Effect Of Phytoecdysteroid Supplementation On Myostatin Mrna Expression In Aged Murine Skeletal Muscle Tissue

Sarcopenia, the age related loss of skeletal muscle mass, is associated with the onset of frailty, increased injury met with decreased independence, decreased quality of life, and increased medical costs. While precipitated from multiple factors, one important aspect of sarcopenia is decreased protein synthesis rate of initiation. Recent research suggests that supplementation with phytoecdysteroids; polyhydroxylated cholesterol based plant hormones, can increase protein synthesis in mammals without the harmful androgenic side effects. For this reason, phytoecdysteroids, such as 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) have been noted as a possible means to abate sarcopenia. Myostatin down-regulates protein synthesis and thus, is a potential factor increasing sarcopenia. While both phytoecdysteroids and myostatin elicit their opposing effects on protein turnover via the Akt/mTOR pathway, the relationship of phytoecdysteroid supplementation on myostatin gene expression is not known in mouse skeletal muscle in vivo. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of phytoecdysteroid supplementation on myostatin mRNA expression in aged mouse skeletal muscle tissue.