# Myostatin and Myostatin Inhibitors



## Arnold (Mar 13, 2003)

*Myostatin and Myostatin Inhibitors: The Next Big Supplement Scam*

by Paul Cribb, B.H.Sci HMS
AST Director of Research

Late last year a report in the media blew the minds of bodybuilders who were wise enough to read the AST web site daily. Research performed by scientists from the Johns Hopkins University had created "massively-muscled, Arnold Schwarzenegger-like mice" by genetically engineering animals with a missing growth regulator called myostatin. 

Myostatin is a gene (Now understand that a gene is a linear sequence of nucleotides along a segment of DNA that provides the coded instructions for synthesis of RNA, which, when translated into protein, leads to the expression of hereditary character.) that is a member of the Transforming Growth Factor-b (TGF-b) Superfamily.1 These genes encode factors that are essential to proper biological development during the embryonic stage.2 They are specifically expressed before birth.

Genetically engineered myostatin-free mice and cattle exhibit twice the lean muscle mass as their normal stable-mates, without extra feeding or resistance training!3 The important thing to understand is that these animals were genetically engineered to not possess the myostatin gene because myostatin limits muscle growth.3,4 

A study published in 1998, revealed that myostatin is expressed in human skeletal muscle and levels are increased in muscle wasting diseases such as HIV.5 This research demonstrated that myostatin levels within the human body correlate inversely with fat-free mass. That is, the less myostatin in circulation, the more muscle you will have. This research confirmed that myostatin is a primary regulator of muscle growth in humans.5 

Recently, the same scientists at Hopkins engineered a second group of mice whose genetic makeup shows it's possible to get the same amazing muscle growth-effect by blocking the myostatin gene rather than deleting it entirely.6

The Hopkins scientists identified several proteins, namely follistatin, mutant activin type II receptors, and myostatin propeptide, that can effectively block the activity of myostatin.6 Remember, if you can block myostatin, muscle growth will literally explode! Paul Delia reported this information in May last year.7

Now, a collective brains-trust of unscrupulous sports supplement marketers have recently cottoned on to this information and are attempting to pull more scams.8 These pumpkin heads are trying their best to make consumers believe that they have supplements that athletes can take that will block the activity of myostatin. I believe they also get the bulk of their product knowledge from Miss. Cleo the tarot card reader. If not product knowledge, they certainly get their marketing ideas from her.

The myostatin blocking-ability was not achieved by simply taking a pill or even receiving an injection. The Hopkins scientists are the world leaders in this technology, and they have only just recently been able to produce this ability to block myostatin using the latest, state-of-the-art genetic engineering techniques. What we are talking about is embryonic microinjections (gene manipulation before birth), numerous cross-linking experiments and cell cloning techniques to produce mice with various levels of the specific binding affinity mutations.

Myostatin is licensed to MetaMorphix, a company founded by one of the main researchers Se-Jin Lee, M.D., Ph.D., in 1995. This company was established to commercialize on work by Hopkins and other pharmaceutical companies in the field of growth and differentiation factors. Myostatin is sublicensed to American Home Products and Cape Aquaculture Technologies. The authors and the University own MetaMorphix stock and the authors also own CAT stock. Lee is a consultant to MetaMorphix and Cape Aquaculture Technologies. The other lead author of this research, Alexandra McPherron, Ph.D., is a consultant to Cape Aquaculture Technologies.

This is cutting-edge, multi-million dollar genetic research and it appears to be stitched up tight by some big companies and brilliant research minds. Do you really think some little snake-oil selling supplement company has the capacity, contacts, or finances to obtain this type of technology and then surpass it? Yeah, right! Not by a long shot.

The research on myostatin and the ability to block myostatin is very exciting. In 5 to 10 years, when it is possible to isolate, stabilize then synthesize on a large scale, the myostatin propeptide and follistatin protein blockers, it will be in the tight grip of billion dollar pharmaceutical companies. These drugs will be only made available on prescription for extreme wasting conditions. That is, until they find their way onto the black market, and then, god help this sport!

Now these companies with their "make-believe" products would love you to think they have the technology to produce such myostatin blockers. They will go to great lengths concocting tales of top secret, undercover research. They'll spin the story well. You better believe they will.

But by now you should know the script. First they will come out with a pill or a powder. Then another company will come out with the "better" liquid version. Of course it will be stabilized and guaranteed stable for 2 years. Then yet another company will come out with the transdermal myostatin cream that you simply rub on what ever muscle you want to increase the size of. Oh, and don't forget the special "night time" myostatin formula. And why stop there, how about the really special "Myagra-statin" because "girls really want a bigger man." Welcome to Fantasy Island, I mean the sports supplement industry. 

http://www.ast-ss.com/articles/article.asp?AID=85


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## ZECH (Mar 14, 2003)

Good theory, but not there yet!


