right track.

The baby came from an unusually strong family. His mother had been a professional sprinter and her grandfather had worked as a builder hauling 300-lb curbstones off trucks.

DNA tests revealed that the mother was missing one of her two myostatin genes, and that the boy was making no myostatin at all.

Further family research was not possible because nobody else agreed to submit to testing. Now close to school age, the boy remains noticeably stronger than his peers. Dr Schuelke reported that he was able to hold two 6.6-lb weights horizontally with his arms extended.

For the moment, no ill effects on his heart or other vital organs have been detected, although Dr Schuelke's research team is continuing to keep a close eye on him.

His case also raises the question of whether athletic prowess might to some extent be determined by myostatin levels in the rest of us.

Could the effectiveness of the gene determine how easy it is to add muscle tissue at the gym? Should professional athletes be tested for myostatin levels to determine how far they can enhance their performance? Might a whole new generation of sports-related drugs be in the offing?

"Myostatin blockade will probably work its way into professional and amateur athletics, as well as into the ever-growing business of physical enhancement," Dr Elizabeth McNally of the University of Chicago wrote in the New England Journal.

"Although the ethics of using such genetic information is questionable, the feasibility of identifying this information should not be doubted."

- INDEPENDENT

[Pseudonym]

Here's what happened when scientists removed the myostatin gene from mice...

http://medica-center.com/images/elzi-volk/myostatin-mice.jpg

"Mighty Mouse", anyone?!

More details on myostatin available at http://medica-center.com/articles/volk/myostatin.htm

[Pseudonym]

Mighty mice offer hope for sick

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay. ... eportID=16

13.10.2004

By SIMON COLLINS

World-leading New Zealand research on muscular "mighty mice" may point the way to restoring wasted muscles in people suffering from cancer, diabetes, muscular dystrophy and HIV.

A husband-and-wife team at AgResearch's Ruakura Research Centre, Dr Ravi Kambadur and Dr Mridula Sharma, found a genetic mutation in double-muscled Belgian Blue cattle in 1997 which knocks out a protein that normally stops muscles growing too big.

They have now developed a "lookalike" molecule which blocks the muscle-limiting protein in mice and may cure muscle-wasting conditions in humans.

The molecule has been patented and licensed to the sheep-research company Ovita. New Zealand taxpayers and the country's 25,000 sheep and beef farmers stand to share the profits if the molecule works in humans, through Ovita's three equal shareholders - state-owned AgResearch, Wool Equities and Meat and Wool NZ.

Among the first to benefit could be the 4000 New Zealanders with muscular dystrophy, a genetically inherited condition which causes the muscles to gradually waste away until most patients die.

Ultimately, Dr Kambadur believes it could help millions of people around the world whose muscles wither in response to cancer, diabetes, HIV/Aids or just age.

"One-third of cancer patients don't die of the cancer tumour, they die of muscle-wasting," he said.

"Diabetes affects the muscles because muscles burn sugar. The muscles develop resistance to insulin - they forget how to use insulin."

Muscles can make up to three-quarters of a fit person's body. American body-building websites are already speculating that athletes will soon latch on to the new technology to achieve "super-human" feats.

The protein which normally limits muscle growth is myostatin (myo=muscle, statin=stop). Abnormally high levels of myostatin have been found in HIV patients and in elderly people.

At the other extreme, a 4-year-old German boy four months ago became the first human being with no myostatin in his body to be reported in the medical literature.

At 4, the boy can hold 3kg weights. His mother, a former professional athlete, inherited the same genetic mutation from one of her parents but the boy has inherited it from both his parents.

Indian-born Dr Kambadur and Dr Sharma, who came to New Zealand in 1996, are in a race against several rival teams to find the best way to use the new knowledge.

An American group has genetically modified mice by knocking out the gene that controls myostatin, producing rodents with muscles twice as big as usual.

The Ruakura team bought some of the mice and originally planned to knock out the same gene in sheep.

They gained a controversial permit in 2000 to create a flock of up to 100 genetically modified (GM) sheep, expecting that the lean, fat-free meat of sheep without myostatin would also be more tender.

But the plan was vetoed by Ovita when the new company took over the research funding in 2002. Ovita chief executive Damian Camp said yesterday the company was not funding any GM work.

The global drug company Wyeth has tried another route, creating a protein called MYO-029 which disables myostatin. It plans to start trials in human patients shortly.

Dr Kambadur believes the molecule discovered at Ruakura might work better than the Wyeth one, blocking myostatin for longer and needing repeat injections only every few months.

He is now negotiating with Waikato Hospital to test myostatin levels in old people and in diabetes patients of various ethnic groups.

Dr Kambadur will report on his research at a three-yearly conference of the Muscular Dystrophy Association in Auckland next month.

[Pseudonym]

Another one for the myostatin file...

----------------------------------------------

Big Wendy the muscular whippet

Kim Westad, Times Colonist

Published: Monday, June 25, 2007

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolo ... 93&k=94653

People mistake her for a pitbull with a pinhead, but Wendy the whippet is one rare breed.

So rare that the Central Saanich dog recently graced the New York Times. She also had several of her photos shown on The Today Show, all because of a rare genetic mutation that has led to her being the Incredible Hulk of dogs.

Wendy is a 27-kilogram rippling mass of muscle. Forget the so-called six-pack stomach: Wendy has a 24-pack. And the muscles around her neck are so thick, they look like a lion's ruff.

"People have referred to her as Arnold Schwarzenegger," says doting owner Ingrid Hansen, stroking Wendy's sleek black coat and white chest.

