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Abstract:
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A fivefold increase in worldwide meat production over the past 50 years has
fueled research in muscle physiology toward the development of methods to increase
skeletal muscle growth in agricultural animals. A breakthrough in the exploration of
muscle production occurred in 1997 with the identification of myostatin, a negative
regulator for skeletal muscle development.
Mutations in the myostatin gene have been shown to increase skeletal muscle
growth in several species including mice, cattle, and humans. A natural mutation in
this gene results in the double muscling phenotype of Belgian Blue cattle (Figure 1).
Some strategies proven to repress myostatin function, such as the administration of
myostatin-specific antibodies or the use of a soluble activin type II receptor (ActRIIBFc),
reduce the binding affinity of myostatin to its receptor, activin receptor type II B
(ActRIIB). Pfizer Animal Health Compound A (PAH-A), a selective myostatin
inhibitor, also impedes the attachment of myostatin to ActRIIB.
The effectiveness of PAH-A in augmenting skeletal muscle growth has not
previously been described in poultry. The ultimate goal of our study was to investigate
the effects of PAH-A on skeletal muscle production in broilers. We hypothesized that
in ovo administration of PAH-A would increase body mass gain (BMG) and muscle
fiber cross-sectional-area (CSA) of standard broilers at post-hatch days 3 (D3) and 14
(D14). |
