Follistatin is a potent regulator of the inflammatory response and binds to and inhibits activin A action. Activin A is a member of the TGFβ protein superfamily which has regulatory roles in the inflammatory response and in the fibrotic process. Fibrosis can occur following cell injury and cell death induced by agents such as ionizing radiation (IR). IR is used to treat cancer and marked fibrot...

Follistatin is a functional antagonist of several members of the TGF-beta family of secreted signaling factors, including myostatin, the most powerful inhibitor of muscle growth characterized to date. Myostatin inhibition offers a novel therapeutic strategy for muscular dystrophy by restoring skeletal muscle mass and suppressing the progression of muscle degeneration. To assess the potential be...

Activin-A is a pleiotropic cytokine belonging to the transforming growth factor-β superfamily and has been implicated in asthma and pulmonary fibrosis. However, the role of activin-A and its endogenous inhibitor, follistatin, in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is unknown. We first quantified activin-A and follistatin in the lungs of air- or cigarette smoke-expos...

This study was conducted to investigate the involvement of the activin-follistatin system in renal regeneration after ischemic injury. Expression of mRNA for the activin beta(A) subunit was not detected in normal kidneys but increased markedly after renal ischemia. Immunoreactive beta(A) subunit was detected in tubular cells of the outer medulla in ischemic but not normal kidneys. Expression of...

BACKGROUND A previous study suggested that activin A inhibited myocardial cell apoptosis. This study thus aimed to explore the effects of the activin A-follistatin system on myocardial cell apoptosis in heart failure (HF) rats in order to determine whether or not the mechanism operates through the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) pathway. METHODS Myocardial infarction (MI) by vascular depri...

The transforming growth factor-beta superfamily member activin and its antagonist, follistatin, act as a pleiotropic growth factor system that controls cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Activin inhibits fibroblast growth factor 2-induced sprouting angiogenesis in vitro (spheroidal angiogenesis assay) and in vivo (Matrigel assay). To further study the role of the activin/follis...

One of the mechanisms known to play a key role in neuronal and oligodendroglial fate specification of neural stem cells (NSCs) is restriction of bone morphogenic proteins (BMP) signaling by BMP antagonists. Here, we demonstrate that follistatin mRNA and protein secreted levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS) patients are significan...

Follistatin is an inhibitor of TGF-β superfamily ligands that repress skeletal muscle growth and promote muscle wasting. Accordingly, follistatin has emerged as a potential therapeutic to ameliorate the deleterious effects of muscle atrophy. However, it remains unclear whether the anabolic effects of follistatin are conserved across different modes of non-degenerative muscle wasting. In this st...

Follistatin is a ubiquitous secretory propeptide that functions as a potent inhibitor of the myostatin pathway, resulting in an increase in skeletal muscle mass. Its ability to interact with the pituitary activin-inhibin axis and suppress the secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) called for caution in its clinical applicability. This limitation was circumvented by the use of one of th...

The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling network is a critical regulator of skeletal muscle mass and function and, thus, is an attractive therapeutic target for combating muscle disease, but the underlying mechanisms of action remain undetermined. We report that follistatin-based interventions (which modulate TGF-β network activity) can promote muscle hypertrophy that ameliorates agin...