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## MeanCuts (Mar 14, 2003)

Yeah I read about one such product claiming that(Myo-Blast by Cytodyne) sounded great.I figure if it worked liked it said then it would be the hottest thing in the market not something most people havn't heard about.


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## MeanCuts (Mar 17, 2003)

I can't help but wonder for what self-serving reason why would they(AST) publish this


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## Arnold (Mar 17, 2003)

basically if they do not believe in a supplement based on evidence & research they will write an article like this about hyped up supplements on the market that they feel are bogus.


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## MeanCuts (Mar 17, 2003)

> _*Originally posted by Prince *_
> basically if they do not believe in a supplement based on evidence & research they will write an article like this about hyped up supplements on the market that they feel are bogus.



Then they outta put their own product VP2 on it


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## Arnold (Mar 17, 2003)

you feel that VP2 is a bogus product?

gopro swears by it.


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## MeanCuts (Mar 17, 2003)

Yeah and so does Skip La Cour.Their ads have some really outrageous claims like "VP2 Whey isolate produced over,615% greater gains in muscle mass than  the control protein and had a 156% strength increase.Over 615% more muscle!"    
Please your not going to tell me you believe this are you?


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## Arnold (Mar 17, 2003)

well, that's not a good comparison, Skip Lacour works for AST, gopro does not, so there is some inherent bias in Skip's opinion, right?


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## MeanCuts (Mar 17, 2003)

That's true of course but the fact remains AST made these outrageous claims not Skip.These numbers came from their "research" knowing this how can you believe their other reseach?


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## Arnold (Mar 17, 2003)

well, unlike most supplement companies AST provides references to the scientific studies that they use to make their claims.

honestly I really do not care, I do not use any of their supplements, I just read a lot of the articles on their site.


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## Robboe (Mar 17, 2003)

Prince, the other day you asked me what grudge i held against Cribb, or AST on a whole. I found a post by someone else on a different board which sums my reservations up completely:

"Mainly, it's that Paul Delia and Co. try to represent themselves as 'cutting edge science' while, in fact, most of what they propose (e.g. Max-OT) is nothing of the kind. Further, they also like to represent themselves as a shining beacon of truth in an industry plagued by false claims and misleading adverstising (which of course it is). I've got one word to respond to that: VP2. Pfft. Again and again, Delia and Cribb bash things as being unsupported by scientific evidecence, then proceed to push their own snake-oil which has just as little, if not less, scientific support.

They should be consigned to the seventh ring of hell, along with TC Luoma, Tim Patterson, Bill Phillips, Joe Weider, and Bart Harcourt--along with the countless other scam-artists in the fitness industry I'm too lazy to enumerate."


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## MeanCuts (Mar 17, 2003)

Anybody whose "research" makes those kinda claims should be shot.AST's credibility is more than questionable.


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## Nyarlathotep (Mar 17, 2003)

> _*Originally posted by The_Chicken_Daddy *_
> 
> They should be consigned to the seventh ring of hell, along with TC Luoma, Tim Patterson, Bill Phillips, Joe Weider, and Bart Harcourt--along with the countless other scam-artists in the fitness industry I'm too lazy to enumerate."



Alright TCD, now tell us how you really feel ;-)

My two cents on the whole supplement business (though this could apply to almost all advertising) is believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see.

Those percentages are probably correct. However the companies are obviously distorting the results i.e . using their supplement test subjects were able to add .06 pounds of LBM vs the .0001 pounds of LBM test subjects were able to put on using someone else's product or a placebo. 

I've been roped in to many scams, but am finally building up a bullshit tolerance and seeing through the garbage.

Nyarlathotep


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## Jemal (Mar 18, 2003)

> _*Originally posted by MeanCuts *_
> Yeah and so does Skip La Cour.Their ads have some really outrageous claims like "VP2 Whey isolate produced over,615% greater gains in muscle mass than  the control protein and had a 156% strength increase.Over 615% more muscle!"
> Please your not going to tell me you believe this are you?




I am sure that gopro does not belive the hype about 615% more muscle, but that does not mean that it isn't a good product that works.


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## MeanCuts (Mar 18, 2003)

> _*Originally posted by Jemal *_
> I am sure that gopro does not belive the hype about 615% more muscle, but that does not mean that it isn't a good product that works.


 
Your sure of what gopro thinks?And that doesn't mean it is a good product or any better than normal whey?


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## Tatyana (Oct 22, 2006)

BUMP

This thread is three years old, has there been any updates on myostatin blockers?

x
x
x

T


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## Arnold (Oct 22, 2006)

not that I know of.


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