MCB
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lai, K.-M. V.
Right arrow Articles by Glass, D. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lai, K.-M. V.
Right arrow Articles by Glass, D. J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 2004, p. 9295-9304, Vol. 24, No. 21
0270-7306/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.21.9295-9304.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Conditional Activation of Akt in Adult Skeletal Muscle Induces Rapid Hypertrophy

Ka-Man V. Lai, Michael Gonzalez, William T. Poueymirou, William O. Kline, Erqian Na, Elizabeth Zlotchenko, Trevor N. Stitt, Aris N. Economides, George D. Yancopoulos, and David J. Glass*

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Tarrytown, New York

Received 14 June 2004/ Accepted 2 August 2004

Skeletal muscle atrophy is a severe morbidity caused by a variety of conditions, including cachexia, cancer, AIDS, prolonged bedrest, and diabetes. One strategy in the treatment of atrophy is to induce the pathways normally leading to skeletal muscle hypertrophy. The pathways that are sufficient to induce hypertrophy in skeletal muscle have been the subject of some controversy. We describe here the use of a novel method to produce a transgenic mouse in which a constitutively active form of Akt can be inducibly expressed in adult skeletal muscle and thereby demonstrate that acute activation of Akt is sufficient to induce rapid and significant skeletal muscle hypertrophy in vivo, accompanied by activation of the downstream Akt/p70S6 kinase protein synthesis pathway. Upon induction of Akt in skeletal muscle, there was also a significant decrease in adipose tissue. These findings suggest that pharmacologic approaches directed toward activating Akt will be useful in inducing skeletal muscle hypertrophy and that an increase in lean muscle mass is sufficient to decrease fat storage.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Rd., Tarrytown, NY 10591-6707. Phone: (914) 345-7527. Fax: (914) 345-7650. E-mail: david.glass{at}regeneron.com.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 2004, p. 9295-9304, Vol. 24, No. 21
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.21.9295-9304.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. J. Virol. Eukaryot. Cell
Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Clin. Vaccine Immunol. All ASM Journals

Copyright © 2004 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.