Wendy was recently part of a genetics study done in the U.S. on mutation in the myostatin gene in whippets, which resemble greyhounds in appearance. The National Institute of Health study reported that whippets with one single defective copy of the gene have increased muscle mass that can enhance racing performance in the breed, known for speeds up to 60 kilometres an hour.

But whippets with two mutated copies of the gene become "double-muscled," like Wendy. It has been seen before in one human, and also in mice, cattle and sheep, says the study.

The uber-muscled whippets are called "bullies," not because of their nature -- Wendy likes nothing better than a good back scratch and isn't shy about sitting in your lap to ask for one -- but because of their size. She's about twice the weight of an average whippet, but with the same height and small narrow head -- and the same size heart and lungs, which means she probably won't live as long as normal whippets.

Hansen has had Wendy, now four, since she bought the dog from a Shawnigan Lake breeder when she was eight months old.

Wendy landed in clover. She lives on an acreage, runs around with other dogs and horses, sleeps on Hansen's bed and pretty much anywhere else she wants to.

People are often afraid when the muscle-bound dog runs up to them on her dainty whippet-thin legs, but they soon realize she's friendly, Hansen said.

[waldo]

The supplement industry did Myostatin blockers to death a few years back, with products like http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/cyt/myoblast.html

NFS here in NZ also did a product called CSP3. In fact it was probably the same product with a different label (goes on a lot in the supplement industry).

Not sure if they worked that well, cos' I didn't see a huge increase in the amount of over-muscled people in the gym. In fact, I did see a lot of larger greyhounds down at the track though...hmmmm.

[poos_n_wees]

Muscle-bound boy result of gene mutation

25.06.2004

By ANDREW GUMBEL

LOS ANGELES - When the baby boy emerged, midwives and doctors immediately knew he was special. The head looked normal, but the body was simply remarkable. With bulging biceps and rippling pecs this was a child like no other.

A transatlantic team of researchers quickly went to work to discover exactly how a baby could be born looking like he had been working out in the womb.

Now, with the still muscle-bound boy aged four and a half, it has delivered an astonishing report.

The wonder child, born in Germany, owes his awesome build to a gene mutation that could have exciting medical consequences - not just for aspiring Arnold Schwarzeneggers but also for sufferers of wasting diseases such as muscular dystrophy or certain kinds of cancer.

The boy, who has not been named, was born with a mutation that effectively silenced his myostatin gene, and researchers are now convinced this is what caused the spontaneous development of strong muscle tissue.

Wow, this sounds like the Superman story :pfft: But its intriguing. I can't even begin to imagine a baby with "rippling muscles" :shock: :shock:

Damn my normal genes

[Dumbelldog]

MYO-029 which disables myostatin. It plans to start trials in human patients shortly.

Hell wouldn't it be good to get a hold of some of that!

From what I understand about myostatin it is basically that body's hand brake on muscle growth. Lets see what the trials bring?

[2guns]

where do u get this stuff? :pfft:

[poos_n_wees]

I can't even begin to imagine a baby with "rippling muscles" :shock: :shock:

Curiosity got the better of me..

Apparently this kid's seven months old :shock: There were these other stories of a young boy with the myostatin problem who'd fall backwards when he was sitting down as an infant. He'd never hit his head though, 'cos he'd tense his stomach up (you could see his abs) and curl up and reverse direction before hitting his head. :shock:

[blairandkelly]

freaky stuff is that him pnw?

[2guns]

tht look like a female to me :pfft:

[NZPT]

bull with the gene mutation

[keats]

Hell wouldn't it be good to get a hold of some of that!

From what I understand about myostatin it is basically that body's hand brake on muscle growth. Lets see what the trials bring?

Lets see if any of us on this board can get on the trails list :grin:

[Flex]

Lets see if any of us on this board can get on the trails list :grin:

Well if any of us have got facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, cancer or AIDS you might get lucky.

[keats]

Well if any of us have got facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, cancer or AIDS you might get lucky.

Or good connections...

[Dumbelldog]

Lets see if any of us on this board can get on the trails list :grin:

Well if any of us have got facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, cancer or AIDS you might get lucky.

Bloody PC bastards ah, what's wrog with putting a few healthy male specimens on this stuff to check the potency! Might be a bit tough on the so called sick people? :pfft:

[keats]

Aparently human trials are currently being done. I also read this is an easy product to synthesize so it shouldnt be too long before you see it in the bodybuilding world. Hell i'd give it a go! :twisted:

[AlBundy]

yea im betting the main reason that gene is there is for energy conservation but now that getting food is easy we can afford to expend more energy. Just be prepared to be buying alot more food.

[Gym rat]

I would also give it a go as well.

[AgentOrange]

I would also give it a go as well.

it appears to work well on lab rats im sure it would work well on a gym rat

[BIGKIWI]

The top pros have been using myostatin inhibitors for years alot of the research was first done in texas, who do we know that is from texas ?? and has won the Olympia many times ?

[mr natural]

The top pros have been using myostatin inhibitors for years alot of the research was first done in texas, who do we know that is from texas ?? and has won the Olympia many times ?

is there one avalible to top pro's? you got a brand name ect?details?

[AgentOrange]

"The whole idea is to produce a myostatin inhibiting drug that will temporarily block the gene. Obviously this drug is being produced with the intention of medical purposes, and the pharmaceutical companies will make alot more money with a pill. Hope the UGs start geting it out there. "

[AgentOrange]

[keats]

This is actually for sale as transfection-ready (if anyone knows what that means)..