Introduction: Myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass by maintaining satellite cells (the stem cells of muscle) in a quiescent state. That is to say, when myostatin gene expression levels are high, skeletal muscle atrophy (loss in size) will occur. Not much is known about myostatin levels in the older adult population and this is significant in the prevention of sarcopenia, or age-related loss in muscle mass. To investigate this, researchers recruited young (mean age 21) and old (mean age 66) men and measured their basal levels of myostatin as well as the levels of various other precursor markers during three different bouts of resistance exercise.
Hypotheses: The expression of the myostatin pathway-related genes would be upregulated in older compared with younger men. However, following acute resistance exercise, the pathway-regulated genes will be downregulated to a greater extent in older compared to younger men.
Results: Myostatin mRNA levels were decreased in older men after resistance exercise and baseline FST & FSTL3 (inhibitory factors of myostatin) were higher in older men as well. There were no differences in baseline values between older and younger men.
Conclusion: Older men have a more favorable internal environment for muscle growth than younger men by possessing lower levels of myostatin after resistance exercise. This finding could be a protective mechanism to prevent further muscle wasting with aging and preserve muscle mass in older individuals.
My input: Get your dad to hit the weights in the gym. He has a more favorable muscle growth environment in his genes than you do. This is a great way to preserve his muscle and keep his metabolic rate higher to prevent unwanted weight gain.
Dalbo et al J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2011 Jun 10
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