Discovery of a follistatin-derived myostatin inhibitory peptide.

Mariko Saitoh, Kentaro Takayama, Keisuke Hitachi, Akihiro Taguchi, Atsuhiko Taniguchi, Kunihiro Tsuchida, Yoshio Hayashi

Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters 2020 Feb 01

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Follistatin is well known as an inhibitor of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily ligands including myostatin and activin A. Myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle growth, is a promising target with which to treat muscle atrophic diseases. Here, we focused on the N-terminal domain (ND) of follistatin (Fst) that interacts with the type I receptor binding site of myostatin. Through bioassay of synthetic ND-derived fragment peptides, we identified DF-3, a new myostatin inhibitory 14-mer peptide which effectively inhibits myostatin, but fails to inhibit activin A or TGF-β1, in an in vitro luciferase reporter assay. Injected intramuscularly, DF-3 significantly increases skeletal muscle mass in mice and consequently, it can serve as a platform for development of muscle enhancement based on myostatin inhibition. Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Mariko Saitoh, Kentaro Takayama, Keisuke Hitachi, Akihiro Taguchi, Atsuhiko Taniguchi, Kunihiro Tsuchida, Yoshio Hayashi. Discovery of a follistatin-derived myostatin inhibitory peptide. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters. 2020 Feb 01;30(3):126892